hiking – Riveted

Codville Lagoon | BC

Laura Domela — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 17:27:00 +0000

We left Shearwater late yesterday morning and made our way over to Codville Lagoon. As we got just south of Bella Bella, we turned the corner into Lama Passage (I think that’s its name), we were “greeted” by about 75 gill netters with nets strung pretty much the entire width of the channel.

We looked behind us just as another one was setting his net from one side of the channel, across our stern and headed for the other side.

“Quick!! Turn around and get out while we can!!” I said to Kevin, but it was too late (and the other route around and through Gunboat Passage was considerably longer). So we picked our way through the crazy maze of nets and boats…it was complex and intricate, this maze. The boats let their nets out and what you can see on top of the water is a teeny tiny line of white dots (once you’re close enough to see them) and at each end of their net, there’s an orange float.

But there were so many of them, right next to each other, that we had to basically zig zag back and forth across the channel and/or find the end floats that were far enough from shore to squeeze past. It was nuts. We’ve never seen anything like this many boats in such close proximity. The interesting thing was that they were all being so polite and civil to each other on the radio while they jockeyed for their sets…this is NOT how it would have sounded in Alaska. I’m serious. The gill netters we’ve heard on the radio are, well…FAR less polite.

We saw this tug and barge up ahead of us and wondered how the heck they made it through, but it’s more likely that he was through before they started setting nets.

The cruise over to Codville Lagoon was beautiful and uneventful (after we got through the net maze).

We met up with our three new friends on Dawnbreaker (Lars, Thomas, and Urban) and anchored at the head of the lagoon. Their dinghy was on shore at the trailhead so we knew they’d hiked up to the lake already. We did a little work and had a light lunch and then hiked up to the lake after they got back. We made a plan for a co-op happy hour at 6pm on Airship.

The hike to Sagar Lake is not a long hike.

There are wonderful boardwalks built to walk on for most of it, but in some spots, there are stairs made from roots and they’re a little bit of a scramble.

Little frogs along the trail:

Actual stairs in one spot:

The lake was placid and the only sounds were bird sounds and water moving somewhere down the shore (maybe a small waterfall from the hillside). We saw kingfishers, one goose, and an osprey overhead. The beach! A sandy beach!

We heard there were wolves around here, but didn’t see any tracks on the sand (just the tracks of the barefoot sailors…they all went for a swim when they were here).

We headed back to Airship, and about a third of the way down the trail I spotted some fresh wolf tracks. So fresh, that they were filling with water as I got out my camera to take these two photos:

There were some smaller tracks next to them…maybe a wolf pup? Pretty cool. (And now I’ll say that while I was sitting on the beach up at the lake, I had the very distinct feeling of being watched.)

Back to the lagoon, Dawnbreaker and Airship at anchor:

Back at Airship we had snacks and a cocktail on the top deck, and were having such a nice time we invited the guys to stay for dinner. We grilled some halibut and I made some lemon risotto with zucchini. It was a very fun night!

We’re monitoring weather conditions for crossing Cape Caution, and tomorrow looks like it might be good. After tomorrow there look to be a few days of not so good weather. Dawnbreaker is headed down to the Koeye River today. There’s a little cove that looks anchorable in good weather. Their plan is to anchor and take the dinghy on an excursion up the river…word is that there are quite a few grizzlies back in there. We aren’t sure what we’ll do yet. We’ve got some limited internet here in Codville Lagoon so we’re doing some work while we can. We’ll either take our time for a few days, or head down to Fury Cove and get set up to cross Cape Caution tomorrow.

Spencer Spit and Cypress Head

Laura Domela — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 13:26:28 +0000

We spent a few days in Anacortes working on some projects, and then took Airship out for some island time. We spent Saturday night at Spencer Spit State Park on Lopez Island. We left Cap Sante late and arrived at Spencer Spit by about 6:30pm.

Saturday all day it was clear and gorgeous out, but Sunday morning the clouds had rolled in:

On Sunday we popped back over to Cap Sante to pick up a few things and then went over to Cypress Island for the night.

We normally stay at Eagle Harbor on Cypress, but this time we tried the NE cove at Cypress Head and it is lovely!

Looking toward Fidalgo Island, across the little bit of beach that joins Cypress Head to Cypress Island:

We went ashore and hiked around Cypress Head for a while. There are some primo campsites here:

After our hike we went for a little dinghy exploration. Lots of seals and bald eagles around here. We saw a bunch of porpoises yesterday on our way from Lopez Island to Cypress Island, too.

