Hiking the Eagle Cliff Trail on Cypress Island

Hard Charging Mountain Climb

 

 

Near the top of Eagle Cliff

  As the expedition leader aboard the Safari Quest one of my many daily challenges is to find destinations that can offer multiple level s of challenge to the guests. This may be a choice between a kayak and a skiff tour, a beach walk or a long hike, or maybe even a climb up a mountain vs driving up. The more options that guests have for activities means it is easier to self select which group to go out with. One of the great things about the Pacific Northwest itinerary is that every spot we go to gives us multiple options of difficulty level so I can easily personalize the activities for the passengers we have on that week.

Hard Chargers on the Summit

   This week we had a group of hard charging hikers onboard so I searched for a good challenge. It came in the form of a mountain ridge climb on the little known Cypress Island, one of the 172 San Juan Islands. The total hike is only around four miles, but a nice steady uphill leads to one of the most stunning overlooks in the island chain. A 750’ rocky precipice juts out over the Rosario Straight. It is called Eagle Cliff…which it may be called because you look down upon soaring eagles flying over the low lying forest below. 

Didn't even break a sweat

View from the top

  The guests were breathing hard by the end but everyone agreed it was worth every step.  We finished off the experience by cruising on the Quests right under the cliff. It was fun watching all the hard chargers point out the cliff summit to everyone else on board.