Camping Channel Islands National Park

In order to first get to Channel Islands National Park (“The Galapagos of the North”) we first took a boat ride through a megapod of perhaps 1,000 dolphins, by the captain’s estimate.

 

A layer of dense clouds, known as the marine layer, hovered low above the ocean, as the silhouette of Santa Cruz Island, 21 miles off the shore of Ventura, CA, came into view. We disembarked onto Scorpion Anchorage, a beach between two of the island’s cliffs and collected our stowed items. After a briefing from a Park Ranger on the pier, we were off to carry our camping and trekking gear the half mile to our campsite. 

I had been kindly invited to intrude on my brother’s and his recently engaged fiance’s camping trip after a prior trip I planned had been canceled due to weather. Unfortunately, Steven ended up having to be available for jury duty on the mainland, so was unable to join us. Erika and I went on the trip regardless, and set up our tents with the help of the adorably small island foxes (yes, those are fully grown).

After a brief snack, we headed out for our first hike. A quick elevation gain up one of Scorpion Anchorage’s cliffs made me quickly regret wearing jeans, despite the cool air and ocean breeze. We shed the layers we smartly dressed in and continued our ascent. To our left was a valley and rocky shoreline filled with dozens of kayakers heading out on guided tours. Channel Islands National Park has many sea caves that can be kayaked through. Reasons for me to come back.

Finished with the initial ascent, we were entering the marine layer that still covered the ocean. From this elevation, it acted as a dense fog. Being across Scorpion Anchorage from the island’s most popular (and shorter) trails, we would cross paths with few other people on this hike. As our path continued inland on a more reasonable slope, we were mesmerized by how quickly the wind whipped the fog past us.

After gaining nearly 700 feet of elevation on this out-and-back trail, the fog started to break as we descended down toward another beach.

The foxes weren’t to be seen on this beach, but ravens, though not numerous, held domain over all the island. The ravens on the island are the largest I’ve ever seen, though unlike the endemic island foxes, island scrub-jays (which are nearly as large as the ravens), and island spotted skunks (which I didn’t see, but definitely sensed on one hike), are the same breed you’ll find elsewhere.

 

After exploring a bit more of the trail, we turned back the way we came and pushed upward again. The elevation gain was much more rapid going this direction. Reaching the top, we were surprised to find the marine layer had never dissipated, it just wasn’t present in this section of the island. We hiked back in the fog and were descending back into our original valley just as the 5 p.m. and final boat of the day was getting ready to depart. Back at near sea-level we turned toward the beach as a bit of blue became visible in the sky on this side of the island.

We waved the boat’s passengers goodbye from the shore then headed back to camp to cook dinner. The campground is where you’ll see the most foxes if you come to the island. Having no natural predators, they are not afraid of people and are very keen to get to your food if you look away (meanwhile, the ravens will run aerial raids on your picnic table). The island scrub jays are also prevalent around the campsite. We cooked up some pasta and relaxed in the two beach chairs we had lugged along, taking in what views we could of the canyon blanketed in fog. 

No campfires are allowed in this National Park, so there’s no staying up past sunset for us. We headed to bed, me knowing I’ll need a good night’s sleep for the day ahead.

Sleeping in, I made myself oatmeal for breakfast and we left for another trail around 11 in the morning. Starting with a hike back toward the beach, followed by a steep climb up the opposite side of Scorpion Anchorage than the day prior. The busy side of the Scorpion Anchorage. I then realized one of the benefits of camping could’ve been to get an earlier hike than all of the day-trippers that come on the boats, one of which had already unloaded and the other of which was coming in to dock at that moment.

On the way up the steep and narrow path, we worked our way around a few tour groups of physically impressive and kindly seniors. Once up the cliff, it was a fairly flat trail along the ocean, the magnificence of which was once again quashed by the marine layer.

Our first stop, Cavern Point, hosted a single island fox gathering everyone’s attention as it scratched and cleaned itself. This was just as well since the ocean’s waves were barely visible 300 feet below in today’s thicker fog cover.

We soon hiked two more miles along the coast to reach Potato Harbor. From here we could hear sea lions down below, but I couldn’t make out the distinct shape of the small bay that gives it its name. Dozens of people sat on the ground around the overlook, eating lunches and talking with companions.

After a few minutes here I left Erika and trekked back along the trail, taking an offshoot onto a grass trail.

The unmaintained trail took me inland, and the relatively flat land quickly steepened as I began another ascent. A few rays of sunshine managed to pierce the fog at some points, giving me hope I may see a larger landscape yet. I stopped next to a canyon overlook and perched myself on a small rock to eat a sandwich and some snacks as I watched the fog rush by in the wind. With my energy returned and legs rested, I fought upward once more.

 

Eventually I crossed through the marine layer and was finally able to clearly see my objective. The highest point of my hike lay ahead, with a steep dirt ridge as the final climb to get there. As I made my way up to this ridge, I could see the mountains of the mainland to my left, across many miles of fog below.

 

The peak presented a panoramic view of the island. Other peaks bursted through a sea of white, glistening as the marine layer below reflected the clear sky’s light back up onto them. The view also revealed the climbing wasn’t quite done for me, as the ridge I was to follow descended and ascended a few times over the next mile-long stretch.

 

 

Wary of imminent injury on either side of the trail, I tried to be careful as I took in the surrounding beauty. The marine layer continued to burn off, sinking to reveal more of the island’s ridges and hills.

 

Before too long, it was time to start my descent. The trail became much more ambiguous at this point, with large rocks scattered across the ground. My view revealed the corner of the island I had visited the day before was fog-free today as well. My view in the other direction revealed my campsite had remained covered by fog.

 

The trail soon turned into grassland, and I began to see island foxes again.

 

I descended back below the marine layer, watching it be whipped by the wind toward the sunny side of the island, then whisked away by the sun’s rays. The battle was not going in the sun’s favor as I descended toward my campsite, however.

 

Once again under the canopy of fog, I gave myself a baby-wipe shower and changed clothes before cooking up pasta for dinner. A curious fox joined me at my campsite and seemed to consider jumping on my lap as a means to get to the dirty dishes on the fox-box. As the temperature dropped and the wind picked up, I did some reading before calling it an early night after a fun, exhausting day.

The next morning I made some oatmeal for breakfast and we packed up camp just in time for our 11 a.m. check-out. We stored our stuff in fox-boxes near the pier and grabbed our chairs, which had pockets and straps for carrying on our backs, and headed upward, back to Potato Harbor from the day prior.

We set up our chairs overlooking the harbor, now much more visible than the day before. We ate lunch and enjoyed some of the limited cellular-data connection that reached parts of the island from the mainland.

 

We stopped at another point on our way back, and arrived back at the pier with plenty of time to spare before our 5 p.m. departure, the final of the day. Finally exploring the beach near the pier, we then waited on the pier for our boat to dock before sailing back to the mainland.