San Juan Islands: day 3. August 22, 2023

Today's plan was to take the ferry to Orcas Island and ride there, on the largest and most mountainous of the San Juan Islands, and then hike up Mount Constitution. HOWEVER, things changed. The ferry ran aground on Orcas Island and is be out of service. We made new plans.

We got in the van and took the ferry to San Juan Island instead. We drove to English Camp and hiked up to the location of the actual camp. The housing there was built on levels--the higher the rank of the soldiers the higher up the mountain his quarters. I'm not sure what happened to the American Camp, but the English Camp became a State Park. The English gardens have been restored, and there are placards telling of the conflict ( the Pig War) and the people who lived here.

We went for another hike, this time up Young's Hill, which was really more of a mountain and gave us wonderful views of San Juan Island and the surrounding waters.

Our guides: Anne and Charley

On the way back down the mountain, I stopped at a small cemetery. There were only six graves there, but they were well documented. 

There was a placard at the cemetery telling about the efforts to revive Garry Oak trees, which are nearly extinct. there were several Garry Oaks there for us to see.

Below you can see Andy on the path from the cemetery back to the main trail. The entire trail was very well maintained. It was a real joy to hike it. After we were all back at the van we went to our lodgings for the next 3 nights: Earthbox Inn.