Bikepacking Catalina Island

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..Mods...Please move if this is in the wrong place..Thanks

..I will be posting pics and info about my recent bikepacking trip on Catalina Island from one end to the other and thru the interior thanks to the preservation of the area by the Catalina Island Conservancy. (This is not to be confused with ultra light bikepacking).

..I need to do this between work and other obligations so please be patient..

 

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..I am sharing this info on another Forum also but really felt that other members here who are wanting to get out and about on a bike ride for a few days would really appreciate this trip info..Enjoy
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..This was kind of an unplanned trip into the interior of Catalina Island with my bike which in reality can be called a once in a lifetime adventure..

..I initially was going to do this trip last January..I was packed up and at the boat when I got an emergency call for work and had to actually watch the boat sail off without me..

..Over the course of this year I often found myself daydreaming about this trip and it seemed that every time I tried to plan anything to do with this trip, something would always come up but out of nowhere this last week it rained.

..We are in a record drought of about 150 years and that little bit of rain was all it took to make me break my daily routine and get this thing started..

..It was literally a last minute trip with no reservations or planning with unknown weather conditions and no idea if I was even going to be able to pull this off but I took each step at a time and with a few minor obstacles, it turned out to be probably one of the best trips I have ever taken...

..Here are a couple maps of what I was going to be up against and here is a link to a 3D Google Ariel topo map for a better perspective..
http://www.catalinagis.org/bike

..This elevation map is actually of the hiking trail and is pretty good to the point of Little Harbor where the bike terrain and distance vary over to two harbors and also out to Parsons Landing..This will be updated with more info in a later post..

..The first thing I needed to do was drag my bike out, swap on the new wheels and tires I purchased for it last March for this trip and it's terrain and then go over the brakes and derailer to make sure they were operating and in good condition..

..The next thing I did was to start calling the boats that could take me over to Catalina..San Pedro, Long Beach, and Dana Point are where the Catalina Express boats leave from and they were full up for the next morning due to the Annual Jazz Festival currently going on over on the Island..

..This was something I didn't even think about and this alone could quickly end this trip before it even begins as this is probably the biggest event that happens on the Island annually..

..I then called the Catalina Flyer out of Newport Beach and they had available room for me and my bike so I quickly made a reservation...

..I've now got a ride over to the Island so this trip is now more than just a daydream...It is actually going to happen...

..The wheels have been set into motion and there is no turning back as the adventure has begun..

 

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Day 1

..My ship left Newport Beach at 9:30 a.m and we were headed out to sea..

..Since it had rained the day before, the clouds were still circling the area and we were sailing off into the marine layer..

..It was a pleasant sight to see the marine layer breaking up as we were arriving over to the island..This was the view from the ship as we were heading into Avalon..

(My bike trip actually started on the left side of this video at Pebbly Beach, continued straight uphill and all the way across the island to the other side of the Island and then back over to the right side of this video.)


..From this moment on I went on "Island Time" meaning, no cell phone for calls or as a time piece..When I left somewhere and when I arrived is pretty much approximate as I did ask what time it was every now and then but time was not a concern of mine on this trip..

..We arrived at Catalina Island around 10:30 or so and the Sun was trying to make the best out of this day..:biggthump

..This was the boat that carried my bike and I over to the Island..

..With no plans at all as of yet I decided my bike and I would take in the local scenery and Architecture while also checking on what the status was on the Island with everyone heading over for the Jazz Festival..

..Now, while most were headed over to the Island for the nightlife and were paying $280 a night or more for a room, my plans were to head into the back country and spend time with the nature and wildlife that has been preserved by the Catalina Island Conservancy.

..I hadn't even been on the Island for an hour and I got my first glimpse of what I came for..A rare sighting of a Fish Eagle (Osprey) down by the Casino..

..With a big grin on my face I continued on to check out the architecture of the Casino..

..and some more stuff..

..Oh yea...A pic of my bike geared up for this adventure..

..A picture of one of the many other structural eye catchers of the Island..

..By now I've been on the Island for a couple hours wandering around and I really need to start planning something before it starts getting dark and I run out of options but I needed to know exactly where I was and where to start..

