Trans Catalina Trail
Day 1 - March 22, 2022
Avalon to Blackjack Campground
We stayed the night at a hotel in Avalon so we could be up early this morning. We packed up our bags, checked out, and grabbed coffee and breakfast at a little cafe called the Catalina Cookie Company.
After breakfast we walked to the Catalina Island Conservancy where the trail officially starts and a kind stranger took our photo in front of it.
The beginning of the trail takes you directly inland through Avalon and along a golf course until you reach a campground at mile 1 called Hermit’s Gulch. From there you start climbing for about 4 miles. There was no shade and it was really hot once you left the ocean breeze behind.
We stopped to take a lot of breaks and drink a lot of water in any patch of shade we could find (there weren’t very many). Up near the top of the peak there was a really good view all the way down into Avalon and you could even see the cruise ship that was parked in the bay for the day.
There were 3 different shade structures dotted along the trail for the day. We took time to stop at all of them and rest. There was also a small empty park that we paused at to use the facilities and refill our water bottles. It wound up being around an 11 mile hike for the day. We walked for a little over 8 hours and got into camp around 5PM.
The trail itself was really pretty after the initial big climb everything was relatively green and we mostly followed ridgelines that gave us pretty views of the ocean. It stayed really hot until the moment the sun went down. Sasha and I were very happy to lay down and get cozy in our tent and selpt very soundly until about 2AM when we could hear a bison walking through the camp. Luckily he didn’t step on our tent and just kept on his way to the watering hole to the north.
Day 2 - March 23, 2022
Blackjack to Little Harbor
I had set my alarm for 6AM in the hopes that we could get packed up quickly and out on the trail before it got too hot. Sadly we were all a little slow to get moving this morning and we didn’t leave camp until about 8:45. Our first stop was at the Airport in the Sky so that we could have second breakfast. We made it there around 10AM and I was so hungry from walking so far the day before that I ordered a cheeseburger and at the whole thing. After eating we all used their running water to brush our teeth and one of the very kind employees refilled our water with ice cold water. We weren’t on the trail for very long when we finally got our first bison sighting! Thankfully they were a very safe distance away and not travelling in our direction.
The trail today didn’t have very much of a climb compared to yesterday but it was still about 8 miles to travel. The first section after the bison walked along a wide dirt road so we could make some more brisk progress. After that you were back on a single track trail walking through meadows and up along ridges where you had a 360 view of the island and the ocean on all sides.
As we made our way along the ridge we started to get views all the way down into Little Harbor. Most of the time when you’re hiking or walking to a destination you don’t get to see where it is you’re walking to until you get there. It was a very strange experience to see the harbor WAY off in the distance and know that’s just how far you’re going to be traveling.
The campground at Little Harbor was really nice. You had a clear view of the beautiful cove and easy beach access. Each of the sites could accomodate around 4-8 tents. Our site had 4 picnic tables under a shade structure. These came in handy to lay things out as we all did a little bit of trail laundry; washing up socks and things that had begun to get a little stinky.
Unfortunately, the hike down from the ridge into the campground wound up rubbing a huge blister onto my heel. I drained it and cleaned it up using my first aid kit but it meant I needed to skip putting my feet in the ocean for the time being. I also wound up taking the inserts out of my shoes for the rest of the hike to make more room for my swollen feet. I didn’t realize the heat would make such a big difference to my feet.
Day 3 - March 24, 2022
Little Harbor to Two Harbors
My alarm went off at 6 again and we managed to get breakfast down and gear packed up faster than the previous day. Sandy and Justin are much faster hikers than we are so we left them to catch up with us when they were ready. Lucky for us there was a good amount of foggy marine layer protecting us from the sun and keeping everything cool for about 2 miles while we climbed up and out of camp. We broke through the clouds around 9AM and the views were so stunning.
We hiked up the rest of the very steep ridge to the peak in a sea of clouds. This was probably for the best for Sasha since she’s afraid of heights and it hid some of the steepness from her view. The hike up today was at a much steeper pitch than the hike on day one but thankfully much shorter as well. We took a break at the shade structure on top to rehydrate, snack and take in the views. From this spot we were able to see the lookout point we’d hiked to on the first day, the airport in the sky from the day before, and the peak that we would be climbing up to tomorrow.
Just like the day before, we were able to see Two Harbors long before we ever got to it. I took my time on the descent trying not to irritate my blister any further. I was really surprised to find that the sorest part of my body was my feet. I was fully expecting my shoulders, back, and knees to be quite achey between the backpack and the steep climbs. We made it to Two Harbors without much difficulty but were a little saddened to discover the campground is an additional half mile outside of town with a quarter of it a climb and the other quarter another steep descent.
We were also conflicted about our campsite. It was definitely make for grand photos as it was situated up on a bluff directly overlooking the bay. But this also meant it was very exposed to both the wind and the sun. We had arrived around noon on another hot day which meant a long time of either sitting out in direct sun or hiding in the shade of our tent.
Sasha and I decided to make the best of the sun by doing another round of camp laundry and laying everything out to dry. We also took advantage of the shower. When I say shower I mean a 3 sided little shack no bigger than a porta potty with a shower head in it that only dispenses freezing water. Getting into that was a real rush! But once you got used to it and into a pair of mostly clean clothes it was really refreshing.
