Day 2-Blackjack to Little Harbor
We began day two on the TCT with a relatively late start. Normally we prefer to be up and out of camp at or even before sunrise, but today was special. The Airport In The Sky is a tiny airport and restaurant at the top of a mountain only a couple miles into the hike. Since they don’t open until around 9am, we had to time our departure so we wouldn’t arrive before they were open. This ended up being a good thing, if we had started in the dark we would have missed the vibrant green mountains and beautiful views leading up to the airport.
After a tiring, steep final climb, we arrived at the airport. Our neighbor Kirk told us we had to try the bison burgers, and so we did. Not a typical breakfast for us, especially while hiking, but the burgers were tasty and we bought sandwiches to go so we would have something to eat for dinner. Unfortunately they didn’t survive the hike, getting smashed in our packs on the six mile descent down to camp.
During breakfast at the airport, we witnessed a couple, seriously unprepared for a through-hike, giving up and calling in to get a ride back to Avalon.
Bison burger, perfect for breakfast.
At only eight miles, this wasn’t all that long of a day, but because of our late start we were feeling the exhaustion from the sun. Thankfully after the airport most of the hike was downhill.
There were so many points where it looked like you would just walk right off the edge into the ocean.
Along the way we were constantly distracted by the flowers, lizards, beautiful ocean views, and even an adorable baby rattlesnake, the first we’ve ever seen in the wild!
Spring wildflowers in bloom.
Arriving to camp after this hot, exhausting day of hiking was such a relief. Little Harbor has to be one of our favorite campsites, and one of the only campsites we continually return to. It has the perfect location on a little harbor with a beautiful beach, surrounded by giant palm trees and lush green grass. We were even able to reserve our favorite campsite, #10 right on the beach. After eating a little snack, setting up our tent, and resting for a short while, we had a look around to see if there were any stray bison lurking in the surrounding brush. This can be an issue at this campsite, and on occasion one of them will cause a little bit of chaos.
Many years ago when we first stayed at Little Harbor Campground, we discovered a company that rents kayaks to people staying at the camp. They leave the paddles on your picnic table and the kayaks are sitting out at the beach. Each time we have an incredible experience out on the water and are almost guaranteed a spectacular sunset. This is our favorite part about staying at Little Harbor and every time we make sure to not forget about renting the kayaks ahead of time.
Being a hot and sunny day, we decided to hit the water as soon as possible. We paddled out into the calm harbor and enjoyed the views of Catalina Island from the water. Beds of kelp floated gently past and we were so happy for this calm activity after a long day of hiking.
Kayaking outside of Little Harbor in the open ocean is always such a magical experience. It feels almost like Hawaii as you look up and down the coast at the rugged mountains dropping straight into the ocean. With the waves calm and the skies clear, we anticipated another beautiful sunset so we paddled around and tried to kill some time until the sun went down.
While there were no clouds to light up the sky with the sunset colors, the water beneath our kayaks glowed and glistened, reflecting the perfect gradients forming in the sky above us. The soft waves were hypnotizing and we had another unforgettable sunset while kayaking on Catalina Island.
We shouldn’t have been surprised since this has happened to us before, but we got so caught up in the beautiful sunset that we didn’t think about the disappearing light and how dangerous that can make the return to shore. As it got dark, we quickly paddled back into the protected harbor and made it safely to camp, where we enjoyed a nice bonfire and tried to eat our smashed up sandwiches from the airport. What an amazing day!
Day 3-Little Harbor to Two Harbors
The section of trail from Little Harbor to Two Harbors is one that we’re very familiar with, having hiked it at least four times in the past. This is one of the most beautiful stretches of trail on Catalina Island, and aside from the first steep climb is a relatively pleasant 6.5 miles across the ridges and mountaintops with expansive views of both sides of the island. We said goodbye to Little Harbor Campground and began the climb, wishing we could spend more time there but also knowing we had an incredible hike ahead of us.
As we pushed north on the island it became a little drier and more arid, so there was less greenery and more cactus.
Once you climb out of the valleys, Catalina Island has very few trees so you’re completely exposed to the sun and the wind. Temperatures were moderate because we were hiking in early spring, and the bugs were kept away by the ocean breeze. Walking along the ridges gives uninterrupted views up and down the jagged coastline and each climb offers a better and better view. The TCT really is a world-class hike but still remains under the radar. Each day we only ran into a handful of other hikers so it felt very remote and wild, until a truck or tour van drove by and ruined the illusion.
Looking south down the west coast of the island. And taking a break on the long, steep climb.
Incredible views. We only had bugs at one spot where the wind died down, but other than that, the entire trek was bug free.
Lots of private coves where you can boat in and camp.
We saw a lot of this broken down bison fence along the trek. The cactus seemed to love growing around the deteriorating wooden posts.
Heading down the mountain towards Two Harbors where we would be spending the night.
This abandoned SUV sits rotting and covered in graffiti near the trail above Two Harbors. You can’t see it from the trail, but we knew it was there from previous hikes so we had to stop and take another look.
The shady spot was the perfect place to take a little break after our long hike in the direct sun. We took some pictures, had a little snack and something to drink, then got back on the trail for the final short descent into Little Harbor where our oceanside camp was waiting.
Birds dominate the island. There aren't many predators so they live a pretty nice life just soaring around and pestering the hikers.
Cat Harbor is the second of the harbors at Two Harbors.
One luxury of hiking the TCT is that food is never too far away. We decided to carry as little food as possible and stop whenever it was available. Two Harbors has a couple of restaurants, although it was taking the island a long time to recover from covid so selection was pretty limited. We had some bar type food, chicken fingers and fries, then walked the final half mile over to camp.
The campground at Two Harbors was crowded but beautiful. Our site was right on the water, near the restrooms, and had nice trees for shade and to hang clothes out to dry. Since we didn’t swim at Little Harbor, we decided to at least have one swim, as other campers looked on thinking we were a little crazy to plunge into the frigid water. Afterwards we had a nice little dinner and watched another beautiful sunset. We could have ended the trek here and been happy, but we had two more days left and we were looking forward to seeing a new part of Catalina Island that we’ve never been to.
Our campsite at Two Harbors.