KAYAKING

Kayak Camping Expedition: Overnight Explorations Tour

What to See: Commonly seen flora and fauna are Bald Eagles, Cormorants, Black Oystercatchers, Pigeon Guillemot, Pacific Harbor Seals, Orcas (Killer Whales), Dall's Porpoises, Great Blue Herons, Ochre Sea Stars, Pacific Madrones, Douglas-firs, forests of Bull Kelp and Eel Grass beds.

Times & Distances
Paddle an average of eight to ten miles during each day, which amounts to about four to five hours on the water. Crystal Seas Kayaking shuttles you from Friday Harbor at 8:30am on the first day of your trip to the launch site and have you back into Friday Harbor by no later than 4:00pm on your last day. Crystal Seas is glad to accommodate any needs that require variation from the normal schedule including any dietary needs or alterations in return times.

Guides
Crystal Seas Kayaking strongly believes that an outstanding guide can make the difference between a good trip and a fabulous trip, therefore they place a lot of emphasis on using the best guides available. Crystal Seas chooses guides who are people persons, friendly, knowledgeable, have a great attitude, are excellent leaders, great teachers and who love what they do.

No Experience Needed
Each tour begins with a thorough safety/kayak lesson to familiarize you with your equipment so that you are adequately prepared for your adventure. This lesson includes paddling technique, sea kayaking safety, loading and unloading of your sea kayak, becoming familiar with safety gear and other helpful and necessary preparation for the expedition.

Small Personal Groups
A great trip involves many factors. One of these is the group size. A smaller group is safer on and off the water, allows for more interactions between the guides and guest and gives guests a chance to know each other. Furthermore, Crystal Seas Kayaking can also adjust and modify the trip to the individual desires and interests of the group, allowing guests to participate in various activities ranging from birding to advanced kayaking to photography. For all these reasons and more, Crystal Seas Kayaking keeps the regularly scheduled multi-day expedition group size to ten guests.

Guide to Guest Ratio
One guide will make your trip great, but two will make it even better. Crystal Seas Kayaking has at least two guides on all multi-day expeditions groups of six or more. This makes trips safer, more intimate and allows guides to offer guests more, such as an evening paddle or hike, additional paddling skill development and more local folklore.

Trip Details

• Ginger soy glazed king salmon served over basmati rice and topped with a fresh mango papaya salsa.
• Provincial butternut squash sweet potato soup seasoned with red pepper and herbs de Provence, and served with garlic dipping bread and sun-dried tomato chicken sausage.
• Ginger Thai peanut sauce blended with fresh broccoli, zucchini, carrots, red bell peppers, mushrooms, and your choice of beef chicken or tofu, served over basmati rice, and garnished with fresh cilantro, bean sprouts, and a squirt of fresh lime.

Day 1:
Paddle along the west side of San Juan Island heading north through an area renowned for orca sightings, towards one of the harbors of Stuart Island. Once you arrive, you can hike among huge Douglas fir trees and Western Cedar trees, along a path leading to an abandoned lighthouse where you can sit on a cliff and watch the sunset as seals, kingfishers, osprey, and blue heron feed on the shallow waters of the bay.

Day 2:
After a delicious breakfast, pack up the gear and head back to San Juan Island following the rocky shoreline in search of harbor seals and eagles. Stop for lunch along a pebbled beach and then arrive to San Juan around 3:30pm.