Sunset last night was beautiful and it was so calm in here overnight that it was hard to tell we were on a mooring ball and not in the marina.

This morning we're heading back into Anacortes. The carpet replacement in the stateroom and on the landing outside the head is almost finished…the stairs should be done today and all the trim pieces installed. It's looking SO GOOD! (You can see the last bit of carpet in the upper left corner. I won't be sad to see that go.

Sightseeing at Home

Laura Domela — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 21:31:33 +0000

We had some friends in town a few days ago (hi Sam, Anna, and David!) which as most Portlanders know is a great reason to head out into the Columbia Gorge to get another look at Multnomah Falls:

We took I-84 out of Portland and then exited to take the Old Highway 30 scenic route the rest of the way so we could drive slowly past a number of waterfalls, slot canyons, and viewpoints.

Here's the view from the Vista House, looking east:

Inside the Vista House:

I don't remember which waterfall this was:

My favorite spot out here is Oneonta Gorge: a moss-walled slot canyon where fairies and unicorns live. Later in the summer when it's warmer, you can hike (through water and over a big log jam that wasn't there the first time I came here, but has been the last several times…it's a fun climb-over) all the way to the Oneonta Falls (and if it's really warm, go swimming!). There's no real trail…the river is the trail, so warm weather (or really tall rubber boots) are recommended. We did see a few brave souls wading through in tennies and shorts and no shirts, however, so suit yourself.

Oneonta Gorge Tunnel:

Log jam in Oneonta Gorge:

For a whole lot more photos of this incredible place, check out this link.

After exploring the waterfalls, we stopped at McMenamin's Edgefield to grab a bite and a beer cider (pomegranate cider…so summery!) The weather was gorgeous (as you may have noticed from the above photos) so we sat outside and soaked up the sun.

On Saturday we all went to breakfast over on Mississippi Avenue…a new spot we hadn't tried before called Gravy. Delicious (especially the gravy!). Super fun weekend with super fun friends!

Today we both did rowing workouts in the morning (because, gravy!), and then we headed out to Fisherman's Warehouse to pick up what I'm pretty sure is the Chuck Norris of coolers: the Yeti Tundra 50. We've been using a little Igloo that doesn't keep things cold (or ice ice) for very long, and when it rains, water gets inside. Then we switched to using our shiny metal Coleman that we use with the Airstream, but it's not all stainless steel so a couple of small spots on it are starting to rust. People talk about the Yeti like it's the holy grail of coolers, and so far, it seems to be. For a longer trip (like, Alaska) it's nice to have the extra space for produce and stuff when you need to stock up every couple of weeks.

We're picking up our lithium batteries on Tuesday in Eugene at AM Solar and then will head up to the boat to install them on Wednesday. We've got several more projects we want to finish before heading to Alaska (batteries, removing the last of the carpet and replacing it with Amtico, making sure we have all the spare parts we need, fixing the shower want holder, and oh yeah…attaching our new ring buoy!

This is much cuter than the blue throw cushion, for sure.

Ev Henry Point, Sucia Island

Laura Domela — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 21:29:00 +0000

We cruised the short cruise from Patos Island to Fossil Bay on Sucia Island this morning. (We never saw those Carhartt guys again, by the way.)

It's just us and two sailboats on the mooring balls, and one power boat over at the dock. I can't even imagine this place in the summer, with every mooring ball filled (sometimes with more than one boat each) and every campsite occupied…that place is probably a zoo!

Once moored, we did some work for a bit, had a little lunch, and then went ashore for our favorite Sucia Island activity: hiking.

Fox Cove:

We decided on the hike out/up to Ev Henry Point. This is a gorgeous (short and steep…maybe 2.5 miles?) hike. The last time we hiked up here we surprised a couple of eagles that were in the trees just 20 feet above our heads or so. No eagles this time, but what a beautiful day.

You can see on this map, Ev Henry Point is at the bottom of the map:

Looking back towards Fox Cove:

Ooooh, artsy:

Moss-lined trails:

Nice of this tree to grow a little arch over our path, huh?

The view from Ev Henry Point:

The bark of a madrone tree:

Back at Fossil Bay:

We may stay here another night and do some more hiking tomorrow. Dinner tonight is either going to be chicken curry, or spaghetti squash spaghetti with a bolognese sauce. Haven't decided yet.

Happy Wednesday!

