TMFL: Trans Catalina Trail

As promised, a long-ish report on quite a long walk we did across an island over a year ago. I suppose that this could be part of the ongoing series of reporting on hiking in the greater LA area, but this 50 (or so) mile hike across Catalina deserves its own entry/meditation. Upon me entering this third decade, back in twenty fifteen, we decided it quite prudent to cross over to Catalina and walk/camp upon her for a few days. This was the inaugural hike with one Anther Kiley (friend of friend that has become Friend since his coastal swap to LA a couple years ago from Providence) and we began the festivities with a very early morning cab ride to Catalina Landing with this weirdness (in the best way. Serious. Do yourself a favor and figure our a way to download it and rest in the dulcet tones of the dude) coming at us from the back of the seat tv.

Blurring in our approach to the landing, pre-dawn

(Part of) our hike/M's finger

Already quite weighted down feeling and we hadn't left Long Beach yet

Our water vessel/gateway to our island home for the next few days

New-sun ripples of engines begun

Th'Queen!

Side view, blasting West

Good morning sun. Our star/life sustainer thru container ships sitting idle (explanation: soon)

Longshoremen were striking something fierce in the port at that point in time (huzzah!), thus leaving millions of dollars of crap from China bobbing out in the waves, in their respective metal boxes.

Anther's mood: always

Bday face

Stoked on gradients and textures

Lil paws!

I think they found a small creature to fret over

Speaking of which, tucked in among the birds below you will find a young Sea Lion. We were quite confused as to why it was hanging out on a rock like that with all that water fowl, and upon our return to the main land we figured out that this lil was part of a larger problem.

Nature Wins!

After landing in Avalon with our full 'n heavy bags, we still had to walk through town, then out of town a little over a mile to get to the Trail head. Below, us three in search of a trail

Which we eventually found

Aaaand then took a break shortly thereafter right beyond that sign. This was the first time M and I (and Anther, I think) had ever embarked on a multi day hike. I learned very quickly (and then repeatedly over the next two days) the value of packing super-light.

We gathered ourselves for the first of many inclines the TCT (no, it was not a coincedince that we chose this trail for my bday hike) had to offer. The views almost eased my overburden of a bag.

Almost

M facing down the rest of the island, bounce-stepping her sleeping bag the entire time

Never seen the other side of the island before, just the Avalon side

Anther's ultra supportive Vans take a rest from supporting him

Merely two or three hours into the hike and completely zorched from the sun and no shade to be found whatsoever. Found this shade patch, though, and rested in its mercy.

Scratched my then-emotions onto a nearby leaf

The interior of the island, opening before us beautifully.

Peaking back at Avalon one last time, all tucked into that cove

Gates opening further into the interior

First buffalo sighting (look closely)

Grass-coolness to ease us in our first, 14 mile day. Anther's face of worry perfectly describes our plight at that point in time. Somewhat in over our heads.

Sun setting upon our first day's struggle, still quite a few miles from our destination

One of the final photos I took that first day. At this point, we switched into survival mode, only thinking of getting to our campground for that night. Anther strode manfully in front of us until we lost him in the distance. As we approached Black Jack Anther bounded up to us sans-pack and then offered to carry my bag the rest of the way into camp. Incredible.

New day, begun. Our tent formation, set up in the exhausted dark of the night before.

Magical mile 14, just outside our camp

First goal of the day: get to the Airport In The Sky. More specifically, the cafe at the Airport. On our way there, we were greeted with the first of many epic vistas of the rest of the island opening before us, like the one below.

Peering out to the island from our mainland home, I always wondered as to what was in the interior of the island. A lot more lush than I was expecting.

We should be so lucky...

Islands in the marine layer

Dispiri Ted Yoga pose

We finally arrived

Future food

Scrambled

Burger'd

Learning of native Tongva

Visualization of the rest of our walk for that day (Airport in the Sky to Little Harbor to Two Harbors)

Airport exit, bellies full and energyladen. Hiking/camping has a way of making even the most mediocre food seem like the best in the world. So, I loved the buffalo scramble, but I don't know if I recommend it or not.

Back at it, making our way to little harbor

Blindsided by the glory of these fellows within an hour of leaving the airport.

Everything we had hoped for (and more). Such a unique/beautiful scene

We walked a big arch around the herd, so as to not spook 'em

And continued our way to Little Harbor basking in Buffalo-stoke

Our second goal of that day came into view at last (Little Harbor)

M showed us her muscles

Then we found this palm-shitter situation in Little Harbor

We swam for awhile, the coolness of the pacific quite the salve for our trail weary joints 'n blisters

We left Little Harbor and continued in pursuit of goal number three of the day: Two Harbors camp site. Our respite at LH was lovely and if we ever do the TCT again, we would love to stay a night at LH. Truly an eden.

