 (L-R) Ron Gabel, Bob, Steve Cohen, Rouvaishyana, Betty Tegner, Bryan, Ann, docent Sabine Faulhaber, Mike Baird.
 Views from San Miguel Island hike.
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Photos by Mike Baird |
2009 Three-Day Kayak and Hiking Tour
of the Channel Islands
Introduction
I had been to the Channel Islands a few times previously. In 2006, I went to Santa Cruz Island with a friend. We stayed 2 nights and parts of 3 days, kayaking in the sea caves and hiking around the island both by day and at night, and camping in a tent. In fall 2008, I went whale-watching with a small group out of Santa Barbara. The highlight for the day was blue whales, and the trip included a short cruise along the northwest shore of Santa Cruz Island to see the entrance to Painted Cave, the longest sea cave in the world. This was most impressive and whetted my appetite to go back. Later that same fall, another friend and I went on a half-day wildlife cruise to Anacapa Island. It seemed like a classic desert island, with great cliffs and dusty sand blowing off the top of the island in the high winds that day. Yet from the perspective of wildlife, it is fecund, with pelicans and other seabirds in abundance.
This time I had gotten information about a trip operated by Truth Aquatics, based in Santa Barbara. The trip was to be a 3-day live-aboard cruise on a medium-size boat (65'). Participants would sleep in berths on the boat, and all food would be provided. The trip was scheduled to visit San Miguel, Santa Rosa, and Santa Cruz Islands. We would have the opportunity to go kayaking, and to hike on some of the islands under the guidance of either a National Park Service Ranger or volunteer naturalist. I shared the information with a few friends, and 5 of us were prepared to go: Mike, Steve, Ron, Betty, and myself. I had paddled with all of them previously, but the group had not paddled together as a whole prior to the trip. I knew that all were strong, experienced ocean kayakers, fully capable of taking this trip.
First night-July 1, 2009, Santa Barbara Harbor
The tour company allows guests to board the boat any time between 8:00 PM and midnight. The office is open late to accommodate those checking in. This boarding time is necessary because the boat departs at 4:00 AM in order to arrive at San Miguel Island by 8:30 AM. We boarded about 9:00 PM, signed up for our sleeping berths, brought our belongings aboard, and stowed our kayaks on the overhead rack on the stern of the boat. We talked for awhile with a few other adventurers, took a walk to the Santa Barbara pier, then went to sleep aboard the boat, which felt a bit like sleeping in a chest of drawers.
Day 1-July 2, Santa Barbara Harbor to San Miguel Island to Santa Rosa Island
I awoke at 3:00 AM, and was so excited I could not go back to sleep right away. I reviewed maps of the islands that were on the galley tables. A short while later, the captain came aboard and we talked briefly. Soon after that the crew boarded, secured the kayaks on the overhead rack, and busied themselves with other preparations. I went back to my berth to await departure.
Soon the boat's generator started up, followed by twin diesel engines. In short order, we were off and away from the dock. I went topside to watch the boat leave the harbor. I had hoped to see some dolphins or other wildlife once we were out in the Santa Barbara Channel, but at night, in the fog, and with black water, I realized there would be nothing to see, so I went below and fell asleep.
The movement of the waves lulled me. Since I was just forward of the engine room, I told myself that I was merely listening to the purring of a very large cat. This worked.
I was up before 6:00 AM. The sky was gray, and there were light to moderate waves in the Channel. After shaving, I went to the bow of the boat to look for wildlife. This proved to be a mistake, as there was occasional spray, and of course some found me. Back behind the cabin I went. Soon the captain's voice came over the loudspeaker announcing blue whales. Before long, we were among nearly a dozen of these huge animals, blowing all around us. We also saw some dolphins and several seabirds.
The cook told us he would make food for us if we wanted to eat then, or we could wait until we were in calmer water. Before long, we made out the shape of San Miguel Island ahead of us. We pulled into Cuyler Harbor, the boat slowed down, and we dropped anchor. The captain called all guests into the galley. Those who had not already eaten were encouraged to do so while he discussed the trip schedule. He introduced the crew, and the volunteer naturalist gave her first talk as well. There were several writers on board. It turned out that this had been arranged by the tour company as a way to publicize its adventure offerings.
The plan for the day was to go ashore and take a hike under the guidance of both the naturalist and a Ranger. We made a wet landing by skiff and set off on the hike. The harbor has a beautiful beach with a steep trail up to the mesa above. The landscape and vegetation were stark and reminded me somewhat of places I had been in Wyoming. Later I realized that the landscape represents what some of southern California probably used to look like, with the added feature of specialized, even endemic, plants and wildlife.
In fact the Channel Islands are sometimes called "America's Galapagos" because of the abundance of plant and animal life, and because of the unique and endemic species found there. We got a first-hand look at the strange and beautiful plant life, and saw signs of the endemic island fox, a subspecies of the larger gray fox found on mainland California. We discussed the ecological roles of both bald and golden eagles and the resource conflicts that occur when both are present.
We also looked at a historic home site and learned about the history of ranching on the island. We kept up a good pace. Our lunch spot had a commanding view of a rocky cove on the opposite shore of the island. It was so windy that several of us walked back into the lee of the point for our break. Afterward, we went back at our own pace. A few of us took the time to hike up to the Ranger station and view more of the historic ranching site, as well as check out the campground and dirt landing strip.
Back aboard the boat, the afternoon plan called for an hour or so to explore the cove by kayak. This seemed backward to me—many kayakers in coastal California prefer to start in the morning since winds pick up in the afternoon, and indeed the wind was beginning to whip around the island. But off we went, turning back fairly soon so we wouldn't have to battle the wind too long after a full day of hiking.
Once back, the crew raised the anchor. This entailed cutting off a huge ball of kelp that came up with the anchor line. We headed to Santa Rosa Island where a smoother harbor awaited to spend the night. We had dinner, which was excellent, the crew commented that they didn't expect to see too many of us staying up very late, and in fact most of us were asleep soon after the summer dark.
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