Twelve Months: Twenty-four Hikes

I've been contemplating how to motivate myself to increase my hiking mileage.  I've been reading a lot about how public announcements of resolutions make people more likely to follow through with them.  So here it goes:

Over the next twelve months (April 2011 - April 2012), I will hike 24 times.

That's right, my "spring resolution" is to average two hikes every month. Sounds easy enough.

But then, I remember that I also have to supervise homework for two boys, get both of them to and from Scouts in Avalon, nurture my freelance writing career, continue to pursue a part-time job in science, keep healthy food in our house, make sure we have semi-clean clothes to wear, and not let the Catalina dust bury everything we own.  I have help with this stuff, but still.  It's a tough gig.

So wish me luck and stay tuned for MORE HIKING in 2011-12!!

Shout it out: "I AM A DAY HIKER!"

Tom Mangan, of Two-Heel Drive, has a great post affirming the value of day hiking.  Check it out at his blog.

I am a day hiker, not a backpacker. For years, I've thought that "backpacker" is what I should aspire to be.  That is "real" hiking.  But over time, I've come to accept that I'm not going to make the transition from hiker to backpacker.  And I'm good with that.

I'm lucky to be a hiker at all.

Parsons Landing toward Starlight Beach

Date:  23 January 2011

Who hiked:  Hubby and I

Where:  Parsons Landing toward Starlight Beach and back

When: 1120 - 1430

Distance:  5.75 miles (measured on GoogleEarth)

Weather:  sunny and clear, temps in low 70s

View of Parsons Landing from atop the waterfall

On Saturday night, Hubby and I ran into a friend, Mrs. Great Dane, who has a son the same age as Thing1.  She invited both Things to their home (farther out on the west end of Catalina) for Sunday afternoon.  Hubby and I viewed this as a prime opportunity for us to do some hiking together sans Things and took her up on her kind offer.

Sunday morning we motivated the kids to finish their Sunday jobs with the promise of a day with Great Dane boy and their new Great Dane puppy.  It was not a tough sell.  We set out for the West End, along the treacherous West End Road, dropped the Things off at Camp Great Dane, then proceeded to the bargate before Parsons Landing.  Our plan was to hike along the Trans Catalina Trail (TCT) between Parsons Landing and Starlight Beach.  We didn't intend to reach Starlight, though we were curious to see how far we could get before we needed to turn back. 

The trail was very nice, with steep uphill portions at the beginning (and even some switchbacks!) that flatten out after rounding Stony Point.  From here, the trail follows the eastern edge of Catalina with lovely views of the water and the western end of the island. 

Lemonade berry flowers

It is a beautiful time on the island, with lemonadeberry in bloom and toyon in fruit.  There are some wildflowers, but not many yet.

I have blogged about Parsons Landing before and won't belabor that portion of the hike here.  We hiked on the road, taking the fork that leads uphill (away from the beach).  In about 0.6 mi, we reached the Trans Catalina Trail (TCT).  After about 0.4 mi, the trail snakes up the face of the hill and leads to the top of a seasonal waterfall in about 0.5 mi.  The creek bed is a good place to look for amethysts and I found a nice one.  From the top of the waterfall, it's only about 0.2 mi to Stony Point, where the trail flattens out.

View of Black Point from our lunch stop

After Stony Point there are only occasional climbs, most of the walking is nice and flat.  And lovely.  We found a picturesque place for lunch and took a breather.  Then we continued until we were above Black Point (about a mile from Stony Point) where we turned around and retraced our steps.

On our return, we decided to take a side trail that forked off the main trail just beyond the seasonal waterfall.  The trail was obviously less used -- shrubs encroached on the path and grass grew at our feet.  We followed this footpath for about 0.2 mi to a makeshift bridge crossing a stream (complete with running water), and then the trail led us downhill.  There were old timbers of a hunting lodge here, which had been used by pig hunters during the boar eradication program of the 1990s.  

We picked up the road again a short while later, and crossed the TCT in about a quarter mile to continue to the beach at Parsons Landing (a distance of about 0.4 miles).  After a brief stop in the port-a-potty, we walked back to the road via the trail between Parsons Landing (about 0.5 mi) and the road that we had used on our previous hike here.

We are looking forward to hiking this with the Things -- they will really like the flat bits.  Perhaps for an overnight to Starlight Beach?

Birds:  Catalina quail (large coveys), Northern ravens, Red-tailed hawk, Western gulls, Orange-crowned warblers (heard), Spotted towhees (heard), Bewicks wren (heard)

Getting Around

One of the challenges to hiking on Catalina is getting to the trails.  We are lucky that we have a vehicle to get around, but visitors and many residents don't.  There are a number of ways to get to trailheads even if you don't have your own transportation.

Gear Hauls

One option for campers is to hike to their campsite (e.g. Little Harbor or Black Jack Campgrounds) and have their gear taken to their campsite by truck.  Two Harbors Enterprises offer a gear haul to West End campgrounds (call Visitor Services at 310-510-4205) and Catalina Transportation Services offers gear hauls from Avalon (see below for contact information).  This is a useful option to consider as many trailheads are relatively close to both campgrounds.