Home, Work, Hike, Work

Laura Domela — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 20:18:23 +0000

We've been quiet and boring, I know. We just left you there with that bread maker thing for a week and a half! Sorry. Here's a photo of the (muddy) hiking trail near our house:

It had been raining for days and days, but we had a nice stretch of a week or so with some dry times so we made sure to do our 3-4 mile hike every day that we could while we were home. We've been working quite a bit, but guess what? We're heading back to the boat tomorrow!

We're taking Airship over to La Conner on Sunday to get some electronics upgrades. Those upgrades will take about a week, and then we've got a guy who is going to replace a couple of the spots where there's carpet with Amtico (the flooring we have in the rest of the boat), and we're going to also talk to him about upgrading the countertops from laminate to Corian or something similar. There will be a night or two where we can't stay on the boat and we contemplated driving up with the Airstream and using the La Conner Marina RV Resort (the Airstream and Airship, together in one place!) but it's a bit too much hassle, so I'll probably just take the boat from Anacortes to LaConner and Kevin will drive the truck and meet me over there so we have a car while we're there, and then we'll get a hotel when we need to. (The doctor today said Kevin can start some weight-bearing things with his right hand, like doing dishes and carrying groceries, so I think grabbing the dock lines for me is totally within his therapy now, too!)

I mentioned that we upgraded Airship's solar system the last time we were in Anacortes, but it was so crappy out that I didn't get many photos (plus, I was doing all the wiring!) so as soon as we get up there and get a few more photos, we'll post about the upgrade. (Also, we're selling the solar kit that we had before, so let me know if you're interested in that and I'll send you the craigslist link…it'd be great on a boat or an RV.)

More boaty fun, comin' up soon!

Hiking to Johnson Point, Sucia Island

Laura Domela — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 21:21:17 +0000

This morning's sunrise (taken from our moorage in Fox Cove, looking toward Fossil Bay) was tough to capture in a photo. The glow coming from behind that forested hill was much cooler in person.

After breakfast and a bunch of work, we dinghied into shore to do some hiking. Sucia Island is one of our favorite hiking destinations in the San Juan Islands.

We headed for Johnson Point today, since we hadn't done this hike in a while. The weather today (again) is sunny and cold and gorgeous. The trail was a little icy and crunchy in spots:

Approaching the point:

Beautiful view from Johnson Point:

Smooth, colorful Madrone trees:

Here's a trail map of Sucia Islands (via Mobile Maplets). We took the trail out to Johnson Point, and then on the way back we took a (maybe non-official, low-tide-only) trail along Snoring Bay and Mud Bay back to the homestead and then joined up with our original trail back across to Fox Cove.

Heading back to Airship to get warm:

I think I'll make a pot of soup for dinner tonight, because….brrrrrrr. The high today was 39F and the low will be 25F. Our heater is working hard out here.

We're not complaining at all though, because this:

And this, 5 minutes later:

Back to Cypress Island for Some Hiking

Laura Domela — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 00:19:00 +0000

Another sunrise. (Yawn. Literally. I just popped out of bed quickly for this one and then climbed right back in! Brrrrr.)

Ewing Cove on Sucia Island:

We left Ewing Cove this morning and headed back over to Eagle Harbor at Cypress Island. We really wanted to do the hike up to Eagle Cliff on Cypress Island (the one we didn't do last week when we were here because we were too busy socializing with friends…that one!)

Nice view of Mt. Baker from our new spot in Eagle Cove:

We dinghied to shore and set off up the hill.

More fungus along the trail!

We have done the hike up to Duck Lake and the Duck Lake loop, and done the up-up-up trail to Reed Lake, but hadn't done the Eagle Cliff trail. This trail came highly recommended by a Riveted reader, so we really wanted to do it before the trail closes in February. (Thanks Glen! Good tip!)

Here's a trail map:

We started at Eagle Harbor (sea level) and hiked up to Eagle Cliff. The hike was beautiful, but nothing super out of the ordinary, as far as hikes go….

…until you get to the end, where the really steep part gets a little steeper. But you know there's gonna be a big payoff, because someone hauled all this wood up here to build this little staircase to help you get to the top….

And pretty soon, this…an almost 360 degree view. Spectacular.

This hike was 4.3 miles round trip from Eagle Harbor, with a 752 feet elevation gain.

And it was frosty up there!

We enjoyed the view for a few minutes, and then trucked back down the hill. It was also frosty down on the beach! This is a piece of driftwood in the shade, covered with frost:

We caught a few Dungeness crabs at Sucia this morning, so we headed back to Airship to clean and cook them up for dinner.

