TDH: Trans Catalina Trail Backpacking

Описание: Catalina Trans-Catalina Trail Trip Report (5 Days)

Day 1 – Avalon + Hermit Gulch

We took the boat from Long Beach around 2:00pm and arrived in Avalon around 3:15pm. We stopped at a geocache called Lopita’s Lantern, then bought fuel at Chet’s Hardware, but they only had the big heavy canisters. We grabbed dinner and margaritas at a Mexican restaurant. While we were there, the power went out and the smoke alarm went off. I had a huge burrito (carnitas + carne asada), Richard got shrimp, and Gene got birria tacos.

After dinner we hiked about 1.5 miles to Hermit Gulch Campground, which was totally empty. Bathrooms were mostly locked and the keypad didn’t work, but one toilet area was open. We carried two 6-lb Duraflame logs from Vons back to camp and made a fire in the grill area. A fox climbed on the picnic table and rummaged through my ditty bag, pulling out cables and wipes. I slept badly and woke up at 2:30am.

Day 2 – Hermit Gulch → Blackjack

We packed up around 9:20am and immediately climbed a steep 1.3–1.5 miles up to a gazebo viewpoint. There I ate one of the best trail lunches ever: a ham + butter sandwich with Gruyère and cornichons. We met other hikers and a woman who runs Catalina Backcountry who mentioned an ice chest with water before Blackjack.

We pushed into the high country and reached Blackjack Campground a little after 2:00pm. The final mile was brutally steep. That night was cold with no fire, but we sat around drinking anyway. A small herd of buffalo walked right through camp and blocked us from the table for a while. We turned in early around 7:00pm–7:30pm and I slept great.

Day 3 – Blackjack → Airport → Little Harbor

I woke up around 5:30am and caught an amazing sunrise with the moon still out. Everything was soaked with dew. We didn’t roll out until around 9:40, stopped at the Catalina Airport, and had lunch. Richard and I got buffalo burgers, and Gene got a regular burger (and bought a hat that literally rang up as “ladies hat”).

We headed down toward Little Harbor. The weather was perfect. A storm was forecast for Monday, so we changed our boat reservation and decided to leave Sunday instead.

Day 4 – Little Harbor (Best campsite)

Little Harbor was unreal. We had a huge campsite almost on the beach with four picnic tables. We made friends with a super affectionate camp cat, and a slightly mangy fox that also hung around. We watched the sunset from the beach, and the fox stole my water bladder + filter (then dropped it) and pooped on one of the tables.

We made a beach fire and met a solo backpacker named Amber, and invited her over to hang out. We all turned in around 9.

Day 5 – Little Harbor → Two Harbors + Boat Home

The morning was wet again, and Gene was slow getting moving. The climb out of Little Harbor was steep for a few miles, with a brutal final push. We went into town first so Gene could grab lunch and whiskey, then headed to our campsite (about 0.5 miles away). It was hilly but on the beach.

We ran into Amber again and she ended up hanging out with us. That night we bought 3 bundles of firewood, which turned out to be the perfect amount for a long beach fire. Amber stayed back to watch the sunset while we went to the bar. The bartender was great, it got packed, and the burger was amazing. I tried the famous Buffalo Milk cocktail (good but too sweet), so I followed it with a Manhattan. We headed back, got the fire going, and finished the whiskey.

The next morning we had to catch the 11:45am boat. The grill was closed, so we grabbed snacks and waited for the bar to open at 11. Amber ordered a burger, Richard and I got Manhattans, and Gene got two orders of fries. We were a little late boarding because we were still eating, but we made it and got the last table together on the boat. Monday boats ended up being canceled, so leaving early was the right call.

Catalina delivered: brutal climbs, perfect weather, buffalo in camp, fox crimes, beach fires, and one of the best campsites I’ve ever had.

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