Apparently, the dolphin regularly escort the Pacific Islander boat from Ventura Harbor to the Channel Islands, taking campers and day visitors to one of its five islands which are now part of the National Park Service. Maybe they want to help get the party started early. And maybe they accomplished just that.
Not that the group I was with has trouble getting anything started. Comprised of hardy adventurists, a group of about 21 of us were headed out to Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the five islands of Channel Islands National Park, for two days of camping, hiking and sea kayaking. And there we were, being entertained by the dolphin, our gear stowed below deck, getting the party started.
The Channel Islands are home to over 2000 species of animals and plants – 145 of them found nowhere else on Earth. We became pretty familiar with one of these protected and unique species, the Island fox, as they were numerous little thieves who had a fondness for smelly hiking socks which our group could supply abundantly. Our hikes and kayak trips gave us plenty of opportunity to see other Island critters too like the Island Blue Jay, sea lions, lots of sea birds and fish. I even had one small brown bug attempt to stow away for a ride to the mainland on my tent only to be summarily removed before packing.
Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the five Park islands and our destination, has a long history of human habitation. Local legend has it that the name came from a priest’s staff accidentally left on the island during the Portola expedition of 1769. A friendly Chumash Indian, one of many living on the Island, found it and returned it, causing the Spanish to name the island “La Isla de Santa Cruz” (Island of the Sacred Cross). Many tribes and clans of American Indians have lived on and traveled between the island and the mainland for over 10,000 years often to mine the extensive chert deposits for tools and ‘shell-bead money’ which was traded among tribes throughout California.
European exploration and ranching has occupied the island in the last 150 years although the first Spanish exploration began around 1542 in the area of Scorpion Ranch. Evidence of ranching is everywhere when you first approach the island. Rusting ranch equipment lines the walk to the Visitor’s Center which is an old adobe ranch house, usually unmanned, but with several very informative displays about the island’s history and wildlife.
The Park brochure says the landscape reflects what Coastal California would have looked like before all the houses and people. Santa Cruz, like a lot of islands, has a high point which is Montanan Ridge, draining water across high plateaus both north and south creating deep canyons. For us hikers, these truly beautiful grassy plateaus were a delight, with views that stretched literally as far as the eye can see. Although the Island is only about 66,000 acres, quite a few trails, usually old ranch roads, provide foot access to places with names like Smuggler’s Cove and Potato Harbor. These trails are only difficult if you happen to be starting down in one of the canyons – which admittedly pretty much everyone does. Plateau up; harbor down.
We camped in Scorpion Canyon, a mile up from the Pier at Scorpion Anchorage. One of our first house-making tasks was getting our own gear out of the boat and onto the pier. We then formed a human chain to get the gear off the pier and onto the land for the one-mile schlep to our organized campground in Scorpion Canyon. The campground has the ubiquitous composting pit toilets found throughout the National Parks and is one of only two on the Islands that actually provides potable water. Thank goodness. Even though hiking in a mile with your bedroom, kitchen, living room and closet on your back for two days is a mere distraction for this group, if uber heavy water needed to be toted too, this minor distraction would have become much more annoying. None of our favorite gear companies have figured out a way to freeze-dry water yet.
After setting up our tents and settling in, we did what we always do – find some like-minded friend and head off in all directions. I headed straight toward the beach, anxious to get the kayak in the water and explore the shoreline. The kayaks were all sit-upons with which I had no previous experience. I like them for short shore trips although they are not nearly as sleek and beautiful as sit-in kayaks. Nonetheless, my kayak partner Caroline and I explored much of the coast to the east and west of the Anchorage over the next two days, floating into huge caves under the cliffs and paddling to ‘bird islands’, small rocky escarpments above the water which provide the pelicans, gulls, cormorants, guillemots and murres a solid resting place in a sea of moving water.
Sometimes, Caroline and I dropped our paddles onto our laps and just let the sea float us up and down. Sometimes we caught up with others of our group, grabbing onto other’s kayaks to form a moving conversation. And, naturally, Caroline and I couldn’t resist going through an arch through the cliff as the wave action bobbed us up and down, bringing our heads within a few inches of the arch’s roof. It felt a lot like a Disney ride with no lines. And yes we did it again.
For me, a highlight of the trip was a short 1.2-mile hike up from the campground to Cavern Point to watch Brother Sun dip below the horizon. Something about the humidity maybe – or possibly smoke from California seasonal fires – made Brother Sun a bright orange as he traveled further away from the night. And if I travel with this group, I always know there is at least one other (and often more) person willing to have that same experience. It is always a plus when the people you are with are part of the pleasure of the trip.
Nearly everywhere I go I always think I will visit again. To be honest, though, there are so very many beautiful places on this small planet and I would love to see them all. But perhaps if I get a chance to visit this very special place again I will take it, visiting the even more primitive islands for a few days. The Channel Islands provide the solitude I crave and only are a short distance in time and a world away from the busy bustling city. And frankly I want to play with the dolphin again.
