Day 1-San Pedro to Avalon
The Trans-Catalina Trail, or TCT, is a 40-mile hike that traverses the entire island north to south from Avalon to Parsons Landing. We love Catalina Island and have hiked a small portion of the TCT a number of times. However, we had never hiked the entire TCT and 2022 was finally the year to give it a shot. Planning is crucial as you need to reserve campsites, plan transportation to and from the island, and book everything at the right time of year. We decided on March to ensure the island would be covered in green, wildflowers would be blooming, and temperatures would be comfortable.
The TCT begins with one of the most unique experiences of any trek, a ferry ride that launches from the industrial port town of San Pedro, California. Once you board the ferry, you’re treated to views of cranes, cargo ships, and everything that keeps this country supplied with goods from all over the world. The ferry was full of backpackers, bikers and tourists. Unfortunately we had to wear our masks, even in 2022 there were still Covid precautions in effect.
Not a typical way to begin 5 days of trekking, but the harbor is a really interesting place to spend some time.
Massive cargo ships were loading and unloading all morning.
The earliest ferry doesn’t arrive at the island until later in the day, so we decided not to begin hiking immediately on arrival. Instead, we rented e-bikes and rode in the hilly neighborhoods above Avalon.
We had beautiful views of the harbor, the town, and the surrounding mountains. It was a wonderful way to begin our adventure. That night we booked a hotel in Avalon instead of camping outside of town.
Only two towns exist on Catalina Island, Avalon and Two Harbors. After a nice ride, we spent the night at a hotel in Avalon.
Day 1-Avalon to Blackjack Campground
Day one on the TCT was a strenuous 11 miles with around 3,000 feet of elevation gain. We started before sunrise knowing the trail is mostly exposed and they were forecasting sunny and clear skies.
We walked through the quiet streets of Avalon, past the golf course and into the campground where some other hikers were getting ready to begin the TCT as well. After a quick restroom break we began the steep climb up to the ridge. Everything was quiet this early in the morning and temperatures were nice and cool.
Most of the elevation gain on day one was in this first climb. We meandered in and out of the isolated green canyons as we climbed our way up to the ridgeline. There were a couple other hikers here and there, but we found ourselves mostly alone and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the morning.
These small and sometimes hard to see mile posts marked the way. We actually missed mile 1, so I couldn't do a series of all the posts.
Our expectations were immediately blown away. This trail was beautiful. We walked through tree tunnels, past colorful patches of wildflowers, and all the while listened to the birds waking up and chirping happily back and forth to one another.
Cactus and flowers everywhere.
At the top of the climb we were sweaty and getting pretty tired. We were carrying relativaly heavy packs and we had just ascended a couple thousand feet. The temperature was beginning to rise as the sun climbed higher in the sky, thankfully there was a nice little rest stop offering some shade when we emerged onto the ridge. We took a nice long break, had some snacks, and enjoyed the beautiful view of Avalon and the Pacific Ocean far below.
Bison were brought to the island in the 1920's for a movie, and ended up flourishing on the island to this day. They can be dangerous, so you really have to keep an eye out and be sure not to disturb them.
After our break we hiked along a pleasant stretch of rolling fire roads and single track trails that lead us across the green mountaintops. The skies were perfect blue with puffy white clouds.
Everything was green. During most of the year Catalina Island is pretty dry and brown, so we chose to hike in March when the wildflowers were in bloom and the grass was green.
After about a mile of hiking along the fire road we reached the official bison area, a fenced-off portion of Catalina Island where herds of bison are allowed to roam free.
The views were incredible, and from some points along this section we were able to see the ocean on both sides of the island. Off in the distance we spotted Mount Orizaba, the highest point on Catalina Island and the location of our camp for the night. We still had a long way to go!
The trail is marked very clearly by these sign posts when you come to any side trails.
We’ve run across a bison every once in a while on Catalina Island, but this was our first view of a whole herd of them. We watched them for a while during a short break, and talked about how happy we were that they weren’t hanging out on the trail. Some hikers have unpredictable run-ins with stubborn bison that are unwilling to move, and that can lead to some pretty dangerous situations. They looked happy and content just grazing in the fields and enjoying the sun, and we cautiously kept our distance.
The higher you get, the more you can see of the island.
Our packs were feeling heavy as we started to descend towards our first campsite. Once again we were back down in the beautiful green valleys that were full of life. The parts of Catalina Island that we’ve already visited don’t have many trees so it was a surprise to find forests, ponds, and nice grassy areas. It didn’t feel like Catalina Island, it was almost like we were on another planet!
In the valleys everything was so lush and green. Often at the very lowest points we would hear the croaking of what sounded like hundreds of frogs, which signaled that we were nearing one of the many small lakes.
By the time we reached Blackjack campground we were thoroughly exhausted. One reason we decided to hike from south to north was to get the least interesting camp out of the way first. Blackjack is ok, but there’s nothing special or memorable about it. The next campground is too far of a distance to hike with packs so you’re forced to stop here for the night. We really enjoyed it though, and had plenty of time to cook dinner, take a little nap, and do some reading.
Once again we found ourselves mostly alone so it was a peaceful night. We went to bed rather early, knowing we would need to rest for the next day of hiking.