Summer Camp
Last weekend I hooked up with one of my kayak clubs and paddled across Puget Sound to camp out on Blake Island, a marine state park accessible only by private boat. The weather was simply stunning - clear, warm, perfect. This was the first time that I’ve loaded this boat (a Current Designs Gulfstream II) for camping, and I wasn’t sure whether it would hold all the gear I wanted to take. I have two other kayaks that are a little more capacious, but this is the boat I want to paddle in almost all cases. Everything fit fine (lower left), and the boat handled well despite the load. GPS track of the trip across here.
I think we ended up with nearly 30 in our group at the camp area. We all came from different directions around the Sound, so we didn’t all arrive in one ravening horde. A puzzling bit: out of all these campers, I don’t believe any two tents were alike. I brought along a brand new tent (lower right) which we’d bought at an auction a couple of months ago. You’d think I’d at least set it up once at home just to see if all the parts were there. But, no, the first time it came out of its bag was right there on the campsite. Happily, it wasn’t dark or rainy or both, and I was able to puzzle out pole insertions, rain fly positioning, etc. (Click photos to enlarge):
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It’s cool to be able to launch from the city, paddle a short 4 1/2 miles and feel like you’ve flown off to paradise. I got way too carried away photographing Mount Rainier, fully visible from the campsite:
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I actually tore my eyes away from Rainier to check out some other sights. There are trails on the island, and it’s about a 3-mile hike to go completely around it. Below are photos of Mount Baker, another volcano north of Seattle near the Canadian border, and a glimpse of the Seattle skyline available on the north side of the island:
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I didn’t carry a stove with me, and had to be content grazing on cold and sorta boring food like salami, string cheese and pretzels. I did stow a bottle of chardonnay to wash them down with, though. Others with more camping experience prepared more scrumptious stuff, including a guy who baked brownies in a little enclosure that sat atop his little stove. And one guy with a double kayak left his wife at home and filled the hatch she would otherwise occupy with a loaded cooler:
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Slide show with more pics here.
Great photos Phil. Looks like a great time was had by all. I’m glad you got your priorities right - wine but cold food. Not having to cook also gave you more time to enjoy the wine too. Sounds like win-win to me!
Thanks, Sue! I sort of agree with you, especially since you can slink around the campground looking forlorn, and folks will offer you wonderful stuff to eat.
I once had a little oven-top thing that fit over my Coleman stove. I used it quite a bit when I was living on land my boyfriend and I bought in 1973 in southern Oregon. I baked pies in that thing. I think these days, though, I’d go for cold food and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Beautiful photos of a stunning place, Phil.
Looks like a popular spot a favorite activity up there! The photos are wonderful, especially that shot of Rainier with the sailboats. What a fun time you had - do you sleep on a thin pad or are you at the point where only a thick air mattress will do the trick? I love camping - my back does not. thanks for sharing this great adventure - had fun imagining that I was right along with you!
The pictures are all so Beautiful. We are all ready to start camping, although, I have to say it is a Tradition for us to put the tent up in the dark in front of the Truck headlights
Robin - there seems to be a consensus developing that the space that a stove would take up in my cargo hatch would be better filled with another wine bottle.
Tara - I carry a Thermarest, about an inch thick, inflatable. Awfully comfy, and, rolled up & deflated, doesn’t take up much room. Perhaps you should try a hammock. There were some Boy Krauts camped on the island, and one of their leaders had one - they’re enclosed, and even come with a rain fly.
Ms. Lea - I think you forgot “in the pouring rain”.
Looks like a fabulous outing–great to have a world-class vacation spot in your backyard. I LOVED the image with sailboats with spinakers flying in foreground and Mt. Ranier in background. I could almost feel the motion of the boats. And the mountain floating in the background seemed like a mirage. Extraordinary capture!