..I knew I needed to head over to the Conservancy office to pay for my membership and get my back country bike pass or this was going to be a bust..One of my concerns was that I did not know how much it had rained on the Island and even if I was going to be allowed in the back country as they do have a couple day rule after a rain of no entrance into the area..

..I found one of the bus/trolley stops and their map was just what I needed and had "you are here" (star on right bottom) and also had where the Conservancy office was located on it too..(small print left side of bay, 3rd street)

..So I quickly headed over to the Catalina Island Conservancy (CIC) office..

..$35 dollars later and after filling out some paperwork, I was now a member and also had my bike pass for the interior which both are good for a full year...

 

[ISSY]

Day 1


..I hadn't even been on the Island for an hour and I got my first glimpse of what I came for..A rare sighting of a Bald Eagle down by the Casino..

Not to rain on your parade but that my friend is an Osprey not a Bald Eagle.

 

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..Fixed..

Fish Eagle (Osprey)

 

[apalmer]

Very cool!

Looking forward to the next installment!

 

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Day 1 continued..

..After getting my membership and back country bike-pass I was informed I was eligible for discounts for camping (some locations), the Botanical Gardens and Wrigley Memorial, and a few other things..

..It was already afternoon so I decided to start heading up the hill...

..From this point on everything is literally uphill...You never seem to remember much about the downhill stuff but on this Island you have plenty to remember about it being uphill..

..This view is about 1/3 the way up Avalon Canyon with the Wrigley Memorial at pretty much the end of the road but there is a trail from the memorial called "Garden to the Sky Trail" which neither can be seen in this picture as they are on up and around the hill..

..After pushing my bike uphill for a while I saw this sign which said I was real close to the 3 things I needed to stop at this afternoon..

..Not 2 seconds later I saw the first of many deer I would run across in this area..

..This Island has an abundance of Deer and Hunting season is from July into December...With the largest wild predator being a native small fox, the deer population can quickly get into large numbers and with the drought we've been having their food supply is as thin as they are..

..My next stop was to quickly check into the Nature center (visited a few times for info on this trip) for more local and current information of this immediate area as this is where I planned to stay a day or two in order to get into somewhat of an uphill climbing shape before my trek into the interior would begin...

..After leaving there with a bunch more current info and a short hike further up the hill I made my way over to the Hermit Gultch Campground..

..This is where I quickly setup camp for the night and hoped to come up with some sort of plan for the trip...This proved to be interesting in iself as I had a new tent, sleeping bag, and some other small gear I had packed months ago and never even looked at again until I was now setting up this camp..I seriously could not remember what type of tent I had packed and luckily it still had the instructions with it..

..But I still had more exploring to do so I headed on up the hill to the Botanical Gardens..

...and further on up the hill, thru the Botanical Gardens and up to the Wrigley Memorial in hopes of not running out of daylight as the marine layer also looked like it was coming back in..

The Wrigley Memorial...

This is the memorial for the William Wrigley Jr., of Chicago Cubs and chewing gum fame.

..Note the cactus growing from the roof..

..Then heading down the staircase (looking down to the right of picture is halfway) it dawned on me I needed to head downhill to the seashore and find a place for dinner..

..I wound up eating at the Bluewater for dinner, Mahi-Mahi, kind of a personal celebration for accomplishing this much already in a 24 hr. time span..

..Now one of the things I hadn't counted on this evening was the mile and a half uphill hike thru the dark canyon as there was no moonlight...Now at home this would be a dangerous trek as we have Cougars and Coyote's the size of wolves to worry about but it took a while for me to again realize their largest predator is a small fox..

...This past 24 hours had been a blur and by the time I got back to camp I was dead tired and all I wanted to do was sleep...

..That was short lived as the deer were so abundant that night that they were literally tripping over my tent..Almost every hour I was awakened along with neighboring campers as a new group of deer would come thru...

..The next day I checked in with the nature center and they mentioned there were hunters out and about...Whenever the deer hear them hunting they quickly move down the hill (amongst the civilization) cause they know where they are safe..

 

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..Day 2 - More of the Same

..The marine layer had moved in last night and it was pretty thick but it quickly burned off this morning while I was in the showers..

