cycle hiking Orcas Island

Cycle hiking the Islands – trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

I crossed the amazing bridge between Whidbey and Hidalgo worried about my front tire.

After the third time pumping more air I inquired at a general store as to the nearest cycle shop. A gentleman there offered to drive me the 8 miles to Skagit Cycle in Anacortes.

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I don’t trust myself to fix a tire correctly. 😦

Waiting on the next ferry, I cycled up to the Little Cranberry Lake area.

Nice, but from the little I saw, NOT impressed with Anacortes. Too big. Too much traffic. Not much to write home about. But there is a Jack in the Box. 🙂

During the summer it’s a busy ferry over to Orcas.

Hydration is important. 🙂

As is keeping your paniers locked to your bike.

I’d been looking forward to Orcas and – as it turned out – it was my favourite island, so far.

I cycled directly to Eastsound. That’s the main town.

I checked the hostel. It cost US$50 for a dorm bed. I don’t think I’ve ever paid more than $30.

So I cycled on to Moran State Park. Wild camped near the campground.

Stinging nettle was my only gripe. There are a few mosquitoes too.

Moran encompasses over 5,000 acres of various terrain including forests, wetlands, bogs, hills, and lakes. It is the largest public recreation area in the San Juan Islands and the fourth largest state park in the state. …

The park offers 38 miles of hiking trails …

If you go to Orcas for hiking, be sure to find a copy of the free brochure.

Next morning I climbed out of the tent and walked directly on to the Twin Lakes trail via Mountain Lake.

A crew was doing trail construction at Twin Lakes. I had lunch and watched them. Good work.

Returning via a series of cascades, I resolved to return one day to bike these trails. After Sept 15th they are all open to mountain bikes.

Back to the tent to relax. Then on to my next adventure. Cycling to the summit of Mt Constitution.

… the highest point in the San Juan Islands. A stone observation tower patterned after a medieval watch tower stands at the summit. …

I resolved to only go as high as I could make it without getting off the saddle. It’s 5 miles at an average 8 degree slope. Turned out I made it to the top. 🙂 Beautiful vista.

After a steep and fast ride back down the 5 miles I headed on to lovely Doe Bay resort.

I could definitely stay here for a few days. 🙂

But I wanted to stay near Eastsound that evening. I ended up wild camping in an excellent city park called Crescent Beach Preserve. It was close to a superb coffee shop – Enzo’s.

I rode next to Westsound. En route I hiked Turtleback Mountain.

I started at the north trailhead and hiked up to Waldron overlook. The trail is better for mountain biking than hiking, I’d say.

On the return I stopped at North Valley Overlook, a tranquil, rural scene.

And finally all the way to Deer Harbor.

Time to celebrate.

July 19, 2016July 21, 2016

cycle hiking Whidbey Island

Cycle hiking the Islands – trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

I caught the ferry from Port Townsend. Immediately cycled to Ebey’s Landing for the Bluff-Ridge Trail.

I started from the trailhead at the end of Ebey’s Landing Road. Here’s the view looking back to the start.

minimum 3.7 mile loop

This hike is ALL GOOD. The best I’ve found in the islands, so far.

There’s a prairie section leading to the bluff.

Plenty of interesting things to see along the way.

Almost everyone starts along the bluff, returns via the beach trail. But I enjoyed the breeze and vistas so much I decided to stay on the high road both there and back. 🙂

To celebrate the great hike, I stopped in next at Kapaws Iskreme on Front Street in Coupeville.

Coupeville is a nice little tourist town.

Though I’d heard nothing about it I decided to stop in at Dugualla Bay State Park.

Turns out I could have cycled the trail, but instead I hiked it down to the ocean.

The famous State park is Deception Pass. I decided to camp there. Next morning I’d cycle across the bridge to Hidalgo Island.

It was a good spot. I slept in until 7:30am. Enjoyed a pot of coffee. And decided to explore the trails of Deception Pass by bike and on foot.

Unfortunately I’d somehow acquired a slow leak. Adding air only worked for short bursts.

I opted to head for the nearest bike shop. Save Deception Pass for future adventures.

Turns out it’s the most-visited park in Washington with over 2 million visitors / year. I’ll plan to stay for a couple of days next time.

related trip report – Whidbey Island – Ebey’s Landing

July 18, 2016July 17, 2016

West Coast Trail 2016

Our #1 hike in the world.

