Adventures at Channel Islands National Park
This Thanksgiving break, I spontaneously decided to go Channel Islands. Not many have heard of these islands nor know that it is one of the national parks in California.
Located off the coast of Ventura, it comprises of 5 ecologically rich islands. Some refer to it as “The Galapagos” of California. Hearing that, alongside the variety of activities to do there (hiking, camping, sea cave kayaking), I was immediately intrigued. We spent 3 days and 2 nights on Santa Cruz — the biggest island.
Getting there
To get there, we had to take a 1-hour ferry ride from Ventura Harbor. All transport between the islands and mainland are operated by Island Packers Cruises. The ferry was scheduled to depart at 9:00am, but we arrived at 8:15am to give ourselves time to offload all our camping gear.
We were blessed with calm waters despite the forecast for rain later that day. The hour-long ferry ride was relatively calm. We stood at the front deck and spotted some dolphins along the way. At 10:15am, we arrived at Scorpion Ranch, the east-side of Santa Cruz Island.
Sea Cave Kayaking
Our itinerary for the day started with a Sea Cave Kayaking adventure we had booked with Santa Barbara Adventure Company. Our kayaking guide was very enthusiastic and hospitable to us. Each kayaking group has not more than 8 people, and she tailors the 3-hour kayaking program according to the interests and skill-level of the group. Since most of us had prior kayaking experience, we were able to move fast and visit more caves.
The caves were beautiful. There were caves that were five times the size of an apartment, and some where only one kayak could enter at a time. We visited a cave that looked like an elephant on the outside; a cave which housed a shore with baby seals; one called “The Green Room” because of the glistening blueish green waters that ran through it. We enjoyed the kayaking challenges our guide put forth — manoeuvring through narrow passageways with sharp walls & turns and paddling against currents.
Kelp forests span the seabed — We held on to kelp to prevent being swept away by the currents while waiting to enter the cave. Our guide also showed us that the air bulbs could be eaten… They were crunchy & salty!
We also got up close and personal with many of the other marine life there. I was literally staring face-to-face with a seal who was sunbathing on a rock, until I got too excited and scared it away. We saw a sea lion that was swimming on its side, with only one fin peaking above the water, and got alarmed for a second thinking that it was a shark.
Camping & Eating
We booked a campground at Scorpion Ranch for 2 nights. We immediately set up our tents while it was dry, and went for a short hike to see the sunset afterwards.
My friend had spent a decent amount of time planning our food for the trip. We packed light because initially we were planning to hike in the backcountry with our gear. However, we decided against it because it turned out to be a 13.5 mile instead of 3.5 mile hike :P
This is the best I’ve eaten during a camping trip. I do not like fussing over what to buy and carry — So there was once where I went on granola bars, beef jerky, bread and peanut butter for 4 days. Two other times, I bought a loaf of bread, ham, and cheese and that was my meal for 3 days. However, my friend discovered Backpacker Pantry meals, I realised one can be well-fed at a low cost in a no-fuss manner.
These pre-made/freeze-dried/dehydrated meals cost $5–7 per pack. They contain 2 servings inside, and are super compact & light. The only thing they require is hot water. All you need is a pot and some solid fuel for that. You do not need to bring a bowl because the meals are meant to be eaten from the bag. This also makes keeping trash really easy.
Hiking
We went on 3 hiking trails in total. On the first day, we hiked to Cavern Point to see the sunset.
On the second day, we did a 8-mile roundtrip hike to Montañon Ridge, the highest point on the island. This easily took up most of our day — We spent 5 hours in total doing the trail.
The wind that day was insane. You can tell by looking closely at my hair in the photo below.
After that, we hiked to Potato Harbor for sunset. It was easy to tell why it was recommended by many. The sunset that night was gorgeous.
Till next time, Channel Islands