..I decided this morning that I would stay here another night and with it being Friday and the Jazz festival would be in full swing and not knowing what crowds would be coming ashore, I needed to reserve my campsite just in case so that was first on today's agenda..

..But before I could make it down to the camp office I had some more visitors..

...Still wearing spots..

..Goals for today

..Breakfast.. ..and after breakfast I knew I needed to spend as much time biking and pushing my bike up the local streets in preparation of the trails ahead since I had only made it about 1/3 of the way up Avalon Cyn. riding my bike to camp the night before..

..I grabbed breakfast at "Joe's" and afterwards and while using the map I had gotten from the Conservancy (second one in first post), I set out to see all the sites at the top's of the town's roads and to check out the trailheads of each trail that met up with these roads..

..On my way out of downtown I went by the plaza where all the bus's, tram's, and jeep tours head out from and noticed this sign which gave me a chuckle just thinking about what prompted them to have to put up this sign..

..So on up the hilly roads I headed like a billy goat pushing my bike (minus tent and sleeping bag)..I guess here would be a good time to point out that the local mode of transportation is gas powered golf carts and Dihatsu trucks both RH and Left handed vehicles to run up and down these hills...

..Common street parking scene..

..A proud Ford owner..

..and as you can imagine, there were all kinds of modifications to be scene on these vehicles from rear bench and bucket seats to various full camping enclosures and racks...

..There is no DMV on the Island but DMV does come over once a year and is open for 2 days.


..Anyways, the scenery was as unique and breathtaking as the climbs themselves..

..Looking down on Descanso Beach..

..Adventurer and Great Author, Zane Grey house (now a hotel)

..The bell tower which sounds off over the harbor every 15 minutes..

..and I thought this structure was interesting in how it is still standing all these years in earthquake country..

 

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Day 2 continued

..After burning up tons of calories, it was time to head back down the hill to town and get some lunch..

..The fountain in Avalon..

..This lunchtime (and with the start of the hard trail tomorrow morning), is when I made a very unsettling discovery..

Electronics on this trip

..By now, and over the course of the last day or so I had now used up most of my batteries for my camera and needed to charge cell phone and check in on my email messages..

..As I do on all of my offroad trips, I brought along my little 10" netbook which I have setup with minimal usb cords for my electronics to charge solely off of it..I also have a wireless broadband card which eliminates the need of finding a spot

..This way while I am doing my emails, I can upload my pictures and make return calls as needed, be charging my laptop, camera batteries, and cell phone all at the same time while just using 1- 110 receptacle...A time and space saver when these items are needed for these trips..

A place to charge the Electronics on the Island?

..The first thing that came to mind was to see if there was a Starbucks on the Island or somewhere similar which had multiple receptacles and possibly local hi-speed wifi..

..There is no Starbucks on the Island but there is a coffee house or two..

..There is wifi available in Avalon for a fee with multiple hotspots and this is also available for Hotel guests..
http://gateway.catalinawifi.com/index.html

..Now trying to find a place to charge my electronics got kind of interesting..Most of the places where you would go to eat will let you plug in and charge while you are eating although your item being charged may be across the room from you at the time..

..These buildings on the Island were mostly built decades ago so multiple outlets were not needed at the time and they are at a premium in these retail stores.

..The people on the Island everywhere I went were very friendly and helpful in finding me a spare plug on this trip however, there is another option when looking for somewhere to plug in..

..There are a number of charging stations on the Island such as the Drug Sore and Liquor store to name a few where you can just drop off your cell phone while you are walking around Avalon..They charge $5 for this service and from what I could gather, it would be a benefit if you brought your own usb cord just to be safe..

My Discovery..

..I found myself at the Catalina Cantina for lunch and started to pull out my laptop and get to business..This is when I discovered in my haste I had brought everything I needed and normally carry except, the main power supply for the laptop..:banghead:

..Without this 1 item, I could not charge any of my equipment since my cords were all usb and which only left me the option of heading over to a charging station and paying $5 for each item I was charging and that could get expensive just with the cell phone and my 3 camera batteries which I would need to re-charge multiple times on this trip..