Click PLAY or watch a recent trip on Vimeo.

(via Backpacker TV)

July 17, 2016July 16, 2016

Ausangate and the Rainbow Mountains, Peru

travel to walk:

The Ausangate circuit is a trek that is relative untouched by the massive tourism industry in Cusco. Because of that, this is one a hike where there is plenty of solitude. On the flip side, it is much tougher as it is about 1 km higher than Cusco with passes that go over 5 km in elevation (16k ft). …

… the trail is not marked and there are no signs to discriminate trails the locals use trail around the mountain. So, map skills, GPS, or a guide is imperative for a trek like this. All of this is pretty manageable for experienced backpackers.

However, we decided to add an additional layer to this already challenging task. There is information out there that the Rainbow Mountains are nearby and provides a side trip possibility. …

Read the entire trip report if you are planning to do this trek yourself one day – Ausangate and the Rainbow Mountains

It’s one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

July 17, 2016July 14, 2016

cycle hiking Mayne Island

Cycle hiking the Gulf Islands – trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Mayne Island is a rustic 21-square-kilometre (8.1 sq mi) island in the southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia. …

… a population of 1071. Mount Parke in the south-central heart of the island is its highest peak at 255 meters (837 feet). …

I arrived early enough on Mayne to do some sightseeing. First stop, historic St. Mary Magdalen, Anglican Church.

Nearby on Georgina Point is the most scenic light station on the island, built 1885.

One species not endangered anywhere. Canadian geese. 🙂

The previous two nights I was hidden away in the trees. But this wild camping tent site was worthy of a photo. Perfect.

I packed up next morning, stashing my panniers in the the trees. And cycled to the most popular hike on the island – Mount Parke.

I did a loop: Haliday Ridge Trail to the (appropriately named) Old Gulch Trail to the Lowland Nature Trail. My best hike in the Gulf islands, so far.

On the Haliday ridge I left a Summit Stone in an Arbutus tree. It seemed appropriate.

A highlight was watching Turkey Vultures pretend to be Bald Eagles.

The vistas are magnificent up here. My best weather, so far.

I was starving by the time I got down off the ridge. Happily Farm Gate Store is located near the trailhead. I had a burrito, coffee and muffin. All unbelievably healthy. 🙂

The rest of the day would be easy.

I peddled on to Campbell Point.

And was quite impressed with the facilities at the Adachi Community Pavilion.

It was here that the Kosumi family lived. Until 1942 when the Canadian government rounded them and all the other Japanese immigrants on the island and moved them to an internment camp. 😦

Today, the Japanese Gardens, located near Dinner Bay, are dedicated to the memory and legacy of the Mayne Island’s Japanese-Canadian community.

Of all the beautiful retirement homes I’ve seen so far, this one caught my eye. Elegant simplicity.

So … in the end I did only the one big hike on Mayne. Island Parks and Recreation does produce a brochure. But most of the other walks are very short.

After all this good weather it began to POUR liquid sunshine while I waited for the ferry to Victoria.

Hmm. What does a cyclist do in the rain?

July 16, 2016July 14, 2016

cycle hiking Pender Island

Cycle hiking the Gulf Islands – trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Pender Island is home to about 2,250 permanent residents …

North Pender and South Pender, which are separated by a narrow canal originally dredged in 1903. In 1955 the islands were connected by a one lane bridge, as it remains today.

I arrived Pender very tired. And worried. My guidebook said it was one of the hilliest islands. A local cautioned me that many of the steep decent had dangerous right angle turns at the bottom.

Arriving we had a bit of excitement. Two bald eagles. They spend a lot of time on this perch.

So far on this trip I’d seen plenty of deer. Quail. Bald eagles. Some sort of mink. Turkey vultures. The largest garter snake of my life. …

I rode directly to the Roe Lake trailhead. Wild camped. Too tired to eat, I watched Game of Thrones on my laptop until tired enough to sleep.

Did not get out of the tent until 8am next morning. That’s sleeping-in for me this summer. I packed up. Then walked to the trail.

It was far better than I had anticipated.

At the start you might expect you could mountain bike that 1.5 km loop. Not so. There are some very rough sections.

Psyching up, I headed (literally) for the hills. But before I got far I happened upon Vanilla Leap Bakery Cafe. One of those west coast hippie establishments enjoyed by all.

