Backpack the Trans-Catalina Trail in 3 days

We arrived in the early morning on a ferry boat and immediately checked in. After grabbing a cup of coffee and some salty potatoes we began our 3 day trek. Knowing we had to be home for class on Monday, there was a sense of excitement and urgency as we climbed the first 3 miles of the lightly wooded road, occasionally stopping to watch zip-liners and look back at the island's largest city of 3,773 people.

The first day was the hardest, as my partner and I were not accustom to the heat of the island nor did we expect such a grueling uphill trek within the first 10 miles. After most of the day was spent hiking through sparse desert and hiding from wild bison in fear that they would charge at us... we made it to Blackjack campground- a lovely area set aside with bathrooms and lockers full of firewood. Each site was fairly private and we were surrounded by numerous lichen decorated trees that provided shade and firewood (for those that don't want to pay for the locker's wood)

The second day was the easiest, and we managed to make it to Little Harbor in a matter of 4 hours. We spent the day swimming in the little cove and debating with some fellow hikers wether to stay and camp on the beach or continue on to Two Harbors as planned. We didn't have a campsite reserved at little harbor and after the park ranger came around, we all agreed to play it safe and go to two harbors where our site was reserved.

After a 6 hour break, both my partner and I packed up and began what was the hardest hike of the trip. The hardest... but definitely the MOST GORGEOUS. I would do it all over again just for that one 7 mile stretch. Most of this part of the trail followed the ridge line. We climbed up and down and up and down but mostly up. We reached the highest peak on the trail and were absolutely astonished with its beauty. The breeze guided us throughout the afternoon and we were excited to get to our new camp and have dinner.

It was about 7:00 PM when we reached Two Harbors, enjoying the sunset and also a few deer that crossed our path. The campground was terraced and very diverse with little bridges and trails leading to all the different levels of the area. Ours had a picnic table and shade cover, in addition to a sunning view of the harbor. We heated some freeze dried miso soup and made camp-hummus to dip our crackers in before stripping off sweaty clothes for fresh ones and sleeping to the sound of waves and yacht parties (granted it was a holiday weekend).

We spent the whole next day eating grapes and beans we purchased at the local market (because we ran our of food) and swimming in a private little cove on the side of the harbor. We hiked around the town and slept under palm trees, answering tourists' questions about why on earth we had backpacks instead of bikinis. Everyone admired our 28 mile journey and wanted to hear our stories.

At about 6:00 PM our boat came and we snagged two seats on the top and enjoyed the breezy ride home. Definitely out of our comfort zone, amazingly perfect experience.