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Thread: San Juan Recs?

  1. #1
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    San Juan Recs?

    Hey all. I'm headed to a bucket list trip on the San Juans Islands and wondering if anyone has recommended hangs? You don't have to tell you secret spot, just recommendations,

    Also, I know that San Juan County Park doesn't allow hammocks but any other restrictions?

    bonus: i can't find any info about non salt water for filtering on Stuart and Jones Island.

    thanks!

  2. #2
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    Justinae, You might also try your question at Westcoastpaddler.com

    First - are you planning to stay at the JSCP for the night, then leave for Stuart or Jones? Many kayakers prefer to launch/land from RuebenTarte for either Jones or Stuart. There is free parking above that launch area. You drive down a small hill to unload your boat, then drive back up and park it off the road in a pull-out area. There's a portapotty and the lower launch area.
    48° 36.75', 123° 5,90

    The JSCP has a special camping area set aside for those who arrive by boat or bicycle. Last I was there, I didn't see any trees that were big enough or the right distance apart in the main camp area - but there was a "walk-in" area that was closer to the "day parking" at the park's entrance. I never checked that out. That non-vehicle campsite has steps leading down to a small beach. That's another place to look (and not so visible).

    These days I'll be kayaking with a Tensa Solo (eventually a Tensa4). With the Solo, only one "tree" is needed. At a car camping site, a turtledog-type stand would work. In my case, I'd use a Tato stand, if necessary, at the car campsite, and take a Solo stick on the kayak. Maybe I'd use the Solo at the car site too (if there weren't suitable trees). It's new to me yet. Another car site option is a "tent cot" (see Amazon). I've used that before I got the hammock hardware.

    Pre-COVID, there was drinkable (no filtering needed) water from faucets on Jones and Stuart. I'd check with the Park Service now. UL'ers, hide your eyes ... You can carry two or three dromedary bags (about 20 liters - about 44lbs) of water pretty easily with two kayaks).

    Both Stuart and Jones have two camping site choices, a north side, and a south side. With both, the north side site also has a dock for power/sail boats. Some kayakers avoid those options but I've never had a problem.

    Specifically, on Stuart ... You can come in via Reid Harbor and there are two site areas, say the left and right side of the beach. The left side is more traditional but I find it too dark and moist. The right side is more barren; any trees were near a smelly compost toilet. However, there is one spot on, the right side, near the beach that had two good trees. But I prefer the campsite on the north side.

    There's a bluff above the boat dock with a water spigot and compost toilet nearby. There are several tree choices, a picnic table, and grassy ground cover. You can start up the trail that crosses the Island to the Reid Harbor sites and about in the saddle there's a trail to more sites up a hill on your right. Note that if you camp on that north side, the kayak "beach" - rock shelf - is past the boat dock a little way. You can come ashore where the boat dock is, but it's a long gear carry from there. Also ** Very Important ** check your tide tables. At high high tide, the water can come way up.

    You may ask, "Why not put your boat on the other side of that log. If I did, it would block the trail to the campsite on the bluff, and there were others camping there. They left the next day and then I moved the boat behind the log.

    The tide got higher than this - just a few inches from the hull.
    TheTideIsHighButImHoldingOn.jpg

    Camp area at Prevost Harbor on a bluff above boat dock.

    StuartIslandCamp.jpg
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 07-10-2022 at 22:19.
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    Thanks @cougarmeat we're headed out tomorrow and I'm taking this with me. Appreciate the tip!

    We are not camping at JSCP, only camping at Stuart and Jones.

    I'm bringing my Amok so I can be adaptable to hang or sleep on the ground if necessary.

  4. #4
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    I'll be interested in the water situation. Pre-COVID, both Jones and Stuart had working water spigots.

    If you reach Stuart, there are three places to go to "know" the island. There are the two campsites I mentioned on the left and right side at the end of Reid Harbor, there's the site "on the other side" - just as there's a south and north (and WWTA to the west) camp area on Jones - and there's the lighthouse on the west end where you might see an Ocra if you are really lucky.

