(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (gentle music) (gentle music continues) - Welcome to the beautiful Catalina Island.

This is located 29 miles off the coast of California, and there's a hiking trail that traverses the island going across the middle of the island, along coastlines where you can camp at beaches just like the one behind me.

It's called the Trans-Catalina Trail.

It takes a couple of days to complete, and I'm gonna be doing it over the next few days.

I cannot wait to show you more of this island.

There are bison here, there are island fox, and it is just going to be beautiful.

So, let's go.

Catalina Island is part of the Channel Islands, a grouping of eight islands located 20 some miles off the coast of Southern California.

To get there, I boarded a ferry from the port city of San Pedro and made my way across the sea to the coastal community of Avalon.

(gentle music) Since the mid 1800, Catalina Island has been almost entirely privately owned.

In the 1890s, it began to be developed into a resort destination, and later in 1919, it was purchased by William Wrigley, Jr., the chewing gum entrepreneur.

He developed Avalon and built more infrastructure on the island.

In 1921, he even made Avalon the spring training destination for the Chicago Cubs.

Years later, the island was popular with the Hollywood elite in the thirties, forties, and fifties, and is still a popular vacation destination for many local residents.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) The Wrigley family still owns the island, but in 1972, they gifted 42,000 acres to the Catalina Island Conservancy, a nonprofit that has ever since been managing the land for conservation, education, and recreation, which includes maintaining trails for hikers, walkers and bikers, and protecting the island's unique flora and fauna.

(gentle music) The Trans-Catalina Trail is around 38.5 miles.

To do it in totality takes most people three to four days.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gravel crunching) Today, I'm hiking 11 miles to my first campsite, which is called BlackJack.

And as you can see today, we are still in a fog bank, which is making the scenery even more beautiful.

(gentle music) (gravel crunching) The first few hours of this trail are uphill, and if you've got a heavy backpack, you will certainly be feeling it like I was on this section.

(gentle music) As I arrived on the ridge line, I walked through the marine layer and above an incredible sea of clouds.

We've had a lot of rain here in California, which has made the wild flowers bloom.

And as you can see, there's just this beautiful fog bank covering the island this morning.

Now, this island has a couple of things as far as wildlife.

There are bison here and island fox.

There are also a few endangered species living on the island like the Baja California Tree Frog and the San Diego Alligator Lizard.

Now, this island has the most diverse animal species of any of the Channel Islands, and five of the others are actually protected as part of the Channel Islands' National Park.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) I have just entered the fenced-off area where bison roam, and I've seen the first bison pretty far off in the distance thankfully, but from this far away, he just looks like a black lion sitting in wait.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) Once you're up on this ridge line on the higher part of the island, there is absolutely no shade.

So, make sure you have plenty of sun protection.

You'll also be hiking on variety of trails and dirt roads in this part of the island, and just to make sure you're watching your step for rattlesnakes and other little critters too.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) Okay, mile nine, which means we are almost to BlackJack Campground home for the night.

I am definitely tired.

I have not been out hiking as much as I have in past years, and as you've seen, my backpack is quite large today as it is because I'm by myself.

So, a little bit of a slow slog along this trail, but happy to be in the home stretch.

(gentle music) (gravel crunching) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (tent rustling) (gentle music continues) That was a tough climb today, 11 miles is a lot in a day, especially with a 40-pound pack, and it's just around 04:00.

As you can see, I've already got my tent set up.

I'm gonna just relax a little bit.

The sun goes down around 06:45, so I've got plenty of daylight still to kill here and gonna just relax, enjoy camp here, make some food, make sure I'm comfortable, and yeah, it should be a really nice night.

It's still around 70 degrees, so I'm hoping that it's actually not gonna be too cold tonight, which will be great.

I definitely packed for the cold just in case, because I know that even in LA right now, I am cold at night in my bed, so I definitely brought an extra sleeping bag liner and I'm trying a different sleep system tonight as well to see kinda try something new.

I've got my top quilt from Outdoor Vitals instead of a sleeping bag today, and I'm hoping that, that keeps me a little bit warmer and also helped me from moving around too much in my sleep.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) All right, so it's about 08:30.