..My first thought was to try and find some kind of computer store on the Island where I could possibly purchase another power supply just for my laptop..With this being said, I was on an Island so this would not only be a needle in a haystack search but it could be extremely pricey..

..I did however find a Radioshack on the Island which I later found out many of the locals didn't even know it was there..

..It was going to run over $100 for a power cord for the laptop but I did find a power supply for $25 which was corded for my phone that would charge my cellphone and it also had a usb cord plug in on the unit itself which would work out for charging my camera batteries..

..This would workout ideal for this trip and this item is a keeper which will be in my go bag for future trips...The laptop still had it's full charge at this time and would only be used for email communications when in populated areas on this trip otherwise, it was now just dead weight..

The afternoon

..I now have everything electronically I can have charged up and including myself with the lunch I had at the Cantina and off I went again..

..My plan now was to head back up the hill toward the campground, get some more information from the Nature center, drop off my bike at the campground, then head up the moderately steep 1.7 mile Hermit Gulch hiking trail on foot in hopes of watching the Sunset and catching the view of both sides of the Island from up there..

..On the way up I stopped off at the Bird Park which is now apartments but it still holds the old Bird Avery on the property...This Avery was the steel structure of the Original Casino, (Gazebo, bandstand, skate rink. etc.) where the Casino/Theater which was built in the 20's now stands..

..Mrs. Wrigley had it moved up to it's current location and turned it into a Bird Avery which later the birds were relocated, but it was at one time one of the largest Avery's in the world...

..Before I forget, other interesting facts about Catalina Island can be found here..
http://www.colapublib.org/history/catalina/faq.html

..On the way on up the hill to the Nature Center I ran into a buck which I was probably about 30 feet from..

..Afterwards I did make it over to the Nature Center and got to enjoy the many informative exhibits they had this visit and also received more up to the minute info reports of other hikers that were returning from their trips and stopping into the center..

..Small representation of the information found at the Nature center..

..Still setting the fast pace I've kept up for the last couple of days I made it over to the campground where I ran into the Ranger and informed him that I was heading up the Hermit Gulch Trail in a few minutes and his response was, "Still energetic are we?"..

..As I was swapping stuff from my bike he mentioned in passing that it is a moderately steep trail and if I wanted to do the loop around and back down thru the Botanical gardens (easier way back down about 4 miles total), there was still enough light left but if the Marine Layer moved back in like it did last night it would be a very dark and low visibility trail in a hurry...

..Somewhere between my campsite and the beginning of the trail his words and the little voice in my head got the better of me and this hike would have to happen at another time..

..My little voice kept telling me I better settle down and start making plans for the trail ahead before it got dark so I headed over to the Rangers station and told him I was had returned without really leaving because I needed to start planning the next few days trip out..

..He asked if I had made reservations for the campgrounds I was going to stay at while in the interior and I told him from what I had found it was a pay as you go kinda thing..Wrong..

..Luckily though, I was able to make and pay for my reservations for the other campgrounds on the Island on the spot and online from the Hermit Gulch Campground office.

..Not heading up on trail for that hike paid off and it gave me my general direction of travel for the next three days..

..Although the Hermit Gulch and Two Harbors campground (other end of Island and no CIC discounts) are owned by a different company, it was nice to see you could get info and book thru them for the CIC owned campgrounds on the Island and also get the CIC discount applied..BTW, the discounts were for half price..

List of Campgrounds
http://www.catalinaconservancy.org/index.php?s=visit&p=campsites

..The TWO HARBORS and HERMIT GULCH Campgrounds are NOT Conservancy owned campsites and are NOT eligible for membership discounts.

..and if you happen to have a Birthday and want to head to the Island, there are plenty of discounts including the trip over for free and food to name a few which can be found here..Be sure to check all of the boats for the discounts..
http://www.catalinachamber.com/specials/birthdaycatexp

..Now that I'm at least booked for camping for the next few days and it's getting dark, it's time to head down the hill to town for a carb and protein load up as tomorrow will be a long day starting with a trail that is about 10-12 degree's straight climb uphill for 3.2 miles if I'm ready for it or not..

..After dinner (and as after most meals I had on the Island), it was time to ride the bike uphill and on a full stomach..I took note of this to remind myself in the morning to be careful of what I eat and how much since I would have at least 14 miles ahead of me before I would reach the next nights campground..

