Santa Cruz Island 2003

Detail
Monday May 26th, 2003
Off the coast of California are the Channel Islands. I had once gone fishing near Anacapa Island with Mike and 1Jim, but never stepped foot onto the soil. Having lived in Santa Barbara six years, and hearing about the Islands from Wedge (who goes there with his Botanist wife), I decided to take the trip.

The best way to get out to the islands for a single day seems to be through Island Packers. The cost for a round trip excursion was $42 with tax and everything included. Island Packers is out of Ventura, so was only a 45 minute drive from home.

I reached Island Packers at the time they told me—45 minutes early—but they didn't let me on the boat until 10 minutes to eight. We left shortly thereafter and were on the island at about 9:30am.

I started hiking shortly after arriving. Having no actual destination and only a vague plan, I followed a group of six people who seemed to have a direction. Eventually I reached a sign pointing out destinations and approximate mileage. I decided to head towards the mountains; apparently the group I had been followed decided to go directly to Smugglers Cove because I didn't see them again until the day was done.

The weather at the point was sunny with occasional clouds caressing the mountain top. It was warm to hot, but there was a breeze conducive to hiking. I continued toward the mountain route.

Eventually I came upon debris from a crashed airplane. I hadn't been expecting it, but knew immediately what it was. I know a guy named Joe who loves this sort of thing, so I took ample pictures, including one of me holding up a rather large chunk. Had I known how heavy and sharp it was before setting my camera timer, I might have opted against picking it up. Too late.

I reached the top around 12:30pm. The clouds had cleared out giving me excellent views. I signed into the logbook and had some lunch. I called my Dad and Wedge at the top—the reception was excellent. Stands to reason since there was a cell repeater right there.

At this point I had a decision to make. Do I continue the route I was already taking and try to do a circuit, or do I go back the way I came? I decided to try the circuit even though I knew I was under a very real time constraint. This route proved rather tricky because of loose ball-bearing rock. I slipped once wiping away some skin and causing a bruise or two. Still, it wasn't all that bad.

Eventually I reached Smugglers Cove where I rested for a bit while taking the "evil wheat" out of my socks. I headed back to Scorpion Cove. At this point I started to get low on water. I had hoped that Smugglers Cove might have a potable water source, but I didn't see one. I conserved my last few swallows for the 3.7 mile hike back to the boat.

I reached the cove two hours early. I considered catching the 4:00 boat back, but it looked quite full, so I headed to the NPS campground to fill up on water. I drank about a liter. Having hiked ten or so miles had taken its toll; I was quite fatigued, so I lay down upon a park bench and dozed a bit.

Turns out the boat was late, so to my two hour wait was added another half hour. Eventually I was on the boat and heading back toward the mainland.

Being Memorial Day weekend, I was a bit apprehensive about the traffic; but it turns out that I was going the "correct" direction to avoid the backlog. And a huge backlog it was. Reaching home, I showered and quickly went to sleep.

See some images of the trip.