Campsite Review: When exploring the San Juan Islands in North Eastern Washington I suggest you definitely take a moment to visit Deception Pass State Park where camping might seem a little pricey, but your park admission is included in the cost of the campsite. This is a great location to start of your trip if your spending time up in the North Eastern portion of Washington. This campground is composed of several different loops with setups on both sides of the pass for every type of adventurer. There are over 300 different campsites and several that are hike/bike in only, as well as your standard drive up and RV. These sites are spread into different areas of the park, and we stayed in one of the lower loops of the Cranberry Lake campground where many of the sites have open drive ways, but then are really set into the old growth trees. Ours was a drive in which was a little uphill and then set back into the underbrush so you were nicely separated from your surroundings and felt pretty immersed in the forest. You get a decent flat area for your tent(s) with a standard picnic table, and fire ring. We checked in a bit later than expected and were in need of a shower. Thankfully there are pretty decent showers at this campground, though some restrooms were much nicer than others. Make sure to check out a couple before you decide which one to use. We found that the ADA showers were much cleaner and nicer than the regular shower by our site (#172). In order to use the pay showers you have to use a token (2 for a dollar) instead of quarters or dollar bills like most other places. You can get the tokens from the rangers or they have some vending machines on the side of the little camp check in area. There are plenty of excellent hikes you can access throughout the park and watching the fog roll in and out can be pretty awesome.

The one thing that you’ll probably read over and over again is about the jets from the nearby base…. Yes, there are jets and yes, they are loud, very loud. Bring ear plugs. Even if you’re a heavy sleeper, the way the noise bounces around through the valley makes them extremely loud. You never know how late they’ll hang around so just be prepared. They stopped fairly early (around 9:30pm) when we visited, but the flyover time seems variable.

Amenities: standard picnic tables, fire rings, flush toilets, potable water, & Pay Shower Prohibited: pets off-leash

Nearby Hikes: Goose Rock trail and Deception Pass Bridge and Beach Trail

We used this campground to not only hike around and explore the park, but also as a jumping off point to kayak around the island (where we picked up a hitch hiking baby harbor seal) and to head out on some whale watching trips. This is a really incredible area with lots to explore.

Gear Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt I sometimes get the opportunity to test out products and what kept me warm as explored the northern waterways was the Coldpruf Zephyr crew top and pants. Coldpruf has designed their clothing to own the cold and yes, they do. I was kept quite warm with these base layers on. The only drawback I had with this gear was the length of the pants, not in the legs, but in the back rise… While they fit perfectly in the waist and leg length was perfect, the pants still came a up a little short in the back and I could not pull them up and prevent plumber’s crack while wearing them. I have other pairs of ColdPruf base layers which fit perfectly but these pants just came up a little short…Some of the features that I did like about this specific design was:

• How lightweight, and unrestrictive the top felt. Really strong sturdy seams and didn’t mess with my mobility as I was paddling the kayak.
• A really breathable base layer with the vented mesh underarm sections. This is usually a breaking point in wearing a base layer when doing activity as you can’t cool off the areas you need to while still staying warm.
• I really liked the length of the top, this really helped to sort of counter the shortness of the pants.
• The stretch of the material in both the pants and crew top were great for hiking and kayaking.
• Designed and Knit in the USA!! Awesome.

I give the ColdprufZephyr crew top and pants 4/5 Stars!