We awoke the next morning to the thickest fog we had seen on the trip. It was so thick, in fact, that we had to delay our launch because we couldn’t see far enough to navigate. We were shocked to see our campmates launching their boats at first light (we were waiting until 9:00 am to catch the currents), but they had a GPS unit and apparently felt comfortable navigating in hundred foot visibility. We didn’t, and so we sat on shore waiting for things to clear up.
We inched around the shoreline of Lopez, staying close to shore to avoid any unwanted encounters with boats cruising through the fog. This is why I decided to carry a small air horn on the trip. Giovannina thought I was nuts for buying the thing, but when we launched that morning she asked in all earnestness, “Got the air horn ready?” Oh yeah, I had the air horn ready.
We continued past Lopez and cruised the north shore of Shaw Island, which I think might be one of the most gorgeous stretches of coastline in the San Juan Islands, which is really saying something. The rocky cliffs here aren’t has high as on Henry Island, or the West Side of San Juan Island, but I think that creates a sense of intimacy and accessibility. And because there isn’t as much swell or current in this part of the archipelago, you can often get right next to rocks and gaze up at the salal-filled forest that caps the bluffs.
Gretchen and crew were setting up camp when we arrived at Jones Island. They’d found us a stellar campsite on the island’s south coast and we were all excited to be together on such a gem of an island. Many kayakers consider Jones to be the nicest campsite in the San Juans. I’m not going to disagree (though Clark is pretty sweet as well). While it can get crowded with tour groups, and even boaters, the size and layout of the island provides plenty of privacy while never being that far from amenities (like water and toilets), and the views are stellar. To the south you look out over the mystical Wasp Islands. To the west is the wide open San Juan Channel and the exotic Spieden Island. To the north is a vast expanse of water extending all the way to Waldron and Canada beyond. The view to the east would be kind of dull – you’re looking at the backside of Deer Harbor – but there are no sites or trails over there so you don’t have to worry about it. In addition, Jones is pretty easy to get to. It’s an hour’s paddle from Deer Harbor and a few hours from Friday Harbor, which can make it pretty busy and if you arrive late you can get stuck camping in the big meadow with all of the tour groups. But thankfully Gretchen had arrived early and scored us a great spot, that even came with its own rope swing hung from the branch of an oak tree, and when you swung on it you felt like you’d fly into the ocean.
