This spring flew by. Weeks consumed by running around, computer typing, puke cleaning, class helping, staff supporting, injury dealing, and so on. I could go on as to the many jobs/roles/niches we filled as lead instructors for camp. The weekends were generally filled with decompressing and hanging out with people that we love. A few weekends I got out and did stuff.
James and I early in the season got down to the mainland and paddled the Sauk river. The Sauk is a class three river, consistently more difficult than the sections of the Elwha and Hoh we did the summer before. It was a gray drizzly day and Kelly dropped us off just below a much harder rapid, then she went on a hike, until meeting up with us a couple hours later at a bridge for the take out. The paddle was definitely harder than I had done before, constantly bracing, edging and looking out for the next rock-less avenue. I accidentally capsized three times while trying to eddy out and two of the times easily rolled back up. The third time my boat wouldn't rotate enough to get me set up to roll on my strong side, so I just waited, upside down, floating down a rapid. My boat finally (after what felt like a long time but was probably only a couple of seconds) rotated enough for my paddle to surface and for me to roll up. When I was upright I realize that I was actually sitting on a rock in the middle of the river...a bit disorienting actually.
The second trip I got out on in the spring was a sea paddling trip. Kelly, James, Dom and I drove down to Deer Harbor after work on a Friday and paddled the short distance to Jones Island. We got there late and had to leave early so goodbye Jones (I am kinda tired of that island anyway). The next day we paddled from Jones to Satellite island. Satellite is owned by the YMCA and is nestled in the crescent moon shaped Stuart island. We stayed at Mariner camp on Satellite for two nights. We made a long hike all around the island playing forest/beach bocci ball along the way. We discovered parts of the island that I had never been to before (I visited several times in 06). The next day we paddled to Stuart and hiked out to the light house (one of the most northwestern points in the contiguous U.S.). That evening was riddled with ridiculousness. Excavating missions, eating, fire, more bocci, and watching an Eagle take a massive crap very close to James' tent. Eagles are big, you can only imagine how big their crap is. We set out on our 12-13 mile paddle back to camp on Monday. It was the longest crossing (from Speiden to Orcas) that any of us had ever done and definitely taxed my reserves a bit. Also just the feeling that you aren't going anywhere. The trees on the island you are trying to get to aren't getting any bigger! Are we actually making headway? That was a bit trying in my tired state. But it definitely made me excited about our big inside passage trip next summer.
Near the end of the season I ran the San Juan half-marathon again getting about ten minutes slower than I got three years ago in 07. Not too bad. I trained a bit less this year.
Now the season is over and a lot of people have went their own ways. However quite a few from this season or past seasons are still around either at camp or just on the island. It is definitely a little tight community. I have never been on Orcas in the summer but not be working at camp. It is a strange feeling, but a good feeling. Kelly and I are leading 3-hour kayak tours with Shearwater based out of Eastsound. Our trips go out of Deer Harbor, Rosario, and West beach. The season is having a slow start but as soon and July 4th comes and the weather gets (it's almost July! For real??) then I am sure we will be a' paddling all the time.
We half bought/half work-traded for a geodesic dome (steel tube frame, canvas skin, 16 ft. diameter, 8 ft. tall). We put it up on a little section of property that is just next to Maple Rock Farm. The property is called Ravensong and it is owned by a couple Erin and Michael (who are getting married this week) who have a vision of their ten acres being a collective of like minded individuals sharing the land. They have done beautiful amazing things with the land so far and they seem to be constantly working on it. There is a communal kitchen/common room with electricity and running water, a productive and organized garden, a sauna, a wood stove powered hot tub, a meadow, a pond with a slack-line and a zip-line above it, and beautiful forest. So in the lull before work getting crazy I have been working a bit on Ravensong, hanging out at maple rock, biking around, reading and generally chilling. It looks to be a good summer.