I often see folks hiking on the road between Two Harbors and Little Harbor.  Why????  The Trans-Catalina Trail goes between the two and provides you with lovely views and NO traffic!  I strongly recommend that you seek out trails between sites rather than rely on the roads.

Bring your bike

You could use a bike to get around the island.  Only mountain bikes are allowed -- and given the condition of the roads, you wouldn't want to bring a road bike.  You can bring it on the ferry, but you need to make a special reservation for it (bike information is available from the Catalina Express or Catalina Flyer websites).  There is a nominal fee.  You should obtain a bicycle permit once you reach the island, either at Visitor Services in Two Harbors, at the Airport-in-the-Sky, or at the Catalina Conservancy office in Avalon.  Bike riding on the island is its own special challenge, given that the roads are rough and very hilly, but it will help you get from place to place in less time!

Hire a Taxi

Catalina Transportation Services (310-510-0342) has taxis that can take you from Avalon to anywhere you'd like to go on the island.  It's not cheap, but you can go directly to your desired trailhead! They also provide a gear haul for hikers hiking the Trans-Catalina Trail -- you can hike with only your day pack!


Ride a bus

There is limited public transportation on the island.  It is best to make a reservation in advance; the buses might not run if nobody has made reservations for that particular trip.  You need to be at the bus stop at least 15 minutes in advance of your departure time.

The Wildlands Express runs between Avalon and the Airport-in-the-Sky.  You can buy tickets after you arrive or in advance by calling 310-510-0143.  Ticket kiosks are at the tour plaza or at the ferry terminal. The Express departs from the tour plaza on Catalina Avenue; be sure to let the driver know if you want to be dropped off at the trailhead for Black Jack Campground.

On the West End of the island, the Catalina Safari Bus runs between Two Harbors and the Airport.  The bus will stop in Little Harbor on the way to the Airport.  You should check in at Visitor Services and pick up the bus at the edge of "downtown" near the public bathrooms.

You can combine travel on both to get between Two Harbors and Avalon via the Airport.  Unfortunately, that means that you cannot get to the Middle Ranch area on public transportation.

Use a shoreboat

In Avalon, you can call for a shoreboat at 310-510-0409.  They provide transportation between Avalon Harbor and nearby coves, with service to White's Landing in the summer.  Most trailheads on the East End of the island depart from the city of Avalon, so most hikers wouldn't need a shoreboat at this end of the island.

On the West End, shoreboats can help you get to a distant trailhead quickly.  Shoreboats operate between Isthmus Cove and nearby coves, including year-round service to Fourth of July Cove and Cherry Cove.  In summer, they also provide service to Howland's Landing and Emerald Bay.  You can call the Harbor Department (310-510-4253) or stop by their office on the pier to ask about shoreboat availability.

Shoreboats have room for gear, though you should try to pack fairly lightly.  I've seen campers who appear to have brought everything they own with them.  Not enough room in a shoreboat for all of that!

Important contact information:

Two Harbors Visitor Services:  310-510-4205
Catalina Conservancy Visitor Services: 310-510-2595 x100

All the hikes

Map of Catalina with All the Hikes included...

Next hikes?  Probably Silver Peak area (on West End of island) and some hikes on East End (Lone Tree?)

Bullrush Canyon

Date:  28 August 2010

Who hiked:  Me, Hubby, Things 1 and 2

Where:  Middle Ranch - Bullrush Canyon - Salta Verde and back

When: 1005 - 1630

Distance:  10.7 miles (measured on GPS)

Weather:  sunny and clear

The bison is sad because he can't fit on the swing

This was a heck of a hike!  I've had my eye on it for some time now, and decided that this was the weekend.  We camped at Little Harbor on Friday night, ate breakfast (pancakes) in our little camper, and then drove to Middle Ranch, and parked our car near the horse stables.  We eyed a bison who was lounging near the play area.  Daniel and Zachary re-introduced us to all the horses (they do this every time we go to Middle Ranch) and we walked up past Thompson's Reservoir (see hike to Hacking Tower Ridge Road from last month!).

View of Thompson Reservoir

We climbed the hill to the crest behind the Reservoir in about 15 minutes and took the fork to the left (Bullrush Canyon Road) rather than to the right (Hacking Tower Ridge Road).  The trail took us down a steep hill into Bullrush Canyon.  The hike from the bottom was lovely -- flat and shaded here and there by oak trees. 

Shortly (about 50 minutes after starting down into the Canyon) we reached the Salta Verde Cut-off and turned to head up to the top of the adjacent ridge.  The trail was steep in places, but never for very long -- so while I was tired by the time I reached the top, I never experienced the desperation that I feel on other inclines on Catalina (see Godhilla entry).  

