Day one on the Trans Catalina Trail (a 38.5 mile trail on Catalina Island available for hiking, backpacking, and camping with permits available here) had been a struggle for me. My energy was low to start with due to balancing life and several passion projects right up to leaving for the trip and campfoods like ramen and snack bars were not filling me up on day one when I (and the group of friends I was with) hikedv eleven miles the first day.
But what's that up ahead? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No its a restaurant! Ok actually there were birds and planes too. Only a few miles past BlackJack Campground (our home in the first night) you pass Catalina's Airport In The Sky which also happens to have a restaurant (and its really really good too).
Hiker hunger was already hitting hard so I ordered a full breakfast (so good!), a cookie, corn nuts, chips, and a sandwich to-go. Their prices suggest they know they have a captive audience (and its an island so everything is going to be more expensive) but it was worth it! I finally felt full and ready to finish the day strong.
Bonus! They also had this adorable cafe cat who was very friendly and let us get some pets in before settling into their bed in the grass under the shade of a tree.
Our overall mileage for the day was close to eight miles with our destination being Little Harbor Campground. The day was full of beautiful flowers and observations of insects, lichens, and even animal bones.
The fun part about this trip is that I did not plan it and for the first time since I started backpacking I got to be surprised by the campgrounds when I arrived. It was around the time of the photo below that someone said "oh that cove up ahead is the campground" and I for real felt like I was on the equivalent of some reality TV show in those moments when a host reveals some mansion the contestants are going to get to stay in. It was one of the prettiest campgrounds I've ever seen!
We did not get to camp right on the beach (that's night three) but the beach at Little Harbor Campground (pictured below) and its gorgeous sunsets are just a few minutes away from the bluffs where our site was.
There are sites with basically the view pictured above. If that is important to you then best to look up the site numbers and get a reservation as soon as possible. The campground had vault toilets in the center of the campground and port-o-potties up on the bluffs for the slightly further away sites. If you like bathing, there is a kind of beachy- rinse the sand off yourself-kind of shower close to the campsites with the beach views (don't forget to only use biodegradable soap). I opted for just a salt water rinse (don't be fooled by how calm the water looks in my photo, the current was *really* strong even just getting in to our knees). It all felt so luxurious for a backpacking trip!
We all fell into different activities enjoying the late afternoon sun while it lasted. Obviously I had to walk around with my Sony Alpha 600 and take some more photos of plants. Look at those Dudleya in the sunset light! They were blooming all over the cliffside. We reconvened as a group to watch the sunset on top of one of the large rock outcroppings and then made our was back to camp to use up our bundle of firewood we had pre-ordered and had delivered to the campsite (a service the Catalina Conservancy provides when you make your campsite reservation).
Day two was epic and it just kept getting better! Pictured above is our campsite at Little Harbor Campground on the bluffs above the beach at sunrise the next day. Onwards to Parsons Landing!
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