A beautiful day for my first trip out to San Juan Island!
I got a late start, hopping on the 2:10pm ferry with my bike in Anacortes and hitting Friday Harbor at 3:15pm.
At that point, my phone died, and I no longer had a way to tell the time.
The ride out to American Camp/San Juan Island National Historical Park was pleasant - a fair amount of up-and-down hills, but nothing unbearable.
I stopped by the Visitor Center on my way in to chat with the park ranger, then continued on the path that led past the actual camp and some interesting interpretive signs. I'm normally not much for history, but it was really fascinating.
I finally hit the trailhead, where there were maybe 6 cars. Per the ranger's recommendation, I hit the trail counter-clockwise. Wide open views of the water and sort of grassy balds made the already-easy stroll even more pleasant, and I saw a few deer prancing around on the way.
Long story short, I don't think I quite followed the trail right - it looked as if I had already summited and continued past the peak of Mount Finlayson, but signs kept pointing further to the summit, all the way past the NPS/BLM boundary where I finally stopped, because the NPS map showed the summit far before the boundary line. Perhaps I was just reading the map & signs incorrectly, I'm not sure. I backtracked and took the connector trail, then followed the old service road through the dense forest all the way to Jackle's Lagoon, and then back up to the parking lot. I feel like I might've missed something, but who knows - it was still a great day.
I biked back rather fast, unsure of how much time I had before the last boat for several hours would depart, and eventually found out that I made it back with more than an hour to spare.
Great day on the islands - can't wait to continue this newfound island/bike exploration hobby! ;)
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