Timberline Adventures Cycling and Hiking Vacations

Sea-to-Sky Adventure 2010:
The Olympics and Islands of Puget Sound

Dates:
(9 days, 8 nights; Sat-Sun)
July 10-18

Assembly Point: Edmonds, WA
(airline service to Seattle; commercial shuttle or Timberline van shuttle from Seattle prior to tour and from Anacortes to Seattle following tour)

Tour Cost: $3,095
(all lodging, breakfasts and dinners, park entrance fees, ferry tolls, van shuttles, support van, leaders, tour maps & narratives)

Itinerary

   Some of you long-time readers of Timberline catalogs may (or at least should be) wondering after all of these years why our Sea-to-Sky Adventure, by now a Pacific Northwest fixture for us, is never quite the same from year to year. Rather than tap dance around an explanation, the truth is—we love the “Sea-to-Sky” title and just can’t let it go. We may retire past content, or at least tweak it, but if the new itinerary fits, Sea-to-Sky lives on.

    Believe it or not, though, in our latest rendition of Sea-to-Sky, we have crafted an itinerary that will endure for the ages (or, at least for a season or two). In the season ahead, we’ll join the awesome challenge of Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park and the maritime setting of the Olympic Peninsula with the utter leisure of cycling and exploring a collection of islands in Puget Sound.

    Sea-to-Sky 2010 gathers in the harbor village of Edmonds, north of Seattle, where we’ll board the ferry early morning of Day 1 for the short voyage across the Sound to Kingston. We’ll ride from Kingston to the northern shore of the Olympic Peninsula, and on to Sequim. A short side journey from Sequim leads to the scenic Dungeness Spit and an opportunity for a great lunch at Three Crabs. We’ll continue on to Port Angeles along the new off-road Olympic Discovery Trail to the seaside setting of the Bayshore Inn, where we’ll spend the next two nights.

    We’re headed to Olympic National Park on Day 2 and a never-to-be-forgotten cycling adventure to Hurricane Ridge. Without a doubt, the 17-mile climb to the summit rises to epic levels, but the reward is well worth the effort. Hiking opportunities atop the Ridge are irresistible and we’ll at least hike to Hurricane Hill before we descend back to Port Angeles.

    Following our second overnight in Port Angeles, we’ll board the Black Ball Ferry to Victoria early morning of Day 3. We’ll ride north from Victoria to Butchart Gardens and, following our tour of Butchart, ferry to Saltspring Island, the largest and most developed of the Canadian Gulfs, and our home for the next two nights. We’ll explore the island’s many coves, secluded beaches and quaint villages on Day 4 and then set sail for the outer islands early morning of Day 5. We’ll tour Galiano that day, spend the evening in Village Bay and then it’s on to the San Juans on Day 6. We’re headed to lively Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, where we’ll spend our next two nights in the luxurious Friday Harbor Suites.

    Day 7 will be dedicated to a 46-mile grand tour of San Juan Island. We’ll cycle to Roche Harbor in the morning and visit British and American Camps, Lime Kiln and Cattle Point in the course of the day. At Lime Kilm, we’ll hike the short distance to Whale Watchers Point in hopes of catching a glimpse of the magnificent Orca Whales that frequent the waters off the point.

    Following a second night in Friday Harbor, we’ll ferry to Orcas Island and ride from Deer Harbor to Moran State Park and our inevitable encounter with Mt. Constitution. The climb to Constitution’s summit may not rank among the longest ascents in our program; it’s well shy of the 17-mile climb to Hurricane Ridge earlier in the week. But don’t be fooled by distance; Constitution is formidable without a doubt. Know, though, that the spectacular views from it’s summit of the surrounding Gulfs, and the peaks of the Olympics and Cascades are awesome.

    We’ll return to the village of Eastsound for a final night and then ferry to Lopez Island the following morning. In many ways, you likely will feel that we’ve saved the best for last. Lopez’ 36 miles of hilly, traffic-free cycling are a cyclist’s dream—a great finale for Sea-to-Sky 2010. Late that afternoon, we’ll ferry to Anacortes for a van shuttle return to Seattle.

Total Mileage — 336

E-Mail: timber@earthnet.net