Thing 2 on the other hand was incensed that he was being asked to endure said climb, which he made abundantly clear by (1) complaining, (2) whining, (3) sitting and refusing to continue, and (4) throwing his backpack. As a result of the last antic, his can of Squirt soda (a treat for his lunch) was pierced and spewed soda inside his backpack.  Thus, throwing his backpack served only to make him angrier, soak his hat and his bag of goldfish crackers, and irritate his mother, whose patience was growing thin.  By then we were nearly to the top, however, and we decided to stop and eat lunch.

We had lunch under the shade of an oak tree and thirty minutes later both Things were fortified and cheered by the food and the sugar (remember the sodas); our next section of hiking was almost complaint-free.

But, you see, we had purposefully NOT told either Thing how long this hike was for fear of a preemptive mutiny.  Soon, the questions started...  "How long is this hike?"  "How much farther do we have to go?"  "When will we get back to our campsite?"  We deflected the questions with vague assessments of our progress, when the truth was that we had no idea how much longer we would be hiking...

Things 1 and 2 on the Salta Verde Ridge Road

Five minutes after our lunch break has ended, we reached the intersection of the Salta Verde Cut-off and the Salta Verde Ridge Road, which follows a ridge top along the windward side of the island.  The views from here were stunning, but the trail (as trails on Catalina do) wound up and down along the ridge, with some really steep uphill portions and some equally steep downhill portions.  The road had recently been "groomed" by a bulldozer, which meant that there was more than the usual supply of loose rocks on the trail.  Places that lacked rock had thick layers of powdery dirt, which billowed up from our feet to coat our legs.  Slipping hazards, to be sure, and nearly all of us had close-calls with stumbles, trips, and slides.

By now we were all tired.  Really tired.  Thing 2 was hanging by a thread.  Several times we left him sitting in the middle of the road, refusing to hike any more, only to have him catch up to us as we waited for him around the next bend (or over the next hill).  He kept insisting that he wished to be "teleported" back to the truck, which didn't happen as we were not living the Star Trek dream.  Thing 1 is a better hiker than Thing 2, mainly because he's older and stronger, but he occasionally lapsed into self-pity and whining.  He managed to pull himself out of it though when we pointed out that (a) we were tired too and (b) the only way to get back to the car was to walk there.

Bison rolling and scratching at the bulldozer

We ran into a herd of bison -- about 15 of them, rolling in the dust and scratching themselves on the parked bulldozer.  Thing 2 is very unwilling to get near to a bison, which is a good thing in the larger scheme of things.  But it can make it difficult when we have to actually go around one.  He screwed up the courage to hold Hubby's hand and skirted the herd on the far side of the road.  They were completely uninterested in us, other than to have us get out of their way -- they wanted to go up the road that we were coming down.

Boys at Valley of the Moons

Soon, we saw where we were to re-enter Bullrush Canyon.  It's called Valley of the Moons, I assume because it looks like a moonscape:  eroded earth, little vegetation.  I think it looks more like the desert scenes from "Planet of the Apes".  We finally reached it (4.5 hours after we started the hike) and both Things took to racing across the moonscape, laughing and chasing each other.  So much for severe fatigue, sore legs, and no energy, eh?

Thing 2 takes a break.  Can he get any dirtier?

Now we were back in Bullrush Canyon -- mostly flat, mostly shady, and a much more pleasant walk.  But by this time, we've hiked farther than we ever have before -- probably about 7 miles.  The most either Thing had ever done before was about 6 miles.  Now Hubby and I resorted to the brutal truth:  we have about two more hours to hike.  I must say that both Things took the news well.

But now I was hurting:  my thighs, my knees, and my feet.  Hubby was hurting, especially his knee.  Thing 1 complained about his feet hurting and Thing 2 was sure that his ankles were going to fall off.

Before we knew it (an hour later in real time), we were back to where the Salta Verde Cut-off trail snakes up the hill, then back to the steep hill up to the crest above the Reservoir, and then hobbling our way down the hill to the Reservoir.  Thing 2 has hit his fourth(?) wind by then and was running ahead to the gate that separates the Reservoir from the paddocks at Middle Ranch.  By 4:30 PM we were back in our car.

Hubby and I spent the rest of the evening feeling really old and creaky.  We have got to get out and do this more often -- but maybe not 11 miles at a time.  At least for now.

Birds seen:  Loggerhead shrike, Northern flicker, California quail, Mourning dove, Barn swallow, American coot, Acorn woodpecker, Northern mockingbird, American kestrel, Northern raven, Spotted towhee, Allen's hummingbird, Song sparrow, Bewick's wren, Horned lark, House finch

 Bullrush Canyon/Salta Verde Ridge Road hike

Zoom view of hike route

Other web sources about hiking Catalina

I've been looking for other web info about hiking on Catalina.  There's not a lot out there, but I did find some reviews of the Trans-Catalina Trail on yelp...  And here's a picture of Shark Harbor from the Shark Harbor Overlook.  ENJOY.