3rd annual 'Seas to Slopes' Countdown

Seas to Slopes ~ Adventure Sport Countdown 2011 from Island Paddlers on Vimeo.
 Just ONE MONTH to go until we get our epic New Years Eve adventure countdown on!...a much embraced adreline-inducing, endurance-testing holiday tradition we look forward to beginning every December 31st with some of our most hearty Pacific Northwest multisport endurance friends!  We rise well before dawn to start the beginning of the last day of each year giving it our all while embracing the best of the Northwest with a sunrise 7 mile paddle/row & row around a couple of San Juan islands, followed by a 6 ~12 mile singletrack mountain bike ride along Anacortes Forest land trails, before taking a couple hour rest break (aka drive;) to the Cascade mountains to finish the evening shredding it up on the slopes of Stevens Pass Ski Resort in the heart of the Cascade Mountains- counting down the final hours of the year with endless vertical miles of runs on our snowboards & skis.

*Event history- The idea for this mid-winter, multisport tradition came 3 years ago when I was recovering from multiple spinal surgeries. After a very long year of restless rehabbing while missing out on some of my favorite sports, by New Years Eve I had one major training goal in mind- to get back to carving up mountains on my snowboard. So for some extra sweet motivational rewards we upped the ante of the first time I'd be returning to the slopes by combining it with a sunrise paddle- WHALA!- Seas to Slopes Adventure Countdown was born!

For the 2nd year we increased the challenge and fun by adding a third leg of mountain biking and invited friends to join us. 

And for the 3rd annual Seas to Slopes year, just how big, how far will we go?!...(check back in after New Year's, even we don't know!;)

Muddbunnies

Paddle to Patos

One of our most favorite big ass weekend paddling trips that we try to sneak in at least once a year is a 60 mile/ 100km round trip push from Anacortes to tiny Patos island. 

At the very northern most tip of the San Juan archipelago and the end of the USA lies the ultimate remote rugged Salish Seas island of all to retreat upon.

And so with the stars, moon, tides and weather goddesses aligning in rare harmony for these notoriously disharmonious seas, we eagerly set out on one of the nicest weekends of the summer. 

Leaving Anacortes on a Friday evening with strong full moon flood tides to ride we easily made it from mid Guemes Channel to the north end of Cypress island in under two hours.

Paddling 8 miles the first night we rendezvous at Pelican Beach to camp with a fellow pirate paddling friend who has launched from Bellingham.

Rising early Saturday morning *aka 4am!* to catch the last couple of hours of helpful strong flood currents to travel north, 

our efforts are greatly rewarded....

Spoiled with flat calm pre-dawn seas, vibrant sunrise colors and wildlife sightings such as this young buck sleeping on a tiny ledge of a beach on Orcas island.

In near perfect conditions we arrived 20 miles later at Patos island still in the early morning, allowing plenty of time for beach naps and much to our excitement....

...lighthouse tours! 

*Having visited this tiny gem of an isle many times and read all of the rich local history books including the colorful tales in The Light on the Island

going up to the top of the light tower was an extra special treat!

Sunday morning we enjoyed a 28 mile downwind paddle home using strong ebb currents to give us a helpful boost while navigating the Strait of Georgia and into Bellingham Channel.  

Capitol Forest Classic 2012

Capitol Forest Classic 2012 from Island Paddlers on Vimeo.

If you only attend ONE mountain bike race a year in the Pacific Northwest, this is THE ONE to be at!  For the second year in a row we had a blast ripping it up with 2 days of EPIC singletrack racing at Washington State's ultimate XC and Super D mountain bike festival, The Capitol Forest Classic.

Johnstone Straits 2012

REI PERU 10 day adventure trek

The next time it's a rainy, rest day and you find yourself surfing your Facebook news feed instead of your favorite seas or slopes and come across another one of those teasing, dream trip contest giveaway headlines- I highly recommend taking a few extra minutes with that second cup of coffee to enter it....You just never know, you  may end up winning.

That's exactly how I unexpectedly found myself travelling to PERU a couple of months ago, 

with a million thanks to REI!! 

 In exchange for the time it took to pick out a photo submission of ourselves hiking and a write a hundred word or less essay, 6 of us lucky contest winners received an all expenses paid trip to Peru!!   

Together we embarked on a fully supported, surreal, wonderland high altitude hiking journey, starting near Cusco on REI's 10 day adventure trek to Machu Picchu.  Through the Andes mountains we walked hours a day along ancient Inca trails, bonding with each other and our incredible guides 

as we took in the South American cultures and customs, old and new, 

lush flora, fauna and vibrant flavors every amazing step of the way.  

With World Class lodging and 5 star service as spectacular as Nature's 
impressive 20,000 foot surrounding peaks backdrop.

The Seven Serpents switchbacks sucked the air out of us on the final accent over Salkantay Pass at 15,250 feet, the highest altitude we reached

on our way to catch the sunrise over the Lost City,

as we learned Incan legends of llamas, condors and pumas

while forming friendships that will last a lifetime, 

with many more adventures trips together to come!

A videographer joined us to put the highlights together into a great promo clip for the trip. You can find it on the REI website or view it here

...and just what were those one hundred winning words, 

aka the *$6,000 adventure trip* paragraph-of-a-lifetime you wonder?!...

Some of my fondest memories as a child were the day trips with my family that began with a ferry ride…Eager anticipation would grow within like it now does the hour before a race start. I’d burst through those big old familiar doors, along rickety wooden floors to spend hours exploring every inch of clothing and gear at the only REI store in the whole world!   Gearing up was an early priority. I could paddle a kayak and climb a mountain before I could drive a car.  And now?  My two favorite lifetime adventure companions- my husband and REI!

Encounters with Orca Whales of the PNW

Encounters with Orca Whales of the Pacific Northwest from Island Paddlers on Vimeo.

Here at Island Paddlers a summer in the Pacific Northwest wouldn't be complete without spending some quality time escaping into the ruggedly remote environments of the San Juan and Broughton island archipelagos- ritualized annual expeditioning with our kayak and cameras.  Some years we'll paddle thousands of miles and see not one, while other years lucky timing on island shorelines provide the best viewing perches for exhilarating glimpses of glistening dorsals and bursting exhales. 


For us, nothing in Nature compares to time spent with our favorite sets of North Pacific Ocean resident Orca whales, the Canadian Northern Residents of the isles and channels in British Columbia's Johnstone Straits, and their 'cousins', the three pods of Southern Resident Orca whales of Washington States' San Juan islands.  *The only killer whales listed as an Endangered Species.  
Observing the different distinct behavior traits of these two whale families and the humans who interact with them in their own watery neighborhoods each years satisfies the cultural anthropologist within...  


Take a few minutes and escape with us into this wonderful world of whales- with enchanting wild Orca whale encounters caught on video, kayakers being played with by a pod of curious Northern Resident Orcas in Johnstone Straits and closely passing pods of Endangered Southern Residents along the shores of San Juan island.

*Look and Listen for surprise close ups, roll overs, a spy hop, splashes, squeaks & squeals!