Trans Catalina Trail

My 32nd birthday wish was to hike the Trans Catalina Trail (most of it!)

 

We took the ferry across from San Pedro to Avalon. We checked into our hotel, got our permits, paid for the 3rd person at our campsite, got water to fill our packs, and got ice cream! It was a beautiful hot day and would have been a perfect for sitting on the beach and playing in the water all weekend. Instead I had a genius plan to hike about 50 miles in 4 days! 


We found a cute Italian place to have an early carb load dinner at and went back to the room pretty early. We made sure our bags were all packed with everything we needed and all of our phones charged. 

Saturday morning we got up, loaded everything in our bags, and headed for breakfast. Leaving a little later than planned we were off. After reading a lot of reviews many said that the first 5 miles on the exact trail were not really worth it so to shorten the first day a bit we went from Avalon to Black Jack via Hermit Gulch. It was still a long first day with a lot of uphill. We made it to camp with a couple hours before sunset. We set up camp. Rinsed off in the outdoor shower, which was so cold but still awesome! Black Jack had very few people besides a squatter who came to visit us with his beverage. We cooked dinner, watched the sunset, and headed to our tents for an early night.  

The next morning all of us were feeling the day before but knew we had a long day. We made breakfast and started to pack up. We only had a couple miles to get to the airport and it was already HOT! The airport was really cool. We got drinks and ICE for our water and AMAZING! We got snacks and cookies! One of the girls got a Bison Burger to go. This was genius and the bites I had at little harbor were heavenly. I enjoyed little harbor the most. We went in the ocean and had our lunch here. This is where I also realized my feet were worse than I thought they were. I had blisters between my toes and on both heels about the size of quarters. It was painful and I wasn’t sure I could walk much more.






After more moleskin, new socks, and pain from cleaning them we were off with the pain of every step up the next part which I felt was the steepest part! This day was incredibly hot. I used my umbrella a lot this day and the rest of the trip. It was a must have item for me and I am so glad I had it!




We made it to two harbors and I think we were a little crazy at this point. There was another buffalo on the trail and he didn’t look happy to see us. We went around and through a fence and would be happy if we were done seeing them. We went straight to the restaurant/bar! We found a table outside and dropped our packs, got drinks, chips and salsa, and charged all of our phones. After we figured out where the camp site was the sheriff offered us a ride to the campsite once we were done! Sweet we would take it! It was my first time in a cop car! We stopped at the top of the hill to watch the eclipse. It was really beautiful out there.  

Once to camp we realized we either didn’t get our firewood or someone snagged it before we got there. It would have been nice to have a fire but we also were ready to shower and get to sleep. We set up our tents, cooked a little food, cleaned up and went to bed. The next morning was incredible. We were one of the closet sites to the water looking over the main harbor. We wanted to pack up and leave but everything was damp. They had washer and dryers so we decided we could throw all of our damp stuff in to dry and it shouldn’t take too long. We got bottled water and a large bag of ice to fill up our camelbacks. Everything took much longer than planned but we finally got everything packed up and were off. The ice water was perfect.


I went the whole day with my umbrella and even applying sunblock often we were all getting some crazy tan lines. The day was pretty long getting to Parson’s Landing but wasn’t as bad as the day before. We got there a few hours before sunset and met a couple girls who came up on their kayak. The other two girls borrowed their kayak for a little bit to go play while they set up camp. We made a fire, dinner, and watched the sunset. Crawled into our tents early and planned to wake up early to finish the end of the trail to starlight beach.

Our alarms went off pretty early and we had a quick snack and headed towards starlight beach. It was a hilly up and down all the way to Starlight “beach”. I was honestly expecting this beautiful untouched beach. It was more of a cliff that you could climb down into this small rocky cove. I was not really impressed. We stayed for long enough to collect some sand and a couple rocks and headed back to pack up camp. We were planning on walking most of the road back because it was mostly flat but still had to put in a few miles. Most of the coves where beautiful and the water was very clear and blue. After a few miles in we saw our friendly sheriff again who offered to give us a ride back to Two Harbors! We took it! Our feet were aching and it would be good to get a drink and a real shower. We stayed at the Banning House and it was perfect. There was a buffalo just up from the house and it was like he was saying buy to us. We all got showers and headed to dinner down the hill. It was great and I even got dessert for my birthday! Even the server played in on it and gave me a little gift. I absolutely loved my trip there and would go back and hike again. It is a beautiful challenging Island and I am happy to say I have seen almost all of it!



The next morning, we took our time getting up and getting to the ferry. It was a nice ride back and I fell asleep. The drive home was pretty quick and we all went back to our life. It was a little odd trying to get back to our life at work and surrounded by more people when it was just the three of us for about 5 days. There were days when we talked very little or just put in our headphones to help making up the steep climbs a little more enjoyable. It was a change going back to day to day life and I realized on most of my trips I may want to get back into real life a little slower.

This birthday definitely goes down into one of the best!!

Money 
Ferry ticket                  $75
Hotel in Avalon           $250
Camping                      $66
Hotel in Two Harbors $270
Food/drinks                 $80
Experience                   PRICELESS!

Backpacking trip to Yosemite!

