Hammocks hike to Silver Peak Trail

Thursday, 7 May 2009

Who hiked:  me

Hike route:  Loop up hammock hike from WE Road, cut over to Silver Peak Trail and back down

Time:  9-12

Estimated distance: ? miles

Temp:  mid 70s, sunny, light wind

I headed out from Two Harbors along the West End Road at 0900 -- it's sunny, the sky is blue, and there are almost no clouds in sight and I have to think, "What a great day for a hike."  Along the road, I saw or heard the usual assortment of birds: Northern mockingbirds, western gulls, European starlings, Northern ravens, and orange-crowned warblers.  It's funny how these birds have become part of the background for me.  About five minutes later, I was at the base of the trail that headed up the ridge.  We call this climb "Godhilla".  

I think a word about trails on Catalina is probably appropriate here.  Most trails on the island were not designed for hikers, at least as far as I can tell.  Some are roads (designed for motorized vehicles), some are firebreaks (designed to prevent the spread of wildfires), and the rest are animal tracks ("designed" by deer or bison, mostly).  So "switchback" is not part of the lexicon of any of these trailmakers...  those babies just head UP and don't stop until they get to the top!  While this does make for the shortest distance between the top and the bottom, it is not usually a pleasant situation for the two-legged walker.

Now I've hiked part of this route before (in January -- see the photos on my Facebook page!) and so I knew that the initial uphill part was steep and fairly long.  We don't call it Godhilla for nothing. It was tough for me in January, but I was sure that it would be easier this time.  I was four months farther down the road on my recovery from surgery last October after all.  So I get off the road, and begin to climb.  And climb.  Stop to breathe.  Climb some more.  Pretend I'm looking for interesting rocks while I stop to breathe.  Climb.  At about 0930, I'm almost to the top, but I'm not feeling great.  So much for the sentiment that I'd do better in May than I did in January!  I'm really sweating by this point and decide that I will sit to watch the barge that has come into replenish the goods in the Two Harbors General Store (Food, Souvenirs, Fishing and Boating Supplies, and Booze.  Lots of Booze).  I always assumed that it went to the dock and had the containers taken off with a crane, but apparently they pull up to the beach and offload there.  At least I think so -- there's no activity in the five minutes or so that I sit and watch.  It's hazy today.  I can see the outline of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and the mountains beyond on the mainland, but I can't see much detail.  In the other direction (SW) I can't see San Clemente Island.   Soon I decide that I've rested long enough -- I have a lot of hiking left to do if I'm going to finish my planned route before Thing2 gets out of school.

Ten minutes later, I've almost made it to the summit of the first hill, where there is a trail headed off to the left that goes to the hammocks -- a lovely spot to sit and relax with a great view of the Isthmus and Cat Harbor and the mainland.  But today, my plan is to forge ahead into uncharted (for me) territory -- to climb the rest of the ridge and get to the trail that cuts over to the Silver Peak/Trans-Catalina trail which is on an adjacent ridge.  So I head up the rest of the mountain and find a USGS geodetic marker with a lizard (Uta stansburiana) on top.  Now I can find that (a) I don't really see where I need to go -- makes me a bit nervous and (b) this ridge is not very flat.  Five minutes later I've moved along the ridge and can see San Clemente Island now -- its a long, low hump that rises out of the haze, without a clear beginning or end.  I feel really crappy, but I'm proud of myself -- I'm a long way up from where I started!  On the way, I have heard a spotted towhee singing; the song is similar to the Eastern towhee, but with more intro notes and a trill that is buzzier and less musical.  Seen more orange-crowned warblers in the scrub, barn swallows feeding on the wing overhead, and another spotted towhee scratching under the bushes near the trail -- I even get a glimpse of this one. 

I'm a bit torn at this point.  I've been hiking about an hour and I'm not very far along.  And I don't really know how far or how tough the rest of the hike is.  Will I be able to get back by 12:30?  That's when I need to get Thing2 from kindergarten...  Should I turn around and go back on the hammocks route?  I decide to keep moving -- there will still be time to turn around if I need to.  

About a half-hour later, I'm over the third or so peak on the ridge and I can clearly see the trail that cuts across a saddle to the Silver Peak Trail.  I decide to go for it.  Thankfully the trail skirts the summit of the next peak -- small mercies!  The plants along the hike include the usual:  scrubby oaks, Opuntia, lemonadeberry, and other plants I don't know yet.  There are some lovely small purple primrose-looking plants and some small yellow lily-type plants.  They look like yellow Stars of Bethlehem.

There are lots of Uta up here -- small lizards that live on the ground.  The males have very handsome orange sides.  I don't know if it's the weather or the habitat, but they're everywhere!

By 1045, I've reached the trail that cuts over to the Silver Peak trail.  The trail I'm on makes a T-junction with the trail up from Lion Head.  Going right takes you down to the West End road, at Lion Head, past Cherry Valley.  Going left takes you over to the Silver Peak trail, which is also part of the Trans-Catalina Trail.  I went left; it was deceptively flat-looking from a distance, but up close it was rolling up and down and at that point, I was pretty tired of up.  On this part of the hike, there is actually some shade!  And in the oaks along the trail, I see warblers -- Townsend's warblers and a hermit warblers -- new life-listers for me!  I get great looks at them -- they're beautiful.

By about 1100, I've intersected the Silver Peak trail, then I headed down.  Fairly steep down.  Remember -- no switchbacks.  By this time I'm tired and paying less attention to my surroundings, but I still hear and see mockingbirds, ravens, some swallows, and a few lizards.  By 1120 I'm at a flat section of trail above Wells Beach -- almost there!  And it's flat!  Hallelujah!!  The mockingbirds are in full-force here, flying about and scolding everything that moves.  The flat part ends (sigh), but I reach Wells Beach at the base of the trail around 1135.  The walk home from here is a flat road along Catalina Harbor -- good birdwatching for terns, western gulls, and ravens.  I see house finches in the scrub along the road.  I'm home by five minutes to noon! I even have time for a shower!