After we’d done our camp chores we walked back to town to get the locker combination we would need for our campsite tomorrow and to see what food we could get from the general store. We all wound up sharing two pizzas and a 6-pack of beer which went down really well. After we were well fed we simply took time to rest in chairs in the shade before ultimately heading back to our camp for the evening.
Our campsite had come with a firepit so Sandy and Justin started a fire around sunset and roasted marshmallows to make smores to go along with their dinner. Sasha and I tried to stay up a little later but as soon as the sun went down we were ready to turn in for the day.
Day 4 - March 24, 2022
Two Harbors to Parson’s Landing
Sasha and I were the first ones up again this morning but we had a minor obstacle to conquer in the way of packing. Since our campsite was so exposed and right on the ocean the marine layer had completely soaked the rain fly of our tent on both sides. We had to pack up very carefully so as not to get everything else wet. I moved some items from a stuff sack I was carrying so I could put the wet fly in it and hold it in the outside pocket of my backpack. While it was good my other gear would get wet the soaked rain fly was heavy and we had a big climb to do.
After we’d had breakfast and were all packed we headed out leaving Sandy and Justin to catch up with us again. Sasha and I are so used to the cooler weather that we wanted to take advantage of the cooler cloud cover while we could. The climb was definitely a struggle. We took a lot of breaks at what started to feel like every few feet but we managed to make it up to the top much faster than either of us thought we would.
Up at the top of the peak there was another shade structure and we again found ourselves in a sea of clouds. You could see from one end of the island all the way to the other. It was amazing to look back and think to myself that I walked here! I took the opportunity to lay out our rain fly in the grass to let it dry off a bit while we ate our snacks. Sandy and Justin caught up to us here and took a shorter break leaving us trailing behind them again. They also decided to do an additional climb to the highest peak on this side of Catalina. Sasha and I declined the bonus miles knowing that our descent into camp was going to be VERY steep and time consuming.
We met a group of 4 ladies all in their 60s who were coming up from Parson’s Landing in the direction we were going down. They told us that they had just camped in the site we were heading to and had left a bundle of firewood they didn’t need near the pit and we were welcome to it. We gave them our thanks and then started to make our way down. We both took our time being so careful with our steps that by the time we reached flat ground again it took us a while to re-adjust our walking gait. Parson’s Landing is the only “dry camp”. Which means you need to reserve your water and firewood ahead of time. The park service has lockers set up near the pit toilets with 2 gallons and a bundle of firewood inside which is why we had to get the codes the previous day.
This camp was probably my favorite of the trip. Our site specifically was tucked in its own little alcove set back from the beach. The water was clear blue and there were so many beautiful tumbled stones along the shore. I knew I was going to have to clean and re-dress my blister before bed so I took the opportunity before that to finally soak my feet in the ocean. It was as freezing as I predicted and the perfect thing for sore swollen feet.
We’d arrived at camp earlier than we expected, around noon. So we had ample time to set up our tents, beach comb, and rest. Sandy and Justin had brought two extra meals with them so we all shared those for lunch instead of granola bars (which we were all sick of).
We wound up with 3 bundles of firewood thanks to the addition from the ladies we met and it wound up being perfect. Because we were tucked into an alcove it meant that we lost our sun around 4 while the rest of the beach would have it for another 2 hours and once the sun goes down it’s chilly. We started a fire so that it would be toasty warm by the time the sun set properly. We also made our last camping dinners and ate them in the sun down by the beach. Sasha and I finally climbed into our tent around 7 and realized it was the first evening we weren’t bone tired from hiking all day. Sasha had carried a card game called Fluxx with her in the hopes we’d all play it but so far it had been too windy everywhere for cards out in the open. We played a couple rounds for about an hour until we had both won and then finally went to bed.
Day 5 - March 26, 2022
Parson’s Landing to Two Harbors
We were up early again because today we had 8 miles to cover and we needed to be into town before 1PM to catch a ride back to the mainland with Justin’s brother. Our rain fly was once again soaked but only on the side that faced the beach. I laid it out to try and dry a bit on the rocks while we packed up everything else and ate breakfast and that seemed to help with the worse of it. Today was the first time we put on our packs and they actually seemed “light” compared to every other day. By this time we’d eated our way through all of our meals and most of our snacks. There were still a lot of protien bars we weren’t willing to eat. Sasha and I headed out first since we knew the hike would be mostly flat along the coast we wanted to try to make good time while there was still cloud cover and it wasn’t too hot.
The trail today was really a road walk on a wide dirt road that snaked in and out of coves all along the coast. There were a number of summer camps and boat camps, including a boy scout camp completely swarmed with children. While we were walking rather quickly we had a nice time taking in all of the crystal blue water in each little bay.
We only took one official break, despite my many stops to pee, about 3 miles before we reached Two Harbors. There was a cute little shade structure tucked out on an ocean overlook that you could hike down further to. Sasha and I did do the bonus miles for that and I’m glad we did because the views of the coastline were stunning.
By this point, Sandy and Justin had caught up to us and we all walked the last 3 miles together. We paused for a photo at the final 38 mile marker and then walked the final half mile into town. Once in town, we stopped by the public restroom to clean up a bit and re-don our least stinky clothes before heading to the bar for a celabratory Mai Tai while we waited for Justin’s brother to come take us to his boat.
All in all it was a really great trip and we had a wonderful time.