The Foggy Island
We shivered as our boat cut through the early morning waves. A chilly, wet fog wrapped around us with a density that would terrify a claustrophobic. We could see nothing of the Pacific Ocean around us, only our boat...
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April 9th, 2023- California Day 2
The fog in California is different than in Ohio. An Ohio fog is gentle, sliding soft arms around you and lulling you back into a gentle slumber. In California, it comes with a quiet ferocity and stays as long as it wants. Ohio fogs are a temporary guest. California fogs are a harsh master.
I was disappointed that we couldn’t see more of the Pacific. It was my first time seeing an ocean other than the Atlantic, and I had been looking forward to seeing if I could tell the difference. But the fog had other plans, so we could do nothing more than scoot closer to each other on the metal bench and avoid the drips of condensation blowing off the roof of the boat.We were heading to Channel Islands National Park, a cryptic collection of islands off the coast of Palm Springs, CA. There are eight Channel Islands in total, but only five of them are national parklands. We were destined for the island of Santa Cruz. Scorpion Anchorage, to be exact. Our boat ride was an hour, mostly uneventful except for the sudden stop we experienced in the middle of the ride. An irrational fear jolted through me as the engine died. Are we stranded? Did we run out of gas? Fortunately, it was neither! Two beautiful orcas were coming up for air just yards away from our boat. The captain, knowing that this was a rare occurrence this time of year, was gracious enough to allow us the time to soak it in. They were females, not very large, but notably elegant as they blew small jets of air from their blowholes. They moved like dancers through the water, with gracefulness that paralleled their dolphin cousins. In that moment, it was hard to fathom why orcas have earned the moniker “killer whales.” It seemed as though they were incapable of any violence.
Too soon, they were gone. We headed on to the island, shrouded by a veil of fog. Approaching the island felt magical and mysterious. Tall, cloud-crowned cliffs curved gently down to a small valley, holding a handful of buildings and farm implements. This island was once used by sheep ranchers, and they had left their mark. We perused their assortment of old ranch buildings, rusting tractors, and beautiful gardens before hitting the trail. Our trail was a narrow footpath ascending one of the tall, grassy hills we’d seen from the boat. Morning glories, wet with dew, climbed up the green slopes. In the distance, more hills curved and overlapped, looking much like I’d expect Ireland or New Zealand to look like on a foggy morning. We climbed to the edge of a cliff and walked along it for a while. Ordinarily, the views across the Pacific Ocean would be stunning. The fog, however, forced our focus to the landscape instead, to the abundance of grasses and wildflowers dotting the scene.
It was wonderfully quiet. We explored for hours, winding our way along the cliff, finding patches of sunlight where the fog hadn’t blown in from the ocean. Tiny island foxes were abundant in these sunny areas, searching for dropped snacks and free handouts. On our last trail loop, we were lucky to catch a rare moment when the fog lifted, revealing a steep cliff plunging into a crystal blue sea. Its vibrancy tempted us, so before we returned to our boat, we donned water shoes and ventured down to the rocky beach. The stones along the seashore were rounded, a living history of centuries of waves. As expected, the water was frigid, so we didn’t stay long. At least we could say that we touched the Pacific!
After a foggy boat ride back to the mainland, we hopped in the car and headed towards Hollywood. We aren’t citygoers by nature, but we felt that the opportunity was too good to pass up. Tyler demonstrated his driving expertise in the narrow suburban streets near the Hollywood sign. We had originally intended to park and snatch a few pictures, but this evidently was the goal of hundreds of people. We were lucky enough to get a few good snapshots from the road before nearly getting run over! We wrapped up our Las Angeles experience by walking down the pathway of stars, finding a few notable ones before the tent dwellers began to make us nervous. It wasn’t long before we were like the fog itself, drifting out of the city and off to find another place to roam.
Hiking trails: North Bluff Trail and Potato Harbor Road
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