Researching and writing Day Hiking: The San Juans and Gulf Islands was fun, exciting, and a lot of hard work. I could not have finished this project without the help and support of many people.
A huge thank you to all of the great people at Mountaineers Books, especially publisher Helen Cherullo, project manager Mary Metz, and editor in chief Kate Rogers, who was patient with all my challenges in putting this book together.
I want to especially acknowledge, once again, my editor Julie Van Pelt. I have worked with her on all of my Day Hiking books, and I feel that we have hiked the state together. Julie’s professionalism and attention to detail (and dealing with all of my dangling modifiers) have greatly contributed to making this book a finer volume.
I could not have hopped twenty-eight islands and researched so many great places without the help of Barbara Marrett of the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau, Cathy Ray and Tessa Humphries of Tourism Victoria, Lana King and Nadine Chodl of Tourism Vancouver Island, Eric Kalnins of BC Ferries, Jesse Keefer, and Bill Eisenhauer. Thank you all.
A big grazie too to the following people for welcoming me aboard their vessels: Beau Brandow, Alan Hobbes Buchanan, Jake Dey, Dick Hobbis, Kurt Irwin, Walter Pfahl, Rey Rubalcava, and Chris and Toi Wright.
Thanks go out to Jack Hartt with Washington State Parks and a huge thank you to Kathleen Foley with the San Juan Preservation Trust for providing me with so much useful background information.
I want to also once again thank God for watching over me while on the trail. And lastly, but most importantly, I want to thank my loving wife, Heather, for supporting me while I worked on yet another guidebook. Thanks for hiking with me too, to some of the special places in this book, and for providing me with more precious memories.
Safety is an important concern in all outdoor activities. No guidebook can alert you to every hazard or anticipate the limitations of every reader. Therefore, the descriptions of roads, trails, routes, and natural features in this book are not representations that a particular place or excursion will be safe for your party. When you follow any of the routes described in this book, you assume responsibility for your own safety. Under normal conditions, such excursions require the usual attention to traffic, road and trail conditions, weather, terrain, the capabilities of your party, and other factors. Because many of the lands in this book are subject to development and/or change of ownership, conditions may have changed since this book was written that make your use of some of these routes unwise. Always check for current conditions, obey posted private property signs, and avoid confrontations with property owners or managers. Keeping informed on current conditions and exercising common sense are the keys to a safe, enjoyable outing.
—Mountaineers Books