..On the way back to camp I was pretty proud of myself as my continual exercise with the bike over the last couple of days had paid off and I was now able to ride 3/4's of the way to camp..

..I also crossed paths with huge herds of deer this evening that were heading down to the golf course from the hills..I saw a Large Doe and Buck which would make the buck I pictured earlier look like a dwarf...

..Needless to say, no deer stumbled over my tent that night and I was able to get a good nights sleep...I think without putting the pressure on myself of having to be up and or at certain landmarks at a given time the next day helped with the good nights sleep..

For tomorrow, all I needed to do was get up, trek 14 plus miles thru the hills to camp, and be off the trail and at a established campground a 1/2 hour before Sunset..(It's a rule)

 

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..For those who might be interested, I'm reserving this post to include later what all I took/packed with me on my bike for this trip..

 

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Day 3 - Preparing for the Big Day on today's Trail

..I woke up well rested and the deer had apparently moved down the hill the night before as there had been no further sighting of them since early last evening and none this morning..

..I was well aware of the physical demand and the time frame I had to complete my trek for today and while quite anxious to get this started, I took the morning slow as I was in full preparedness mode..

..Making sure I had everything packed up tight with a low COG with the packing of my bike/gear, just in case of a crash or unforeseen rough trail conditions...I had never been on this trail before and I was not able to aquire any recent info from bikers so the unknown factor helped heighten my excitement level for this trip..

..The weather still was somewhat of an unknown with the marine layer still lingering but over our heads, it was still a cool morning of low 50's but my research on the way over said it would be about 82-85 and reaching about 90 in the next day or two...

..Being on an Island meant the weather could change quickly and since this is a desert type climate and the storm which just passed came down from Alaska and brought light snow to the SoCal area already and the mention of Santa Ana wind conditions to follow, staying up to date with my weather band radio became my morning/evening ritual on this trip...

..Since I would be traveling from 0' to near 2000' elev. for my first campsite (BlackJack Campground by Mt. Orizaba, Santa Catalina Island's highest peak) then both sides of the Islands beaches (some which are wind facing beaches) weather could play a big factor on where I would or should plan to head for as in each of the next day's campsites.

..The weather had changed by this morning and a bit in my favor as the low that had brought the rain was now hovering over central California (north of here)..This meant the weather I had enjoyed the past two days would be sticking around so I wouldn't have to worry about 90* plus temps while on a dirt trail climbing these hills or the high wind associated with the low moving out and the high moving in..

..Although there is a laundromat in Avalon (and one over in Two Harbors) I did what little laundry I had at camp..I also enjoyed a long shower at camp (quarter's operated) as I knew the next couple of campgrounds had free showers but they would only have cold water (surfer type, rinse off only showers)..

..The Sun was now starting to come thru the clouds pretty good so it would be an early burn off which meant I needed to head out before it starts heating up...With everything packed up, I quickly said goodbye to a couple other travelers and the Ranger on my way out of camp..

..One last important stop down in Avalon was needed as I did not want to miss out on one last, good hot breakfast, as this could be my last hot breakfast for a few days..

..I double checked how I packed all my gear one last time, double checked the mechanics of the bike, and then pulled my map out to the top of my handlebar bag where it would be used for reference numerous times on this trip..

..Now...Just where exactly is that trailhead ?

 

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Day 3 continued - Start of the actual trip into the Interior

Some things to Note before heading into the Interior:

..Here is my list of a few of the main items to be aware of in order to be allowed to hike or bike into the Interior of Catalina Island. (Hiking may be different so the below items are for biking only)

1) You first need to purchase a pass from the Conservancy (CIC) and afix it to the forward part of your bike with the date showing forward. (on the backside of this card it has more info than your Drivers license, perhaps in the case that only your body is found).

2) Good knobby all terrain tires on your bike - It is a requirement and Your tires are actually subject to inspection (and count on them being inspected) when filling out your application for the interior pass..No pass no go..

3) An Approved helmet must be worn.

4) You can only camp at (and must be off the trail and at) an established campground one half hour before sunset.

5) There is more rules and info in a list which you will receive when issued your pass so be sure read it.