This was my FIRST backpacking trip and I am so glad that it finally happened.  After much time researching, looking up gear, shopping, and preparing it was finally here.   And I had planned all of this for the first choice dates I requested on the permit... NOT the actual dates that we got!  AHHH!  I couldn't believe the permit that I had wasn’t going to work!  I was really worried that my trip was going to be ruined.   I called the Yosemite Wilderness office and they said I would have to come in the day before and wait in line to get the permit.  There wasn’t much we could do.  On Friday we started our drive towards Yosemite stopping in  Bishop for lunch at Erick Schat’s Bakery (highly recommend) and then staying at Lake View Lodge in Lee Vining for the night.  There is very little in this town.  If you need anything make sure you stop in Bishop first!

Saturday morning we drove into Yosemite and down to the Yosemite Valley Village.  We found the wilderness office and got in line about 10am.  They start issuing permits at 11am.   There were only about 7 people ahead of us so I felt pretty good.  We were pretty open to the trailheads we were willing to start at so I was pretty sure we would get a pass one way or another but we really wanted to get Half Dome permits again.  Finally it was our turn to get a pass.  I said what our ideal trail heads and route would be and we got it with Half Dome permits too!  The wilderness pass was free and Half dome passes were only $8/person.  We had the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted and to make sure we had everything ready.  With the wilderness permit we could have stayed the day before and after our trip in the backpackers camp for $6/person would could have made our trip a lot cheaper.  I already had reservations for Curry Village so we headed there to check in for our canvas tent.  We got our keys put our stuff in the room as it was raining and got back in the car to head up to glacier point.  There are amazing views from here!

 

 

 

 

 

It was pretty cold and raining and we sat in the car a bit to study our map and figure out where we were planning on going the next day! Back to Curry Village to have dinner from the pizza place which was pretty good! We made sure all of our stuff was ready and got ready for bed.  Slept in a bit the next morning – put our food back in our pack from the assigned bear locker and our extra scented items we were not taking in a public bear locker.  Had a quick breakfast, checked out, and started our trip to Little Yosemite valley about 8:30am. 

It was about a 6 mile trip to little Yosemite Valley from Curry Village via the Mist trail.  We took our time, took a lot of pictures and breaks – and I am slow! We made it to the village a little after noon.  We found our spot and set up our tent, filtered water, and had lunch. 

We were done with everything by 2 and I decided we should go up to half dome that evening.  It was not my brightest ideas.  We were tired and it had already been a long day.  We started just before 3 and headed up.  At the JMT /  Half dome trail junction we saw a coyote which was pretty cool.  He didn’t seem to care about us at all.  Saw a few deer along the way as well.  Once we were on sub dome there was a father/daughter duo coming down.  They said that no one was up there and we had the mountain to our self.  That was pretty cool. 

We took a long time to get to the top up the cables taking a lot of breaks.  Once to the top the views were amazing and we took the diving board pictures.  It would have been nice to have someone to take a picture of both of us – but was really cool to be the only ones up there.  We had a snack and face timed with my family from up there!  I had full service and 4G.  We wanted to make it back before dark so started down.  I preferred going down facing the mountain.  It was not as scary to me.  We made it back to camp about 7pm adding a little over 7 miles to our day.  We filtered water again, had dinner, sponged off, and went to bed.  We didn’t sleep very well but it was good to be laying down. 

The next day I originally planned to do clouds rest but the day before kicked my ass.  We decided to take a trail following the Merced River.  About 4 miles of our hike was the area that was burned in the Meadow fire last year so there was very little shade.  We sat by the falls for a bit, stuck our feet in which was so cold and then continued up the river.  We found a cool Lunch spot by Bunnell Point and enjoyed the afternoon before heading back to camp.  

For 9 miles we saw 6 people and 2 snakes – one rattlesnake.  It was a relaxing day!  This evening the park ranger came to check our permits and informed us about a Momma bear with her 2 cubs have been in the area.  I really wanted to see a bear so was a little excited.  We headed to bed without a hearing or seeing any bears. 

The next day there was rain in the forecast and our trip had been perfect for weather so we got up and started packing up to be able to make it back to Curry village before it started.  We started about 9am and took the John Muir trail down.  There were very few people until we got to Navada Falls and then a LOT more people by Vernal Falls.  I already missed the wilderness.  Back at Curry village by about 11am we got our items from the Bear locker and thankfully everything was still there and tried to check into our room.  It wasn’t ready yet but we were still able to shower and get lunch before the rain.  

It was a great trip and good learning experience.  As far as gear, we wish we would have brought flipflops or some type of sandals with us.  I am not in love with my pack – the Kelty PK50 – because it is a pain to get something or put something back in it quickly like gloves, jacket, or anything you do not really want in the side pockets.  I do like that I can take off the front part and use it as a day pack for our little hikes even if it is too big for that.  I will likely try to find something lighter.  My Sleeping bag, Feathered Friends Egret UL 20 – was AMAZING!  Super comfortable and SO warm – maybe a little too warm for this trip but I loved it. 

For trip planning - I worried way too much about a permit.  It was much easier than what I thought it was going to be.  I think starting our backpacking on Sunday helped along with no holidays.  If I did it again I would start in one spot – Sunrise, Tenaya Lake, or Cathedral Lakes and finish at Happy Isels to be able to see more.  I am thinking Yosemite will be a yearly trip!  I am excited to plan my next backpacking trip!