7th annual Jones island kayak campout!

Jones Island Easter Campout 2014 from Northwest Adventuring on Vimeo.

What started years ago as an early season, long distance, stormy weekend paddle has turned into our annual Salish Seas pirate tribe's most beloved spring tradition, welcoming longer days full of adventures at sea.

This years forecast of gale winds and rain could not deter 11 friends from embarking from Anacortes, Bellingham and Orcas island 

on 5 to 30 mile/ 50 km paddles and sails each way- through darkness with glowing bioilluminescense seas to strong currents and even stronger winds and big waves to share a weekend of merriment and joy together on a remote island in the San Juan Islands.

Happy Spring Adventuring in the Salish Seas!

La Ruta de Conquistadores

Trading training ultra miles with a paddle back to pedals in recent years refueled a fire within Jim to step up the self-challenging, epic endurance adventure levels a notch through testing himself in new and unusual ways- like racing across foreign countries through extreme conditions!  So in October of 2013 we flew to Costa Rica for the race experience of a lifetime! La Ruta de Conquistadores, dubbed one of the toughest races on earth.

 Read about it here in the Anacortes American
Cyclist follows path of conquistadores in 3-day Costa Rican endurance race - goanacortes: Sports

Tribute to Tahi

Tribute to Tahi from Northwest Adventuring on Vimeo.

In memory of my big brother

Deception Pass Dash 2013

The 8th annual Deception Pass Dash  

Some blamed the brutal cold, 

others said the entry fee was too high, 

while safety concerns with having the race start in the dark in the most turbulent open waters in the Northwest was a deterrent for others not to show up...   

But for 51 hardcore paddle racers 

  

will go down as their race! 

 Kudos to 

all who  

 made the 2013 Deception Pass Dash

 the adventure paddle race of the Northwest!

http://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=16389&did=19040

La Ruta de Conques

Capitol Forest Classic 2013's BEST Pre-Race Meeting EVER!!

Capitol Forest Classic 2013's BEST Pre-Race Meeting EVER!! from Island Paddlers on Vimeo.

Early one Sunday morning an unsuspecting singletracking crowd gathered deep in the woods for the mandatory pre race Super D meeting start of Day 2.... when Race MC Lee Peterson surprised us all with what will go down in history as the MOST EPIC PRE-RACE *RAP* EVER!!:)

~Cheers to Lee and all our friends who make the trails, make the stoke, make the races and make us all Friends of Capitol Forest.

Cold River Fleece Skirt is a MUST HAVE!

 I don't often do product reviews but after the first time trying out this new cold water wardrobe addition I'm in love!! I picked up a Cold River Fleece skirt a few months ago, handmade by Kate, the girlfriend of one of my Stevens Pass coworkers and a professional river-guide herself.  

I finally remembered to throw it into my dry bag last weekend when setting out on an island day paddle. 

Even on a gorgeous 70 degree summer day here in the Pacific Northwest hypothermia can still be a threat when playing on/near our frigid waters.

Especially since our marine and weather conditions can change frequently, as they did on this outing where we encountered strong funneling winds in some channels plus unexpected rains, factors that when combined can chill body core temperatures quickly the longer the exposure.

Every time we got out of the boat I slipped this thick fleece layer on over my wet neoprene paddling shorts and *WALA!* I didn't start going into my usual quick shivers when wet in wind.

For all you fellow adventure-seeking ladies, I can't rave enough about the warmth to weight and packability factor of this cute skirt for sprucing up any outdoor adventure!  Whether it be a paddle, pedal, hike, climb, camp, or even for lounging around the house on a rest day in leggings, pick up a Cold Water Fleece Skirt and stay functionally fashionably warm!

Iron Horse Relay 2013

Iron Horse Relay Highlights 2012 from Island Paddlers on Vimeo.

With spring racing season in full swing and a full summer calendar to look forward to of race weekend getaways, the one we always look forward to the most is almost like our multisport grande finale race of the summer, the Iron Horse Relay.

What started out years ago as Seattle's 100 miles in one day, Mountains to Sound race has evolved in recent years to North Bend's excuse to host an adventure festival with the Iron Horse Relay race leg changing hand off zone and finish line smack dab in the middle of downtown as the ultimate spectator friendly relay race ever!

Nostalgically .3 years ago Jim & I had been training together to do Mountains to Sound and Island Quest adventure races when I hurt my back on a big, ultra paddle training in 2009 and had to have 2 spinal surgeries in a month that basically crippled me for a year....and now after many extra 'peaks & valleys in my training, I'm finally going to be DOING IT!! :)

Backcountry Yodelin

Nestled in the heart of the Central Washington Cascade Mountains

 conveniently accessable for snow-enthusiasts 

just a mile off of highway 2 to the East of Stevens Pass summit,

 lay important pieces of our Pacific Northwest's 
past alpine adventure history.   

Quietly left dormant for decades, 
clues can still be found amongst 

the relics of several old ski lifts left in the

  forested ridge shadows behind the former Yodelin day lodge. 

 Yodelin pioneered as a promising early Cascade ski resort in  

operation with a double chair and rope tow from 1961-1974, 

until a tragic nearby avalanche in 1971 led 
to the eventual closure of the ski area.

Now one can still follow the remnants of Yodelin's old 
cleared ski runs up and down a beautiful ridge, 
winding through scenic snowy alpine diversity. 

Traversing these routes make for great backcountry 
explorations on snow shoes, skis and snow/splitboards.  

The rewarding peaceful panoramic views found 
in the surrounding seas of Cascade mountain 
 peaks and ridges are worth lingering for so be sure to pack a picnic

and refuel in high alpine style

before descending back down 

 

 chasing fresh deep powder tracks or 
following others past packed turns
picking lines through the trees or open meadows...

The endless miles o' smiles possible in this 
winter cross-training workout

will keep you craving
just one more run !!

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!