6) Tread Lightly

7) Do not feed or attempt to touch the animals as they are wild. Stay a safe distance. (I heard of a recent incident where the parents let their child pet a wild deer just before boarding a return ship. On the boat they found the child was covered with flees, lice, etc., so the boat had to turn around and everyone got deloused)

8)..and there are plenty of rattlesnakes on the Island..
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...Now all I need to do was head over to the trailhead and get this part of the trip started..

..This is the map (actually a little different) that I purchased at the Conservancy and although it shows bike and hike trails, it is better suited as a hike map..

..I would later find out that most any map I referenced on this trip was different and missing several items when it came to landmarks and also biking..

..I figured if I head out of Avalon in the right direction that I would easily see a sign at least pointing the way to the trailhead..I decided I wanted to take in the full experience so I headed down to Pebbly beach on the coastal road in order to start at the waters edge as I had read the trail starts at the 300' elevation..

..You can't get much closer to the water to start your adventure than this..

(Looking back toward Avalon direction)

..On the way over to Pebbly Beach and the Trailhead..

..I found myself in the middle of the Industrial area for the Island..This is also where the Buffalo Head Nickel Restaurant and the Helicopter landing pad (Heliport) are located..

..I continued riding on and actually came to a "T" in the road. This is when it dawned on me there was no actual location of the trailhead on the map and there was no street signs showing what the actual roads were at this immediate intersection..I wasn't 100% but I was pretty sure that I hadn't already passed any other small trail or road so far..

..After looking at the map again with the Sun pretty much full by now (a bit nervous that if I continued forward on the road I was currently traveling that I might have to backtrack) and knowing the trail started at about the 300' elevation, I decided to take the road uphill...

..For future travelers of this route, at the Edison building take the paved road uphill

Mechanical Failure

..This is where I had my first mechanical failure..Although I had road my bike pretty hard the last few days in the hills all over Avalon in the hopes if there was any weakness in the bike before I hit the dirt that it would show up..It worked flawlessly...Until now..

...The hill to the Trailhead was a bit steep and I was stand-up pedaling and as I swapped gears the chain jumped off the sprocket and wedged between the spoke and the sprocket..I got the chain back on and when testing the bike where it stood the chain jumped off again..

Solution- With my quick thinking I decided nothing was loose and since it would require some re-aligning of the derailer, what the heck, I just won't use that gear for now as I have 20 others and when I get to camp I will look take an investigative look into the issue..

..This is when I first realized that everything I packed was clean..Well, I knew that but now my hands were covered with grease and I had no orange gojo or anything that would remove this grease or a rag to help clean it off...

..So onward up the hill and about a 1/2 mile further up the hill I spotted the turnoff which held the "Trans Catalina Trail" sign (TCT)..(trail sign on left)

..Looking back toward Pebbly Beach..

..and a few feet later I was at the trailhead for this adventure and it starts at the Renton Mine Road..

..Looking back at the gate toward the Ocean and Avalon/Pebbly Beach..

...In the last few hundred feet I had my first mechanical issue and now I developed my first Electronic issue..This is when my Camera decided it would no longer do Panoramic shots properly anymore..:banghead:.. (please excuse)

..From the gate looking up the trail..

and the first switchback..

..and when I shot that picture I took this one of my bike so you could better see the immediate area and the road condition...

..This whole trail had all sizes of rocks and for those who are familiar with one of the local Orange County trails, (The Main Divide Rd. in SoCal), the start of this trail is very much similar but a bit more harsh as the rocks are more sharp and jagged (tire cutters) and I saw what looked like arrowhead shaped rocks pointing upward often..

..A little further up the road and I caught two crows attacking a Hawk in flight..

 

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Day 3 continued - On up the hill

..At about this point is where I shed my windbreaker and covered myself with Sunscreen as it had warmed up quite nicely and guessing since I left town about 9 a.m. it was currently about 10 a.m or so, it was going to get a lot warmer and there was no breeze in sight..

..From everything I previously read, from here on out it was straight uphill till the 3.2 mile mark where I would have climbed from the 300' at the trailhead, to about 1600' feet straight up. During this distance with the incline being approx. 10*-12* degrees and speckled with a few trees for about the first 2 miles (which were relished) as the Sun had warmed up the trail but the shade under the trees was still about 20* cooler at this time of the day..

