Pacific Northwest 2002

July 25, 2002 to August 4, 2002

Olympic Peninsula, Victoria, San Juan Islands

This was a solo tour of the Olympic peninsula, Victoria, and San Juan Islands. The objective was to visit interesting sites rather than pedal a long distance.

12 days, 431 road miles (690 km), 6 ferries. Start/finish at SeaTac airport.

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I have scans of the 35mm negatives, so here's a mini-journal for the tour.
I pedaled from SeaTac airport to downtown Seattle and took a ferry to Southworth on Bainbridge island. I pedaled across the island to connect to Hood Canal, an inland waterway that connects to the east side of the Olympic Peninsula.

On the east side of the Olympic peninsula I detoured far up the Skokomish river to hike the Staircase trail. The river is the staircase.

Staircase trail on the "dry" southeast side of the Olympic mountains.

My second big detour was Hurricane Ridge road south of Port Angeles, the main attraction in Olympic National Park. I pedaled to the campground at 1800 feet elevation. From there I did a day trip on the unloaded bike to 5242-foot Hurricane Ridge.

View of the high Olympic mountains from Hurricane Ridge.

Then I hiked even higher on the Hurricane Hill trail. Visibility was less than perfect but I remember it vividly. Hurricane Hill has a view of the high Olympic mountains to the south and Vancouver island in the hazy distance to the north.

The sun came out momentarily for this spectacular view of the Olympic mountains from Hurricane hill.

West of Port Angeles I camped near excellent coastal cliffs and tidepools at Salt Creek County Park.

At Crescent Lake I pedaled the 4 mile Spruce Railroad trail on the north shore and hiked the busy 1 mile trail to Marymere falls on the south shore.

Spruce Railroad trail on the north shore of Crescent lake.

East of Crescent Lake I took a big detour up the Elwha river, climbing 2000 feet to Olympic hot springs. The last 2.5 miles was on a trail with a huge washout. I needed help to lift the bike out of the washout.

I camped 2 nights near the hot spring, giving me a full day to soak at the hot spring and rest at the campsite. I found 8 soaking pools, each with its own source. The uppermost pool is the cleanest and has an adjustable cold flow to moderate the temperature. A good soak, despite the sulfur smell.

After backcountry activities in Olympic National Park I had a sudden change of environment, taking a ferry from sleepy Port Angeles to the Victoria inner harbour. I rolled the bike past immigration and customs with no delay.

The island city of Victoria is smaller than Vancouver but is the provincial capital of British Columbia.

Empress Hotel at the innermost part of Victoria Inner Harbour.

British Columbia parliament building in Victoria.

Hilltop city view. Victoria claims to be the only place in Canada where you can play golf year round.

I took a Victoria Clipper ferry from downtown Victoria to Friday Harbor on San Juan island. My best whale sighting was from that ferry. Then I promptly took a smaller ferry from Friday Harbor to Rosario resort on Orcas Island.

Orca whales from the ferry to San Juan island.

The immigration lady at Friday Harbor gave me a hard time for not carrying my U.S. passport. She knew I had a passport and recently traveled to China. Big Brother knows all, and Victoria Clipper emails a passenger manifest for international ferries.

On Orcas island I camped 2 nights at an awesome walk-in campsite at Doe Bay resort. I did a guided sea kayak tour and pedaled to the summit of 2398-foot Mt. Constitution.

Kayaking the protected waters of east sound, Orcas island.

Summit of Mt. Constitution, Orcas island.

I pedaled the long length of Orcas island to get to the Washington State ferry dock and took the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan island.

Ferry arriving in Friday Harbor, San Juan island.

I pedaled counterclockwise around the island, visiting English Camp, San Juan County Park, and Lime Kiln State Park. I didn't have time to pedal to American Camp. Back in 1859, U.S. and English troops nearly went to war over a dead pig.

English Camp State Park, San Juan Island.

Lime Kiln State Park is a popular whale watching spot.

I ended the tour with an awesome 4 hour Victoria Clipper high speed ferry from San Juan island to downtown Seattle, arriving just before sunset.

I rode this high speed Victoria Clipper catamaran from San Juan Island to downtown Seattle.

Approaching the dock in downtown Seattle.

I hiked a total of 16 miles. Memorable short hikes at The Staircase, Hurricane Hill, Marymere Falls, Olympic Hot Spring, and Salt Creek County Park. Also many miles of walking the streets of Victoria.

The weather was reliably warm and sunny. July is a good month to visit. I camped 9 of 11 nights. Spent 2 nights at a motel in Victoria.

It was my favorite kind of bike tour with a moderate amount of strenuous cycling and many scenic tourist diversions.

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