After a few hours of kayaking and snorkeling, J and I decided to explore the island a little more and set out on a hike to Potato Harbor. It was somewhere between 2.5 – 5 miles, depending on whether you trust the map or the signs!
(map copied from here)
We enjoyed seeing such a variety of flowers and plants along the way. The Channel Islands are home to over 2000 species of plants and animals, and 150 of them are endemic.
It was a beautiful hike across the island.
View along the North Bluff Trail to Cavern Point
By the time we got to Potato Harbor, it was pretty cloudy. This was the destination for our kayaking trip the next day, so it was cool to see the cove from up above, knowing we’d be down there on the water the next morning!
Another crazy plant on the cliff by Potato Harbor, called Greene’s Dudleya.
We’d planned on hiking back to Cavern Point to watch the sunset, but clouds kept rolling in, so we headed back to camp for the night. I’d found a company, Channel Islands Provisioners, that prepares meals for kayakers/campers to take with them since there is no food available on the islands. We’d also rented all our camping equipment and a nice propane stove from our kayak tour company (Santa Barbara Adventure Company), so we had an awesome boil-in-a-bag dinner of steak fajitas!
Complete with a chocolate brownie and ricotta cheesecake for dessert! (It was J’s birthday, after all!) Hands down the best food we’ve ever had while camping.
Check out our second day of kayaking here!
Kayaking and hiking. Sounds like an amazing trip