    BUT MOST IMPORTANT is to get your Stuart Island shirt because you can ONLY get them on Stuart - not bought in stores, not ordered online. You have to earn it by paddling to Stuart. The trail to the lighthouse starts from the camp area on the left side at the end of Reid Harbor. Along that trail, by an old school, you'll find a display of shirts - tee-shirts, hoodies, etc. with Stuart Island graphics. They are hung on a line, in different sizes for you to sample. After you decide on the size and style you want, New shirts in plastic bags are in the trunks. What about money? It's an honor system. You take what you want and in the bag with the shirt is the address where you can send the payment once you get back home.

    Also, if you haven't consulted it, you should visit www.deepzoom.com It provides a chart of the San Juan Islands with a "real-time" adjustable slider that shows you current directions and strengths for a specific date/time. You want to cross the Spieden Channel at current Slack and you want the direction of the prevailing current to be in the direction you want to go. For Example, right now, at 5:10 PM there's a 3.3-knot current flowing east through Spieden Channel. You wouldn't want to be there now - especially if you were trying to go West.

    In the past, I've gone around the back (the north side) of Spieden going to Stuart, and in front (south side) of Spieden on the way back. There's a point, just beyond Johns Island where you can wait for the current slack before crossing back over. Some have found it easier to go straight down the east side of the San Juan Island and then cross directly over to Jones rather than trying to reach it by a straight line angle from Spieden. It's all about the current.

    If you are waiting at that point off Johns Island (across from the island) for the current to change and the tide is going out, you'll want to tie your kayak with a long line to a rock and keep pushing it out with the tide, keeping it floating in shallow water. That tide goes waaaay out. If your boat, loading with gear, gets left on the sand, you are not going to want to carry a loaded boat and you will not want to unload it and make multiple trips across slippery, rock-strewn, yucky, tide bottom.

    In the photo below, my boat was at the shore, I continued to push it out and out and out and out as the tide receded. You can see the boat just at the water's edge in the middle of the picture.

    Waiting for Current.jpg

    Wish you the best with your HAMMOCK expedition. On every trip I've made to Stuart, I slept in a hammock.
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 07-16-2022 at 20:18.
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    Hey @cougarmeat just wanted to follow up and say thanks for the recs. We did end up camping right where you recommended. We had a guide and that's where he took us. We were lucky enough to get the spot that is up and away from the other groups. The hangs were fantastic in my new Amok and we even got to eat fresh crab and dog shark. We also ended up at Jones Island and that hang spot was bucket list level. Definitely headed back to the San Juans.

    cheers and thanks again for the rec!

    68004530791__EAFC63E4-B4A0-4F14-A836-FF128E46BA3F.jpeg
    IMG_6715.jpeg
    IMG_6750.jpeg
    IMG_6814.jpeg
    IMG_6776.jpeg

  6. #6
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    Great to hear. Just got back from circumnavigating Orcas myself and will post photos - maybe in the paddling forum or Tensaoutdoors - because I had to use their Solo "tree" a few times.

    You DID get your Stuart Island shirt - right?
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 08-19-2022 at 12:30.
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    You did the whole island huh. Awesome. Some of those points were no joke with lots of swirling current seams.

    Sadly we didn't get our Stuart Island Ts. We paddled out past the lighthouse but didn't hike out there. Next time!

  8. #8
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    It was an, "Around the Orcas in Eight Days" adventure - leaving from Sunset Beach below the Anacortes County Park to Pelican Beach, Clark Island, Matia Island, Patos Island, Jones Island, Spencer Spit, James Island, and back to Sunset Beach.

    I used the Tensa Solo three times (Pelican Beach, Clark, Spenser Spit). So freeing not to need two good trees. On Pelican Beach I used a worn vertical branch on some driftwood. Photos and descriptions are coming soon in another thread - I don't want to hijack yours.

    Orca CircumNav.jpg
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 08-23-2022 at 13:01.
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    That's a lot of miles! Where are those photos? I'd love to see em.

  10. #10
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    The photos are boring - I'll get better. I posted three in the One Tree Hangs thread in the Camping Sub-Forum. The longest day - and open water exposure - was about 10 nmi. But we planned for an ebb current to push us along. At those distances and in open water environments, you want to plan to go in the direction of the ebb or flood current. I'll get more to posting later today, probably in the Trips area as not everyone has access to the Paddling Sub-forum.
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 08-24-2022 at 14:08.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

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