SUL Thru-Hiking the Trans Catalina Trail

What a neat, off beat trip. CA has a lot of nooks and crannies to explore, and you consistently get into some of the most interesting. Bravo, Andy, and thanks for posting.

Great report Andy!

Have yet to hike the TCT but I've spent a bit of time over on the Island and always enjoy my visits there. Been talking about bikepacking across the island this fall if I can find the time and get schedules to align.

Lots of nice coves/beaches for those with the time/inclination to search them out. Also really enjoy the rural character of Two Harbors compared to the tourist trap Avalon!

The fire roads are no joke! I've done the Catalina Marathon (once), which uses the fire road network from Two Harbors to just shy of Avalon and passes by Shark Harbor and some of the other spots along the TCT. Lots of straight up followed by straight down and straight back up again. Amazing how much elevation can be gained in spite of being on an island with a high point of ~2100'.

When you have the time/inclination, there's some excellent backcountry hiking opportunities on some of islands to the north. Well worth a few trips…

Very nice. Doing this trip with my freediving/spearfishing gear would be a blast. Perhaps this Fall. Thanks for the writeup.

Ok, that is an officially awesome trip. I've done some sea kayaking out there, but no real hiking. Would be great to put an itinerary together hopping a few islands. Nothing like waking up on a beach while backpacking (instead of sleeping on the trail in some chaparral!). Thanks!

Great trip Andy! That looks like a really cool island.

Great trip. Out there south of Two Harbors doing some fieldwork April '13 (staying in accommodations), we saw backpackers but wondered where they got their water … mystery solved. Unique place.

Good stuff, Andy! That looks like a perfect complement to the usual Sierra trips.

"I woke to the sound of small waves crashing on the sand"

It doesn't get much better than that!

Great vid. Really enjoyed your trip report and images. The only problem is that now I have to add the TCT to my walk wish list ;-)

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Anyone want to chime in on when is the best time of year to do this hike? I know it can be foggy and/or rainy (occasionally), but I assume anytime from maybe November to March might be good?

Any what's the quick version of food/water resupply locations/strategy?

Thanks everybody for your replies! Seriously, as a mostly solo hiker it is always cool to get feedback from the BPL community. Very much appreciated.

@Nico: Your recent Channel Islands trip report was the final motivation I needed to take this trip. Fortunately I didn't get the windy conditions that you endured that one night. I will check out some of the islands to the north next year.

Finishing the Catalina Marathon on those fire roads is impressive. Everything I read beforehand stressed the challenging climbs. I did the math on the elevation gain per mile and it is crazy. Much harder than the JMT:

TCT: 265'/mile
JMT: 190'/mile

@Craig: There was a medium sized group at Parsons Landing that was spearfishing all morning. Freediving, surfing Ben Weston, fish cookouts and sleeping on the beach. Doesn't get much better.

@Roger: Having done San Gorgonio I agree that those never ending hills on Catalina were more of a daily challenge.

@Dave: I did this trip in February, just after a week of rain and it was beautiful. The lows on the beach at night were mild but it got up to 88 most days, and it felt like a desert. Anything after March can get well in to the 90's.

I took my wife back for an overnight at Little Harbor in July. She suffered in the 95 degree heat on the hike out.

A good strategy is to go southbound. Most people go northbound from Avalon and suffer. The southeast facing slopes on the climb out of Avalon are brutal in the morning and afternoon.

I started at Two Harbors and hiked to the north end at Starlight Beach, then camped at Parsons Beach. Water and fire wood were waiting at Parsons Beach (included in reservation). This was the longest stretch without water. ~13 miles.

From Parsons I took the flat 7 mile trail along the coastline back to Two Harbors. Picked up a food resupply (they will hold it for you at the visitor center) and hiked to Little Harbor. There was water at Little Harbor. ~14 miles.

Next day I hiked to Blackjack Camp in the interior of the island. Great sunset views! There was water and food at the Airport in the Sky and water at Blackjack. ~13 miles.

Last day I hiked to Avalon. There was water at the Wrigley Playground along the way. Once on the ridge it's an easy downhill hike all the way down to Avalon.

Water sources going southbound:

Creek above Black Point (seasonal)
Parsons Landing (with reservation)
Emerald Bay (private)
Two Harbors
Little Harbor
Airport in the Sky
Blackjack Camp
Wrigley Playground
Avalon

For ferry logistics first I left a car in Dana Point, then took public trans to San Pedro and caught the first ferry to Two Harbors. After finishing in Avalon I took the last ferry to Dana Point and drove home.

Have fun!

Time to book a Jet Blue flight for wintertime.

Thanks!

Nice pics! I just posted some of mine as well, but yours are better …. and much better color. What kind of camera were you using??? I was using an iPhone 4, I believe, please tell me you were using a DSLR!

Trans-Catalina Trail Pictures on Catalina Island

I've done this very similar route but running.
Took the last ferry in and caught the first ferry out the next morning.

His youtube comments say he is using a Canon S95 and listed in his gear list it says he's using a Canon 300HS

Thanks for your comments Trace. I like your photos, especially the one of the Bison mounted above the fireplace, although I'm not sure where that it is on the island. . .maybe the lodge in Two Harbors?

I was using a Canon Powershot ELPH 300HS. Sometimes I use the S95 but for this trip I wanted the lightest and smallest option. I was looking for a slim lightweight point and shoot with decent quality and this one seems to have worked out well. They take some abuse but I've gone through a few of them over the years. I can't bring myself to carry a DSLR yet:)

Here is a link to the Canon website. (They are usually available on eBay):

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer/digital_cameras/powershot_sd_series/powershot_elph_300_hs_silver

BTW, Aaron running that in one day is impressive. I have read about your JMT run (5 or possibly 7 days?). Did you find the day on the TCT to be more difficult than a typical day on the JMT? . . acknowledging the JMT is an engineered trail vs mainly a collection of fire roads on the TCT.

Andy,

TCT was just a run, so 2 pounds of food and a jacket.
It got cold at night while climbing up to Mt. Orizaba.
I also had to put the hammer down the last two hours to make the first ferry.
I had 14 hours to do the 36.5 miles that I did that was probably closer to 40 with all the wondering around.

I also did a lot exploring.
The animals out there are also not so used to seeing people at night, so they are not that afraid of you.
I had several very close run ins with those cute little foxes they have out there and some rabbits that I could walk right up to.