Weekend Photos: Kayaking the Salish Sea

Way back at the end of July, a couple of friends and I joined a guided kayak trip to the Sucia Island Marine State Park (San Juan Islands, Washington). The tour was run by Anacortes Kayak Tours, which did a fantastic job.

Note on the photography: many of these shots were done with my iPhone 15 Pro Max, which does a very good job, for a phone. I didn't want to take a good camera onto the salt water, so the rest are shot on a long-retired Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot, as the one of my old cameras with the longest zoom. It was not without issues. 

Since the meet-up time was 9 a.m. on Orcas Island, we drove up and took the ferry to Orcas the day before. That gave us time to poke around the island a bit and get a seafood dinner. We camped at Moran State Park (it turned out that all the members of our tour did that, though of course we didn't know each other then and were in different campgrounds).

As it happened, the morning ferry was 45 minutes late, so we all hung out at the beach until the guides and boats showed up. 

Petey Possum is ready to go--though he dove into a dry bag for the crossing!

Being a bit late wasn't an issue--the crossing to Sucia Island is only a couple of miles, and it was a calm day. Soon we were paddling into Fox Cove and hunting a campsite. Due to issues with the islands' water systems, Fox was the only campsite with water, so it was more crowded than usual, but we were able to nab a spot on the end away from most of the bustle.

Arriving at camp.

Once we'd set up, we took off for a paddle down the north side of the island. We weren't going to go all the way around, but it was a strong group, and we found ourselves doing just that! I was feeling it--I'm not used to paddling, and my hands suffered a bit, both with hot spots and the arthritis that has begun to build in my thumb joints. To my relief, the shoulders I injured a couple of years ago (doing a face-plant... it's never anything dramatic or harrowing when I hurt myself) did great.

Coming around the end of the island and looking ESE, Mt. Baker came into view.

 There were also lots of seals, allowing me to capture my iconic photo for the trip.

Seal, with volcano.

The tide was just right for basking seals.

 

By the time we finished our circumnavigation of the island, we'd paddled a good 8 1/2 miles and we were all ready to let the guides feed us, then hit the sack.

No bears, but rodents are always a problem in such campsites, so we hung the food from a line.

The second day was another 8 1/2 mile paddle, this time around Patos Island, with a lunch stop that allowed for a little "hiking" on the 1.5 mile path around the west end of the island.

Patos Island Lighthouse.

Oodles of tafoni--rock weathered into holes and patterns--along the NW end of the island. While most of the San Juan Islands are a mess of different rocks, including glacial till, Sucia and its neighbors seem to be mostly limestone, which erodes nicely.

 Our 3rd day we went the other direction, back around Sucia to Matia Island, also a state park and part of the San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Landing there is restricted to the "marina" in Rolfe Cove, where these is a campground (we'd have been staying there most likely, if not for the water issue).

Our morning departure was delayed while we waited to see if the fog would burn off or bury us. No guide wants a handful of kayaks out there lost from sight. 

Eventually the sun did come out, and we shoved off. Our sharp-eyed guides spotted what they were pretty sure was a sea lion on a low rock sticking out of the water only a bit out of our way, so off we went to find out. Sure enough--sea lions, gulls, and seals inhabited a rock so small it doesn't show on any of my maps (I trust it's on the navigation charts the boaters are using!).

With nothing for perspective, from a distance I couldn't tell if the "tower" in the middle of the island was a marine mammal nearby or a giant building far off. It was the former!

You probably know the size of a sea gull, so you can get some sense of the size of this bull lion. Note the flipper in the water. One of them came into the water to check us out--we backed off in a hurry.

Watching from a safe distance.

What with the detour, we had a latish lunch on Matia, leaving time to do a quick loop around the half-mile trail. Getting out of the boat and walking is definitely necessary for me!

Rolfe Cove dock from the trail.

 

We pulled our boats up on the beach.

This day ended up being about 11 miles of paddling, and there was some wind to fight by the time we headed back "up" to Sucia. Despite that, since it would be our last night on Sucia, I did an evening walk and a morning walk to explore the island trails a bit.

Fossil Bay--just across a spit from our camp area, and much more "civilized." Thank goodness I never even saw it until the end.

Morning light at Echo Bay camp.

Most evenings we had good sunsets, too. 

I have no photos of the really magical night-time paddle with phosphorescence in the water!

Our 4th day, with most of the food eaten, we were able to load up with water and head off to a dry camp, on distant Clark Island. 

 

This meant a paddle back around Sucia, lunch again at Matia, then a long paddle across the biggest piece of open water we saw to Clark Island. The weather, so perfect and calm at the start of the week, was... less so. The waves on that open big were a little intimidating to this kayaking near-novice!

 

We had been trading around who was in the double boat and who got the single (we had one of each for the 3 of us). This was my day in the single, and I definitely got a workout! 

 

My trail partners in the double, in a calmer stretch.

I don't really have any photos of the rough part, nor does anyone else--it was too rough to do anything but paddle. After we reached the lee of Clark's partner island, Barnes, I did shoot the boats crossing from one to the other, less rough than the worst of it, and looking less interesting even than it was. This day's paddle was about 9 1/2 miles, much of it "uphill" (into the wind).

One last windy crossing

All that work was totally worth it. The island was deserted (just before dinner a water taxi dropped off a family to camp down the beach from us, but they didn't interfere at all ), with no power boats and thus no generators or lights.

 

We set up camp and just enjoyed lounging or a short wander around the little trail at our end of the island. 

 

 

 

Last sunset.
 

Our final day was another 10-mile paddle back to our launch point. Fortunately, we could do most of it in the lee of Orcas Island.

Petey enjoying the sun before the last paddle.

Back in the double, and crossing the open water.

The contrast with the lee of Orcas was marked.

 

We got back to the landing in time not only for lunch in Eastsound (fish and chips, of course), but with time to drive up Mt. Constitution and look over what we'd just paddled. We'd reserved the 8 p.m. ferry, just in case we were kind of slow getting back. 

Sucia is far left, with just a hint of Patos beyond it. Matia left of center, and Barnes and Clark islands on the right. Behind them is the low end of Lummi island.

We'd been eating too well, and instead of going out for another big meal before heading to the ferry dock, we bought salads, fruit, and stuff we could eat on the way. Riding the ferry back through the islands at sunset was a perfect end to the trip. 

Farewell to Orcas.

 

 

I'm heading out shortly on my next adventure, but will try to keep the posts coming--maybe with some sneak previews of Iceland!

 

 

 

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2025   
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