Hiked up to top of this radio tower to catch the sunset.

So, I'm getting dinner a little bit late.

Tonight, I am gonna make just a vegetarian ramen.

One of the nice things about this campsite is that there's actually potable water here and spigots, so plenty to cook with and wash your face with and things like that.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) While that's boiling, also having some little banana, chocolate-covered, dehydrated bananas, definitely burned a lot of calories today, and I need to refill.

(bananas crunching) (packet rustling) (gentle music) Okay, It's been three minutes.

Oh, that's good.

(gentle music) Good night.

(gentle music) (zip rustling) (gentle music) (tent rustling) (gentle music) (birds chirping) (gentle music) (gravel crunching) (gentle music) (water splashing) (gentle music) (birds chirping) (water splashing) (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (birds chirping) (spoon thudding) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (birds chirping) (gentle music continues) (gravel crunching) Okay, we are on the move for the morning.

Today, I'm gonna be doing eight miles to the next campsite, which is called Little Harbor, which is this supposedly beautiful beach campsite.

Really excited about that.

And along the way, I'm also gonna be stopping for breakfast at the airport, which is I think a less than two miles from camp here.

So, that's why I only had coffee and a stroopwafel this morning, because real breakfast is coming up.

The airport is just over this hillside there.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) Okay, that was wonderful.

Feeling pretty re-energized.

Had a great veggie burrito for breakfast and hung out with some new friends that I made on the trail.

Played Jenga, stocked up on some things I don't need, like rice crispy treats, and obviously, some refreshments for this evening.

And now, let's find some bison.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) Oh, we just ran into a bunch of bison and a couple of us on a trail.

So, I'll kind of trying to go around here.

The best way with that, scaring the bison.

There are about 150 bison today on the Island of Catalina, and it said that a small herd of them was actually left in the 1920s by a movie crew.

Today, the Catalina Conservancy helps protect them and they're is certainly a fun addition to this hike.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) The beach is in sight.

Sorry for the wind, but wow, this is the beautiful.

I don't know if I've ever camped in a place quite like this.

Just beautiful flowers everywhere, cactus, and an ocean view.

(wind rustling) (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (birds chirping) (gentle music continues) (water splashing) (gentle music continues) (water splashing) (gentle music continues) From Little Harbor to Two Harbors, the only other community on the island.

Now, I'll be hiking just five miles today with a possible add-on to a spectacular viewpoint, and it should be beautiful.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) The fog today is so thick.

The friends I met on the trail who I shared a campfire with last night are I think about 300 meters in front of me.

I can actually hear them, but can't see them at all through this thick fog.

And that means that, that viewpoint that I was talking about, adding two miles onto this hike to go and do, I think we're gonna skip today, because the views are lost in a cloud.

(upbeat music) One more big incline.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) That has been some serious incline today.

Finally, heading down the big slopes here into Two Harbors, and I must say I have got some blisters on the bottoms of my feet.

(upbeat music) (metal clanging) (gravel crunching) Just came through the last gate here, less than two miles to Two Harbors, and there's one more bison.

Just up the hill from here as well.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) 24 miles in the bag.

I am here at Two Harbors and so excited to grab lunch here, rest my feet a little bit, and my original plan was to continue on this trail.

There's one last section, 13 more miles out to Parsons Landing and back to Two Harbors, but unfortunately, this section of the trail is currently closed.

There's been some flooding in the area and the roads are not in good condition right now, so we won't be able to do that last part of the hike.

But I've had a great time these last couple of days.

It's been so much fun, so beautiful this island, and I would highly recommend this hike for anyone getting into backpacking and wanting to see one of California's most idyllic island locations.

Two harbors certainly feels wild and remote.

It's named for its two harbors, which sit on either side of the island's isthmus.

It has a population of just around 300, and just one hotel, one general store, and a restaurant.

Most of the visitors coming here are boaters, hikers, bikers, or people visiting some of the privately-owned camps or yacht clubs, which are scattered around the island.

It's certainly a place that is perfect for those looking for a serene and quiet island experience unlike any other.

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