Mount Baker, looking a little more pink after our hike:

Dinner tonight will be crab cakes and a salad. We're heading back to Anacortes tomorrow for a few projects and meetings, and then doing a fun surprise thing for Kevin's birthday this week.

San Juan and Sucia Islands

Laura Domela — Fri, 27 Nov 2015 21:58:46 +0000

Sunrise at Friday Harbor this morning:

We left Indian Cove at Shaw Island yesterday morning and did a little sightseeing and whale watching searching. Sights were beautiful, but no whales. We arrived at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island right around 1pm. We had a Thanksgiving dinner reservation for 3pm at the Coho Restaurant. Last week when we figured out we'd be up here in the islands, I called to see if they had any availability for Thanksgiving. They said they had a waiting list, but that they did have one last table available and it was a table for two at 3pm. We took it, and our 3pm Thanksgiving dinner was delicious! I started out taking photos, but only got as far as the amuse bouche (meaning, I took one photo of the very first thing and then spaced on all the rest…oh well). That first thing was really good though: a deviled egg with smoked salmon on top. Delicious!

The next courses were a sweet potato ravioli with brown butter and sage sauce, and a crab cake with a pomegranate and citrus chutney (they were both great), then a soup and salad (the soup was the winner: a truffled celeriac soup with bacon…delicious), and the entrees were turkey (white and dark meat, perfectly tender and juicy) and pan-seared trout, with sides of cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, and brussels sprouts. (There were two options for each course, so we ordered one of each and tried everything.) Desserts were many, and we chose apple pie and bourbon chocolate pecan pie (the winner). The wine pairings were great and it was a very nice meal.

We got back to the boat and after a while noticed an email from some folks who follow our blog, Chuck and Connie (in Friday Harbor from Bellingham with their Grand Banks). Turns out they were up at the Coho Restaurant for dinner also (with friends Bob and Jill, also from Bellingham and also with a Grand Banks), and were wondering if we were still there at the restaurant. We told them we had done the early shift and were already back at Airship, and invited them to come by the boat after they finished dinner if they wanted. They did, and it was super fun! New boating friends!

The docks were frosty as we headed up to the market this morning for some groceries before heading out:

Bob and Jill and Chuck and Connie had invited us to stay for a second Thanksgiving today (Friday) consisting of Bob's deep fried turkey on the dock, and as seriously tempting as that was, we opted to head over to Sucia today. We were really itching to be out on the water (because it's just so gorgeous out still) and also wanted to get in some hiking. We all exchanged info though so we'll plan another meet up, for sure!

We moored in Fox Cove on Sucia this time, between Sucia Island and Little Sucia Island. We've never moored here before, and figured we could get the sunset and the view through to Fossil Bay from here. It's gorgeous. We put out some crab traps (cuz, you never know) and then dinghied around to Shallow Bay, where we beached the dinghy and then hiked out around Echo Bay.

I know, I've posted many photos of this place in the past, but man it's gorgeous!

There were no boats at all moored in Echo Bay when we started our hike (around 2:30pm).

As we were finishing our hike (around 4) there were two boats. That's it. On a holiday weekend. Where are all the boats, people??

As we came around a bend, I noticed a large blue heron sitting in a tree. I took a quick shot, and then moved quietly along the path to see how close I could get to him before he took off (and made that loud cranky sound they make):

Dinghy ride back to Airship as the sun sets:

Sunset from Fox Cove:

We hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, wherever you are!

Matia Island to Anacortes

Laura Domela — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 12:40:00 +0000

After hiking (and ALL THOSE MUSHROOMS) yesterday morning, we left Matia Island and decided to take our time getting back to Anacortes. We went the long way 'round the west side of Orcas Island. We didn't see any whales, but it was a lovely cruise.

Oh yeah, this was the sky at sunrise Sunday morning at Matia:

Airship, from the hiking trail:

Mount Baker and friends toward the end of the day in Guemes Channel:

Even the refinery looked cool:

As we approached the marina though…that's when the sky went crazy. Such a great sunset!

Here's today's route (32.5 nautical miles):

The Mushrooms of Matia Island

Laura Domela — Sun, 22 Nov 2015 23:08:27 +0000

This post is for my mushroom nerd friends.

We noticed SO MANY mushrooms on our hike yesterday around Matia Island, so on our hike this morning before we left, I decided to take photos of every different kind of mushroom we saw. Here's what I found:

Not all of these are completely and perfectly in focus because…macro shots on the ground with an iPhone. :)

So there you have it. Some of the many mushrooms of Matia Island! (Hi Kerri!)