..A little less talkin' and a lot more huffin' and puffin thru this area...but a lot more shots which could not capture or even justify this climb or it's awesome views..

..Deceiving roads several times along this trail..The roads you see here and many of the defined roads in a number of this days pictures are actually the fire roads that were recently cleared and cut into the hill sides...

..The roads seen definitely looked like easier trails to take for sure in person but I stuck to the TCT as it wandered around to the right of this picture..

..And then it happened..

..I reached the top of the 3.2 mile climb..:bounce:..and from what I had researched and read this put most of the climbing behind me with the exception of a few hills before my destination for today's campsite..(But this did offer the first decent view of the shoeline along the West side of this Island)

..and it was looking all downhill for a ways..

..Looking being the key word as this trail turned out to be heading back uphill after about 100' from that viewpoint where the road actually turned right and I would be climbing further along the ridge (barely shown on the left side of this picture)..and looking down toward the Wrigley Memorial that I would be passing from above..(center of pic)

..and a camera zoom from the same spot..

..Feeling great about reaching this Summit, I set myself up to thinking this could only be easier from here..This would bite me in the butt later on..

 

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Day 3 continued - Across the Ridge and still uphill?

..It leveled out for a bit and I figured there would be lot's of cruising from here now that I had reached about the 4-4 1/2 mile mark of the TCT and overtook the big hill climb..

..Looking out to my right toward Avalon from the ridge..

..Then out to my left at the coast on that side of the Island from the same spot..

..Then about the 5 mile trail mark I came across the Summit sign for the "Garden to the Sky" trail which comes directly up from the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical gardens..

Looking toward Avalon..

..The main trail signs at this junction reads 6.0 miles back to Avalon East end rd...

Doing the Math

..This is part of something I do to help triangulate distance from and to locations I'm traveling to/from during trips to help verify maps, and also to judge if I'm on track with time schedules and distance..

..This last sign threw me off a little bit after all the exercise with the climb and now that it was after 12 noon the Sun was starting to cook pretty good (around 85*)

..With the sign stating 6 mi. It was actually about 5.5 mi. to the trailhead I had came thru and another 1/2 mile to the rd. which is actually Pebbly Beach (part of Avalon) which = 6 miles..(In my mind it said 6 miles since the trailhead so I gained myself 1/2 mile in my head)

..A few minutes later (and .8 miles) I would arrive at the intersection at the top of the "Hermit Gulch Trail (Hiking trail) ..From this Gazebo you have a great view and can see both sides of the Island..

..The view from this location looking out toward Avalon..

..The Hermit Gulch trail sign showing 1.7 miles to where I camped last night..

..That is correct...This hiking trail is the same one I was going to take the night before from the campground and did not due to planning my trip.

..Some more math..This is 1.7 miles from where I woke up this morning and initially was the starting point for today's trip...The route I took today has netted me about 10 miles to get to this point, of about 6 actual miles on the trail..

..This is also when I went into water awareness mode as although I do not normally consume much water on trails, with the extensive climbing combined with the heat had made me a little thirstier than I figured I would be at this point and I realized I had gone thru 1-1/4 of my two bottles of water I was carrying already..

..Right after leaving here the trail went back to more straight uphill climbing...I kept an eye out for the next mile marker as I needed to work on my math as it was now getting close to 1 o'clock and since I should be coming up on mile marker 7, this meant I was halfway to camp which would be at mile marker 14 of the TCT trail...

..I quickly came upon the mile marker and I was at mile marker 6....Back to the sign throwing me a little bit off, the reality was I was at mile marker 6 and wanted to be at camp somewhere between 4-5 o'clock just to be safe with 8 miles of unknown trail to cover and if it was anything like the last six miles, I better kick it into gear..

..Now one of the obvious landmarks not pointed out on my map (but noted in my maps Legend) was this tower...

..As you can see by that picture the terrain was now a little more desolate with numerous trails heading off into different directions...Without seeing this obvious tower on the map I was a bit concerned but after pulling out a couple other maps there were none showing these towers even though they were in the legend..

