My wife Rachel and I visited Strawberry Island in the eastern San Juans of Washington. Three days, two night, no other people. We saw tons of harbor porpoises foraging near the island, plus a merlin eating a bird it had caught.
Route map. Washington Park is the best launch point, but it requires careful coordination with the tides.
Thanks to the nice weather, we were able to spend both nights out under the stars instead of in the tent. The first night, we saw an enormous shooting star. It left a trail of burning fire in the sky.
Launching at Washington Park. Rachel’s enthusiasm makes every trip a pleasure.
Northbound up Rosario Strait. This is my favorite stretch of water in Washington.
Reef Point, Cypress Island. DNR protects most of Cypress Island as a national resources conservation area (and some parts of the islands are nature area preserves).
Strawberry Bay, Cypress Island. It was a leisurely paddle in delightful company.
Rachel eating lunch on Strawberry Island. We brought a book to identify native plants, but Rachel already knew most of them by heart.
Rachel sleeping outdoors. We had the tent just in case it rained, but we did not use it.
One afternoon, we were sitting on the very top of the island, a place we called the “turtle’s back,” when Rachel asked me, “Do you smell onions?”
We poked around a bit and discovered that Stawberry Island was covered with wild onions! We harvested a bagful, being careful to leave the roots intact, and used them to make a delicious omelet the next morning.
Breakfast with native onions. One of the best camping breakfasts ever.
Kayaking in Rosario Strait. On fall days like this, the world feels infinite.
Crossing Rosario Strait, Cypress Island in background. If only we could stay out there forever.
Tasty food, prancing porpoises, clear skies, still waters, and a fiery meteor: Strawberry Island remains the best place on Earth.
—Alex Sidles