We had fabulous weather over Thanksgiving this year and decided to work off some turkey and stuffing by hiking. Thing 2 had requested a hike to Ben Weston Beach, so we set off on the Saturday afternoon after Turkey Day.
This hike is an easy out-and-back flat path to one of the loveliest beaches on Catalina.
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| Peek of Ben Weston Beach from the road. The trail follows the canyon floor. (Photo from 2008) |
Date: 26 November 2011
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| Click to enlarge elevation profile |
Route: Ben Weston Trail
Time: late afternoon -- it took about 35 minutes to hike to the beach
Weather: sunny, clear, warm (70s)
Distance: 1.3 mi one-way (measured on GPS)
Elevation Range: coming soon
We have hiked this track before and I won't have a lot to add on this account. The hike is advertised as 1.8 miles on sign at the trail head, but the GPS indicated only 1.3 miles. No wonder it always seemed like we hiked so much faster to Ben Weston than on any other trail!
The island is beginning to green after our fall rains and things are getting very pretty! The toyon is laden with fruit and the grasses are pushing up through the ground. We hung around the beach for about an hour. The boys played with the football (in true Thanksgiving spirit), ran in the surf (Thing 2), and used a kelp stipe as a whip (Thing 1). I spent a lot of time looking at intertidal organisms.
Here are some great pictures of our day...
First, the people:
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| Thing 2 was the only one to get completely wet. |
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| Thing 1 |
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| Hubby |
And now, the intertidal show:
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| There were millions of mole crabs (Emerita analoga) in the sand. Every little ripple = mole crab!
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| Gooseneck barnacles (Pollicipes polymerus) clustered in a crevice. |
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| Intertidal community: chiton, anemones, mussels, and algae |
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| Red coralline algae |
Great invertebrate close-ups, Lori!
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