Story:
My girlfriend and I hiked the trans-catalina trail on Christmas weekend. Since this trip is a little difficult logistically and there is not much information available, I'll try to make this description fairly detailed.
Trip Plan:
Day 1 - Hermit Gulch to Blackjack
Day 2 - Blackjack to Two Harbors
Day 3 - Two Harbors to Starlight (the "end"), then back to Parsons Landing
Day 4 - Parsons Landing to Two Harbors to catch the Catalina Express
Day 1
We arrived on a Thursday night and first checked in at the Atwater hotel for our campsite. The hotel prints your camping reservations and hiking permits. We then grabbed some food at a restaraunt and slept at hermit gulch (or at least tried to, our nieghbors were pretty loud). The next day we began the hike from the hermit gulch trailhead. There are two trailheads for trans catalina, one from hermit gulch, the other from the east side of avalon. The hermit gulch one is a coupla miles shorter but a little bit steeper. Since this was a winter hike and we were worried about daylight, we started from hermit gulch trailhead. This also saves a mile of backtracking back to avalon. In hindsite, I wish I went the longer way.
Arrived at blackjack campground early, so took a mile or two detour to walk to the top of blackjack mountain via the dirt road. There is a gated radio station at the top of the mountain. Eventually went back to camp and slept. For some reason that night my tent suddenly became completely soaked in water by 11. There was no rain, everything suddenly just became drenched. Never seen that before.
Overall, Day 1 wasnt too difficult. Then again, I backpack extremely lightweight style and I'm faster than most backpackers.
Day 2
Hiking from blackjack to little harbor wasn't particularly memorable, but I did love the stretch from little harbor to two harbors - very beautiful! Made it to two harbors much earlier than I expected but the extra rest was nice. You check in at the visitor center, and they will give you your permits and a key for the parsons landing water/firewood locker. Ate a Buffalo burger at the restaurant (ask for the bar menu), got some extra food at the general store.
Good views, good food, good work out, so overall a very good day =]
Day 3
The hard day =] We took the tough catalina trail to parsons , opened up our locker and refilled our water. You can't relock the the lockers, fyi. We then head out to starlight beach. I expected this part of the trail to be flat, but there was quite a bit of elevation gain/loss throughout, making it pretty tiring. Made it to starlight beach, a nice blacksand beach with surprisingly aggressive and odd wave patterns. Proposed to girlfriend (now fiancee =) ) then headed back to parsons landing. Parsons is also a really nice secluded beach, but I didn't sleep all that much because the waves were so loud. I guess thats the downside of camping on the beach.
This was a very strenuous day, and I hiked from sun up to sun down. Totally worth it though =D
Day 4
Easy flat hike of about 6.5 miles back to two harbors. Great views as you hike along the coast, even got to see a bald eagle. Made it back to two harbors, had lunch at the snack bar, and headed home on the catalina express.
Overall: Awesome trip!
My girlfriend and I hiked the trans-catalina trail on Christmas weekend. Since this trip is a little difficult logistically and there is not much information available, I'll try to make this description fairly detailed.
Trip Plan:
Day 1 - Hermit Gulch to Blackjack
Day 2 - Blackjack to Two Harbors
Day 3 - Two Harbors to Starlight (the "end"), then back to Parsons Landing
Day 4 - Parsons Landing to Two Harbors to catch the Catalina Express
Day 1
We arrived on a Thursday night and first checked in at the Atwater hotel for our campsite. The hotel prints your camping reservations and hiking permits. We then grabbed some food at a restaraunt and slept at hermit gulch (or at least tried to, our nieghbors were pretty loud). The next day we began the hike from the hermit gulch trailhead. There are two trailheads for trans catalina, one from hermit gulch, the other from the east side of avalon. The hermit gulch one is a coupla miles shorter but a little bit steeper. Since this was a winter hike and we were worried about daylight, we started from hermit gulch trailhead. This also saves a mile of backtracking back to avalon. In hindsite, I wish I went the longer way.
Arrived at blackjack campground early, so took a mile or two detour to walk to the top of blackjack mountain via the dirt road. There is a gated radio station at the top of the mountain. Eventually went back to camp and slept. For some reason that night my tent suddenly became completely soaked in water by 11. There was no rain, everything suddenly just became drenched. Never seen that before.
Overall, Day 1 wasnt too difficult. Then again, I backpack extremely lightweight style and I'm faster than most backpackers.
Day 2
Hiking from blackjack to little harbor wasn't particularly memorable, but I did love the stretch from little harbor to two harbors - very beautiful! Made it to two harbors much earlier than I expected but the extra rest was nice. You check in at the visitor center, and they will give you your permits and a key for the parsons landing water/firewood locker. Ate a Buffalo burger at the restaurant (ask for the bar menu), got some extra food at the general store.
