In January, I tried again for a trip in the northern San Juan Islands. I had wanted to do this trip the previous month, but high winds forced me to change my plans and head for a nice, safe inland lake. That ended up being a pretty good trip, but I really had my heart set on doing the islands.
Luck was with me this month, and I got my island trip. I decided to make it more of a hiking than kayaking excursion, so I only paddled two or three miles each day, just enough to reach a new island each day and set up camp.
The northern San Juans are all uninhabited and have extensive trail systems running through them. With these short January days, there was just enough time to see the entirety of each island before jumping into the tent as the sun went down, there to read by headlamp for a few hours.
The trip was every bit as good as I’d hoped. Highlights included a Hutton’s vireo in the forest, and a river otter devouring a crab alive on the beach right below me.
Route map. The crossing from North Beach can be rough during strong winds, including northerlies and southerlies.
View from Anacortes ferry. The San Juan Islands are gorgeous in any weather.
Anacortes ferry car deck. Because the days were so short this time of year, I bought a ticket on the ferry rather than launch from the mainland
My first campsite was on Matia Island, which I had used as a lunch break spot on previous trips but had never camped until now. Matia has some lovely old trees, and I had the whole island to myself.
Launching from North Beach, Orcas Island toward Matia Island. The northern San Juans have a wild feel.
Hiking around Matia Island. These pocket beaches are important habitat for juvenile salmonids and seabirds.
Boulder on Matia Island. Matia’s forest is relatively intact, at least by San Juan standards.
Clark Island seen from Matia Island. Clark, Matia, Sucia, and Patos form a chain of state park islands along the northern edge of the San Juans.
Aquamarine bay on Matia Island. Pigeon guillemots nest in the cliffs on Matia.
Classic San Juans sandstone island. The geology here is so distinctive I can always recognize a photograph of the San Juans.
The next day I paddled across to the incomparably lovely Echo Bay at Sucia Island. On Sucia, I set up camp on the park-like grounds of Fossil Bay, then went hiking around the island, enjoying the unseasonably warm and clear weather. Springtime wouldn’t be far off now.
Sucia is similar to the Gulf Islands in that it features many high, sandstone bluffs. The trails atop the edges of these bluffs afford magnificent views of the surrounding water.
Kayaking from Matia to Sucia Island. Sucia is a maze of bays and beaches, each lovelier than the last.
Fox Cove on Sucia Island. This is my favorite campsite on Sucia and one of the best in the entire San Juans.
Fox Cove campground. In the summer, this site is overrun with powerboaters. In the winter, it is deserted.
Bench overlooking President Channel. This vantage point on the south side of Sucia is ideal for assessing weather and current conditions for the crossing back to Orcas.
Trail through forest on Sucia Island. On this trip, I walked all day without meeting another person.
Madrones on Sucia Island bluff. This species composition of Pacific madrone, Douglas-fir, and grand fir is characteristic of the San Juans.
Echo Bay, Sucia Island. Sucia Island is like a diorama of the San Juan archipelago.
Echo Bay campground. Echo Bay is a particularly comfortable campground.
All too soon, it was time to head back to the kayak and paddle across to my waiting car on Orcas. I’d be back to the northern San Juans in the summer, when there would be enough daylight to do lots of kayaking and lots of hiking on the same day.
—Alex Sidles