Free wifi. Good coffee. I ended up staying perhaps 90 minutes.

THEN I (literally) headed for the hills. And they are rough. I pushed my heavy bike up most of them.

But I managed to cross the waters over to South Pender. I wanted to climb Mt Norman, the highest point on the islands at 244m.

It’s a short, steep slog up to a gorgeous viewpoint.

On the way down I managed to miss a turn, ending up at a different trailhead on Canal Road. Rather than admit my mistake, I walked Canal Road back to my bike. Creating my own loop trail. (Not recommended.) 🙂

Again I needed to psych up for the return to the ferry. On Pender it’s uphill each way.

I should have stashed the bike in the trees and stood by one of the Car Stops. These are official alternatives to hitch hiking on some Gulf Islands.

Rather than a bus, locals are encouraged to stop and give free rides to anyone standing at one of these places. Good idea. At your own risk, of course.

With time to kill before my 4:20 ferry I hung out at Port Browning Marina. Very posh.

On to Mayne Island. 🙂

July 15, 2016August 2, 2019

cycle hiking Galiano Island

Cycle hiking the Gulf Islands – trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Galeano Island is 27.5 km long, 6 km at its widest point, and 1.6 km across at its narrowest point …

… population of 1258 inhabitants. …

Seeing a campground an hour out from the ferry landing at Sturdies Bay, I went to check out Montague Harbour Marine Provincial Park.

Nice setup. But the cost was $25 / site for up to 4 people. I prefer the pricing model $10 / person.

So I turned my bike around and wild camped nearby.

In the morning I packed up early and rode back to the campground to make coffee. There’s a good hike there called the Gray Peninsula Trail. About 2km.

I cycled on to the Pebble Beach hike trailhead. Breakfast was cold pizza on this bench.

You reach the coast at Cable Bay. Then saunter over to Pebble Beach.

On a trail map it looked like I could cycle a mountain bike trail to Laughlin lake, the largest body of water on Galiano. That’s a bit risky on a hybrid bike. Happily, it worked.

Four guys in this boat arrived for a picnic. Boat and kayak are the best ways to get to Dionisio.

I returned via the dead end Bodega Beach Drive seeing only 2 vehicles in 3 hours. An ideal place to cycle.

The best hike on the island was yet to come – Bodega Ridge.

Bodega started much like any other hike, a welcoming soft temperate rain forest trail.

The fun starts when you get up on the ridge. A steep drop with marvellous views.

Galiano was a hard day for me. I could barely keep my eyes open on the ferry to Pender.

I’d like to return one day. Kayak to camp at Dionisio. And climb Mt Galiano, the highest point on the island.

July 11, 2016July 4, 2016

hiking Ilha Grande, Brazil

Ilha Grande … remains largely undeveloped. …

The island, which is 193 km2 (75 sq mi) in area, is now a popular tourist destination that is noted for its scenic beauty, unspoilt tropical beaches, luxuriant vegetation and rugged landscape. The highest point is the 1,031 m (3,383 ft) Pico da Pedra D’Água. …

Ilha Grande is one of the most pristine remnants of Brazil’s Atlantic rainforest making it one of the richest ecosystems in the world. …

Small-scale ecotourism is being encouraged on the island. Although it has no roads and motorised vehicles banned, the island has more than 150 km (93 mi) of hiking trails …

Stingy Nomads circumambulated the island in 5 days.

… In 5 days we saw: many marmoset and howler monkeys, squirrels, one armadillo, many lizards, owls, bats, parrots, vultures, different tropical birds, humming birds, many spiders with their huge webs all over the jungle and butterflies. On the official web page it says you can also see sloths, we weren’t that lucky, and they warn you about poison snakes, we were lucky enough not to see any. …

Ilha Grande, trekking in the paradise

July 8, 2016July 4, 2016

Cape Scott and the North Coast Trail

Cape Scott and the North Coast Trail is the first comprehensive guidebook about one of Vancouver Island’s most iconic destinations. Each year, thousands of backpackers and nature lovers head to the northern limits of Vancouver Island, bound for the jewel of the region: Cape Scott Provincial Park and the recently completed North Coast Trail. …

$26.95 CAD; $26.95 USD

more photos

This part of the world is a fantastic wilderness. But we have serious reservations about the standard route – don’t hike the North Coast Trail