Credit Card Bikepacking
For me and Kelly, this year has been year of the bike. Kelly got a speedy new road bike, which has drastically increased her enthusiasm for biking. We have both enjoyed an alternative to traditional mountain adventures, usually just going for rides from our house. But we also wanted to do some
“credit card bikepacking” on the San Juan Islands, so we booked two nights of hotels, one on San Juan Island and one on Lopez Island, right around our 1 year wedding anniversary.
The San Juan Islands are a huge draw for tourism, but I had only been a few times before; the most notable trip was a support bikepacking trip with my friends right after our high school graduation. Biking is a great way to visit the San Juans because you do not have to reserve a spot on the ferry. Just roll up, park, and get on!
Our first stop in Friday Harbor was Nom Nom Takeout, a delicious little Asian flavored shop with tasty rice based foods, which Kelly loved. The best part about bike trips vs mountain trips is the food.
The first weekend in August is statistically the driest weekend of the year. So of course, it was raining across nearly all of Western Washington. But here on the San Juan Islands, in the rainshadow of both the Olympics and Vancouver Island, we were in a hole in the clouds. The San Juans are a great place to go in the summer because it rarely rains, gets too hot, or smoky. The consequence of the sun, however, was brutal westerly winds.
We started by biking to the southern end of the island to Cattle Point. This is one of the most unique spots in Washington – grassy hillsides and sweeping views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Olympic Mountains. Due to first native clearing, then later grazing, and probably to some degree, strong westerly winds, there is a remarkable lack of trees. What trees did exist were gnarled and twisted from the strong winds, in the same way they are near tree line in the mountains. Poppies, a signature of the California Mediterranean climate, lined the road.
At the Cattle Point Lighthouse, we watched the tidal currents ripple and whirl through the narrow channel between us and Lopez Island.
From there, we continued around the island to Lime Kiln State Park on the west shore. No orcas or whales were visible, but we did appreciate the rugged, rocky coastline. While Puget Sound has plenty of nice coastlines, the San Juan Islands are just on a different level, with far less human impact, a tight network of islands, mountains in all directions. If only we could get a stratovolcano right in the middle of the Salish Sea… sigh.
San Juan Island is never flat. All the ups and downs had us feeling pretty tired by the team we arrived in picturesque Roche Harbor, but luckily we found a smoothie and sushi at the little general store. Kelly hates “trail food”, so biking is much more appealing these days. I guess that we, like so many of our friends, are “gracefully aging” into our biking era.
We had one last segment to return to Friday Harbor, where we were staying for the night. There are plenty of moderately to very fancy restaurants to choose from. Given our biking outfits, we opted for a more moderate one, and we were rewarded with huge portions!
The next morning, we explored the whale museum and various art galleries in Friday Harbor. Pro tip: if you have to carry anything you buy home on a bike, it prevents you from spending too much money!
In the afternoon, we took the ferry to Lopez Island. Compared to San Juan Island, Lopez is much flatter and quieter. There is hardly any traffic or commercial. It felt just extremely peaceful. We probably would not want to live in a place like this, but we could see the appeal – a slow pace of life, isolation, and natural beauty.
We biked to Agate Beach on the south end before heading back north to Lopez Village, where we stayed the night.
The next morning, we biked back to the ferry and returned to our car in Anacortes. It was a short weekend getaway, but we certainly enjoyed our time in the San Juan Islands, appreciating what coastal Washington has to offer!