Birth of an Expedition

The San Juan Islands are a scattering of rocky nuggets offshore of the northwest corner on the continental United States. In my kayaking life, I’d heard references to them as a desirable paddling area. But, I envisioned them as bleak and barren, so they didn’t hold much interest.

A couple years ago, a paddling friend of mine took a trip there and posted his photos on the web. Wow. All kinds of wildlife and stuff going on. Nothing like I thought and I understood why the area merited frequent mention in paddling circles. It went onto my list.

This month a sea kayaking magazine carried a feature article about paddling the San Juans. My eye fell to a photo of a killer whale breaching. That sealed the deal. If not now, when? When you arrive at the end of life, what do you have to show for it except your memories?

The first step is selecting an outfitter. To keep it simple, three parameters: competency, the right route at the right time and the boat.

The first, you take your best shot at web surfing and what you can read between the lines of their web site. Even then, it will depend somewhat on the guides you draw.

Then, it’s got to be soon and it’s got to cover some territory. I want to see some variety and get out to the prime areas.

Finally, I’m going for a sea kayaking experience, so I want to paddle a sea kayak. This requires some background.

For financial reasons, most outfitters target a market broader than existing kayakers. They include those who want the experiences, but aren’t necessarily good paddlers. Or, maybe they haven’t paddled at all.

So, the outfitters favor tandem kayaks. They’re fairly stable and it cuts the number of boats they have to key an eye on in half.

If they do offer solo boats, they tend to be beamy (more than 22” wide). More like stretched recreational kayaks.

Not for me. In my inquiries, I specified what I wanted. The outfitters who had them put out the hoops for me to jump through.

I don’t blame them. Someone overmatched by a boat could easily mess up a trip. But, laying out my experience and skills runs contrary to what I’ve learned.

Whereas some overstate their abilities on the registration forms for such things, I go the other way. I quickly learned that guides have an eye out for experienced kayakers in the group and tend to delegate to them. I don’t mind keeping an eye on one or two people who might encounter problems in high seas, but I’m paying to enjoy the trip, not work it.

With that settled, I’m going about the business of arranging travel to the islands. It’s about as simple as Chinese calculus. But, what place worth going is within easy reach?

I’ve already completed the first step, with predictable results. That is, I tried to buy the airline ticket with my Skymiles. You’ve got a better shot with beads and trinkets.

With that finger exercise out of the way on to the rest.