Good views, good food, good work out, so overall a very good day =]
Day 3
The hard day =] We took the tough catalina trail to parsons , opened up our locker and refilled our water. You can't relock the the lockers, fyi. We then head out to starlight beach. I expected this part of the trail to be flat, but there was quite a bit of elevation gain/loss throughout, making it pretty tiring. Made it to starlight beach, a nice blacksand beach with surprisingly aggressive and odd wave patterns. Proposed to girlfriend (now fiancee =) ) then headed back to parsons landing. Parsons is also a really nice secluded beach, but I didn't sleep all that much because the waves were so loud. I guess thats the downside of camping on the beach.
This was a very strenuous day, and I hiked from sun up to sun down. Totally worth it though =D
Day 4
Easy flat hike of about 6.5 miles back to two harbors. Great views as you hike along the coast, even got to see a bald eagle. Made it back to two harbors, had lunch at the snack bar, and headed home on the catalina express.
Overall: Awesome trip!
Tips:
Go to the Catalina Conservatory website for their map of the trail and a description for how long it takes
You will have to backtrack about 11 miles to do this, so this is really a 47-ish mile hike minimum. You have to walk back from starlight beach to two harbors.
The Catalina express doesnt stop in two harbors on most days, so plan around that. Bus transportation between two harbors and avalon during the winter months is only once per day at noon.
We reserved our campsites online beforehand. Campsites charge by person, not by campsite! This means that camping does not get cheaper by having multiple people. Don't call in to make your reservation, they will charge you an extra fee, do it online where there is no extra charge.
Potable water is available at all of the campsites except parsons landing. You get a locker key at the two harbors visitors that opens up a parsons landing campground locker that has 2.5 gallons of water and some firewood. This is included in your campsite reservation fees. If you are going to arrive late at two harbors, you can ask to have the key held at the restaurant. You wont need to filter water on this trip, which is good because there isnt any to filter.
The catalina express will tell you they do not allow camp stove canisters or alcohol on their ships, but they don't search bags, so bring them along.
You can resupply at the General store in two harbors, they have standard food items that are marked up. Call for hours
The restaurant is nice but expensive. Ask for the bar menu for more reasonable items, the 1/2 pound buffalo burger was pretty good.
There are Bison everywhere.
Go to the Catalina Conservatory website for their map of the trail and a description for how long it takes
You will have to backtrack about 11 miles to do this, so this is really a 47-ish mile hike minimum. You have to walk back from starlight beach to two harbors.
The Catalina express doesnt stop in two harbors on most days, so plan around that. Bus transportation between two harbors and avalon during the winter months is only once per day at noon.
We reserved our campsites online beforehand. Campsites charge by person, not by campsite! This means that camping does not get cheaper by having multiple people. Don't call in to make your reservation, they will charge you an extra fee, do it online where there is no extra charge.
Potable water is available at all of the campsites except parsons landing. You get a locker key at the two harbors visitors that opens up a parsons landing campground locker that has 2.5 gallons of water and some firewood. This is included in your campsite reservation fees. If you are going to arrive late at two harbors, you can ask to have the key held at the restaurant. You wont need to filter water on this trip, which is good because there isnt any to filter.
The catalina express will tell you they do not allow camp stove canisters or alcohol on their ships, but they don't search bags, so bring them along.
You can resupply at the General store in two harbors, they have standard food items that are marked up. Call for hours
The restaurant is nice but expensive. Ask for the bar menu for more reasonable items, the 1/2 pound buffalo burger was pretty good.
There are Bison everywhere.
Tags:
Catalina Express Transcatalina Trans Catalina Avalon Two Harbors Parsons Landing Bison Buffalo Backpack Backpacking Socal Souther California Channel I
Catalina Express Transcatalina Trans Catalina Avalon Two Harbors Parsons Landing Bison Buffalo Backpack Backpacking Socal Souther California Channel I
Comments (2)
At the end of June (2010), Coastwalk California is offering a supported hike of the Trans-Catalina Trail – and you are promised a world class hike. Over 6 days and 5 nights you will hike from Parsons Landing to Avalon – your gear will be transported from site to site, and volunteers will cook your dinners. The TCT isn’t an easy hike, but for fit hikers, it will be a memorable experience. The walk is a bit pricey, but it covers nearly everything (crossing, dinners, camping and gear hauls) – and the event supports Coastwalk’s trails advocacy. For full information about Coastwalk’s 14 summer hikes, backpacks, and family outings, visit www.coastwalk.org.
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