..So I continued on up the hills and upon passing the tower, I got one final glimpse when looking back toward the last populated civilized area I would for a few days, Avalon..(approx. trail mile 7 1/2)

..At about mile 8 or so I came across the Haypress reservoir hiking trail turnoff..This is where the TCT trail I had been traveling splits off and hikers go one way (turn here) and the bikers continue on forward off toward the right of the hiking trail by some distance...

..I kept an eye on that trail while I was on my own trail as I had no clear info on the trail split but felt comfortable it would be self explanatory..

..Another approx mile and my bike trail ended..This is approx. trail mile 9 for the bikes..This is a gate that I had to actually lift my bike thru..I never even thought twice about it but since this was the first time using pannier's, this would be my first tight squeeze lesson..I pushed and I pushed that stupid bike till it finally made it thru that opening..

This pic is actually looking toward where I am headed and if you note there is a blacktop road running toward the right..

..This is where I first spotted the Conservancy Ranger passing by me in his truck before I exited this trail thru this gate and where I was now concerned and hoping I was coming off the bike trail and not the hiking trail when I waved to him..As he went down behind the hill to the right, I didn't hear him slowing down so I figured I was doing good so far..:

..I spent a little bit of time at this pavement intersection just to find out I was to travel on it toward the left...This is where the bike path will take you even though it is not clear on the map..

Note:

..This intersection is at the Wrigley Reservoir..

..This is where the Divide Rd. (Current part of the bike trail I've been on) meets the asphalt...If you go to the right and down the hill on the asphalt it is Stagecoach Rd. which takes you down the last road to Avalon going right pass the Zane Grey hotel..

..To the left on the asphalt road, this portion is Airport road which for obvious reasons heads toward the airport and is the correct bike route till you reach the Airport..(unless you are turning off for BlackJack Campground)

..and about trail mile 9-1/2 you will come upon the first cattle guard/gate..

 

[Tbars]

Day 3 continued - Onward to camp

..Then at about trail mile 10, over a hill and along the left side of the road I came upon an Oasis of sorts..Haypress Park..

..This was a perfect place to stop and thinking I only had about 4 miles to go I filled up my water bottles and gave the whole park a once over...What a nice place to have and to stop at in the middle of nowhere..They had all the things city parks have from playground to large grills and even porta-potty's..

..you could tell I was focused on the water at this point..

..When I left the park I noticed that right across the road at the entrance gate to the Laura Stein Volunteer Camp they had a fountain of their own..

..Now this is an interesting shot for a couple of reasons...This is next door to the volunteer camp where a bit further down the road I took this shot of these two crows sitting in the tree like vultures while looking off the cliff's edge at Toyon Bay where the Catalina Island Marine Institute is located..

..The next day after I shot this picture, one of the Scientist actually discovered a18 foot sea creature there..An Oarfish..


..As I continued onward this sign was a relief as it meant I was getting closer to tonight's camp..(from here on out all sign's showing distance to Avalon are off by about 3 plus miles to the tactual trail mileage)

..The scenery now took on a more inland terrain perspective while now running along ridges cutt into the terrain..

..This is actually a better part of this asphalt road I had been on...This whole asphalt road is rougher than cobblestone as it is a once paved road that has cold patches applied over cold patches of asphalt patches..

..I had my teeth clack together a number of times on this road where I was seriously thinking about purchasing a mouth guard if I were to traverse it again..

..and looking out toward the "Upper Cape Reservoir Trail"

..now this sign got me excited seeing I was within 1.5 miles to camp..(I know it says 1.3)

..They didn't mention this as with most of this trail was going to be another uphill climb..:banghead:

..But looking off into the distance I can see the Marine layer was moving in and not only was it a ways off, it was a bit early and could be a concern..

...and the flats of this ridge just before the drop down into the actual campground..

..Oh boy oh boy..

..Finally, the actual turnoff to the campground..

..From here it was about 1/3 mile down into a steep Coulee which from seeing the terrain so far and if you didn't know you were about 2000' up, you would have never guessed you would be nestled in the pine trees but it was a pleasant entry into this campground..

More to Follow..Stay Tuned..