Results 1 to 5 of 5
  1. #1
    Senior Member Mindwalk's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Bellingham, WA
    Hammock
    WBBB
    Tarp
    Mamajamba Silnylon
    Insulation
    Incubator & Burrow
    Suspension
    Straps
    Posts
    109

    Spencer Spit Trip

    Hello All,

    A buddy and I went out to Lopez Island this week and spent a day, traveling around. It's a great place in the San Juan Islands (WA state) if you are into photography. There are plenty of scenic and some great wildlife shots to be taken. I had to dumb down quite a few of the pictures for this post though. My buddy has one of those fancy cameras that I refuse to understand that takes crazy good pictures. Out of the 32gb that he took, I grabbed 2 good ones to show off. I particularly like the first one: A Bald Eagle taking flight.


    On the the other side of the island (away from Spencer Spit), is Shark Reef Park, a nice gathering place for Harbor Seals.


    For reference, this is where we went. I got this pic from the internet.
    This is Spencer Spit; two sand barges that come together to create lagoon in the center which has become a protected habitat.

    Lopez Island is in the back, followed by Spencer spit, which points out to Frost Island.

    Here is a shot from the point of the spit looking back at Lopez:


    Lopez Island has a lot of fun places to hike around. A car is helpful, but if you are into road hiking, it is only a 12 mile long island, so it really doesn't take too long to get anywhere. There are several state parks to camp at, including Spencer Spit. We had to reserve one in advance. Unfortunately, there is limited amount of good trees to use. I fortunately did find two that worked, but it cut off the parking area for our site. Still, it worked well.

    Here's a pic of my buddy trying out my setup. He is still a ground dweller, even after testing it out. He is 6'2" and over 350 lbs, and even though was comfortable, he needs to sleep on his stomach or he snores louder than thunder, so prefers the ground.


    It was a great day, so I skipped the tarp for the evening. It was quite cloudy by morning, but fortunately, no rain fell.

    Hiking around in the morning though, still gave us some more great pictures:


    The ferry to and from Lopez Island (also having other stops) runs about every 3 or 4 hours. We had no problems getting to the island, but when it was time to leave, we had one of those obvious problems. The 2:35 ferry was full up, leaving us second in the waiting line for the next ferry at 6:15. Instead of traveling around the island more, we decided to just hang out and wait till the next one, to be sure we would be on it.

    About 100 yards and over a hill from the waiting line is a nice outlook at the islands that we waited at. It gave me an excuse to finally set up my Trek Light Double that I got. Gave me a few good hours of reading and a nap. First time I was glad to miss a ferry.



    Overall, a great trip. I still have a lot of pictures to still go through.

    ~Mindwalk

  2. #2
    Senior Member Bubba's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    SW Ontario, Canada
    Hammock
    WBBB 1.7 SL
    Tarp
    WB Superfly
    Insulation
    WB and UGQ
    Suspension
    Whoopies or Straps
    Posts
    7,184
    Images
    248
    Great pics! Love the eagle taking flight. Very majestic.
    Don't let life get in the way of living.

  3. #3
    Senior Member ganon414's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Madison, WI
    Hammock
    DIY Warbird
    Tarp
    Guide Gear 12'x12'
    Insulation
    15* down bag & pad
    Suspension
    whoopies
    Posts
    108
    Awesome pics and report! Thanks for sharing.

    --Tim

  4. #4
    Senior Member mbiraman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    West Kootenays,BC,Canada
    Hammock
    Warbonnet BB DL 1.1 & Lite Owl
    Tarp
    Black MacCat Del.
    Insulation
    Yeti 3,4 & HRQ/HGB
    Suspension
    webbing/whoopie
    Posts
    4,244
    Images
    7
    Great pic of the eagle. A friend of mine lives on Lopez and i was able to visit about ten yrs ago. Great place . In fact the San Juan's are beautiful place. I can't remember the name of it but there's a small bay that sailboats moor(sp) in and when on the beach your surrounded by cliffs and looking out to the ocean MT Baker is dead ahead. Beautiful spot. Glad you had a great time. Thanks for sharing.
    " The mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it."

    “The measure of your life will not be in what you accumulate, but in what you give away.” ~Wayne Dyer

    www.birchsidecustomwoodwork.com

  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Seattle
    Hammock
    Dream Hammock
    Tarp
    HG Cuben Camo
    Insulation
    HG Incubator
    Suspension
    Whoopies
    Posts
    1,408
    Mindwalk,

    Nice trip. Good weather. Always great wildlife up there. I loved going up there when I was younger. Fond memories of snorkeling at Jones Island, dinner at Friday Harbor, biking up Mt. Constitution, sleeping moored at Sucia Island...

    But, I think you're in the best corner of the state. I went to Western and then grad school there. Met my wife up there, Windsurfing in B'ham Bay, mt. bike down to Larabee. I may just retire up there.

  • + New Posts
  • Similar Threads

    1. 4th trip...
      By Brent338 in forum Trip Reports
      Replies: 0
      Last Post: 07-06-2011, 21:40
    2. Trip Report: Mt. Rogers weekend trip
      By Yosef in forum Trip Reports
      Replies: 3
      Last Post: 03-30-2011, 21:52
    3. Trip to RRG in Nov or Dec.
      By Doctari in forum Hangouts, Campouts, and Trip Planning
      Replies: 2
      Last Post: 08-19-2007, 07:45

    Tags for this Thread

    Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •