Trans Catalina Trail, Black Jack CG to Little Harbor CG

By 7:45, we were packed up and hiking. A few hours later, we passed by Airport in the Sky, where we spent a leisurely amount of time sitting at the cafe, eating breakfast burritos and drinking coffee. Today was a shorter day, with more absurd views for most of the day. We could see the Little Harbor Campground for a while as we approached in the early afternoon. A cove with a beach, palm trees, and campsites dotting the surrounding hills. After an 8-mile day, we rolled in around 1:30. In the November low season, we were able to reserve a premium campsite right off the beach.

Trans Catalina Trail, Avalon to Black Jack CG

In November 2021, my best friends Leslie, Emily, and I decided to thru-hike the Trans Catalina Trail (TCT) during our fall break. Catalina is a small island off the coast of Los Angeles, and the TCT snakes through the island from top to bottom. After all the hiking I had done over the summer, I was so excited to finally do my first baby thru-hike. This was also the first time backpacking for Emily and me, and it turns out this trail was a great choice. TCT hikers must stay at established campgrounds along the route, and each one had bathrooms and potable water, so we were able to ease into the experience. I had spent the weeks leading up to our departure buying my first pieces of backpacking gear, and we painstakingly planned all the logistics. The day before we started, the three of us met in LA and got a hotel in Long Beach for the night.