Circle of life, on the climb out of Little Harbor

Once we climbed out of Little Harbor, we entered what still reigns in my mind as the best part of the entire hike, the Ridgeline Trail. We climbed and climbed and finally got to a point where we leveled off and had marine layer whisps about us and flowing over the cliffs and hillsides in front of us.

Anther, striving to take it all in, digitally

Parts were a relentless upward slog

But the rewards in marine layer rolling in over the cliff sides and down into the valleys were worth it. The process of exertion and reward through those cloudlands were incredible and nearly impossible to render in ohs and ones in my digital camera.

We still tried, though. Miles upon miles behind us remained for that day's hike

Succulents and wild-flower color blasts greeted us at every turn

Anther's Vans-pain tragicomedy

Twenty three miles done, less than five to go before we slept

Melissa and the Ridgeline trail

Above the cloudline and haggard, indeed

Boys with sore bods, Anther smiling relentlessly

Interstellar Space

The blazing sunset above moved into a more subdued purple twilight. The photo above (and many like it) and the photos below (likewise legion beyond the few posted here) tell part of the story in which the absolute beauty of nature overcame body trauma sustained over the past few days of hiking. Never has the word transcendence been more applicable and I have (and will) apply it to those moments atop an island, bearing witness to nature at her best.

Melissa silhouetted against the glory of it all.

From the photo above and the one below of our campsite in morning light, we went from the highs and beauty (and transcendence) of the Ridgline trail cloud forest into an insane, eternal, knee destroying downward slog into Two Harbors. Absolutely the worst part of this hike, which came right after the absolute best. So it goes. We finally rolled into our campsite well after the sun went down and had just enough energy to set up the tent and crawl into our respective sleeping bags before we passing out to the sound of our drunken Brit neighbors, a few feet away.

Anther's broken body

Willing his legs to work

We hobbled back into town and slid right into the only cafe that exists there. Below you will find Anther stoked to experience a warm meal

And us in the afterglow of said meal. Yet again, don't know if I recommend this place, but at the time, that was one of the best meals I've ever had.

On the way out of town, Pacific shimmer

Melissa globs it on thick, Northern European heritage does little in the way of preparing me for relentless sunshine and the merciful cloud cover was giving way fast.

Art project burn designs for paleface

Melissa and I hike at different paces. Here she is, not wanting me to go ahead of her, as per usual according to my natural gait.

We opted for the flat-ish trail that runs along the Pacific, and many coves like the ones below, instead of with the official TCT ups and downs a little further inland.

This strategy seemed very smart, at first, as we ambled along a lovely, wide and fairly consistently flat surface. As mentioned previously, I tend to walk a bit faster than M and so I gained some distance from her and Anther at some point. I followed the trail where it led, which eventually seemed to be into a dead end at a Boy Scouts camp. I saw no signage and the trail seemed to disappear. I turned around and regrouped with Anther and Melissa after a bit and let them know that we had somehow lost our way and should retrace our steps. This then launched us into a multi-hour search for the right trail that we somehow missed, until we returned to that Boy Scouts camp and Melissa found a sign pointing us in the right direction a hundred feet or less from where I turned us around to search for the "right" trail. Both humbled, embarrassed and relieved, we continued making our way to Parson's Landing for our final night of the hike.

Here is long sought after sign herself

Which lead us into these scenes along the way, reminding me very much of Mendocino county. That end of the island felt completely different than the Avalon side of the island

Parsons dumping

More gallons and firewood waiting for us

Best homestead on the hike

Sea, looking in

We got our tents set up and wanted to hoof it to Starlight Beach (the official terminus of the TCT). Anther got his Vans off and let us know that they were not going back on his feet until the next morning for our hike back to Twin Harbors. We left him in his tent, surrounded by piles of snacks.

We did head out to Starlight Beach after setting up our campsite, but upon finding the sign pointing the way to that terminus of the trail saying four and a half miles to the end (nine more miles before we slept!) instead of two, which we for some reason thought it would say, we cut our losses and headed back to camp and made our only successful fire of the hike.

Victory

Early morning, Two Harbors bound. Couldn't quite get my camera out fast enough, but shortly after this photo and the one below were taken, we got to see an Island fox bounding through the morning dew on the hillside to our right.