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| Santa Cruz Island Fox |
While on Santa Cruz Island we hiked the Del Norte Trail out of Prisoners Harbor. This six mile hike winds through and over Canada del Agua and Canada del Muro canyons, and took us along the island's coastline, steep cliffs, large sea caves, coves, and sandy beaches. While hiking this trail we saw an Island Fox. These foxes lives only on the Channel Islands -- they are found nowhere else on earth. Each fox population is recognized as a separate and unique subspecies. In 1999, Channel Islands National Park began an island fox recovery program that included captive breeding and reintroduction of the foxes, plus the removal of its predators. This coordinated, organized and highly focused strategy was able to reverse the certain extinction of an endangered species. Today, the Island Fox population has recovered on Santa Cruz Island. We were told that the Island Fox has gone from "an island endangered species to an island pest species".
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| Scorpion Ranch |
The Gherini family worked a sheep ranching operations on the east end of Santa Cruz Island until 1984, using Scorpion Ranch as their base. They managed their island operations with resident managers and laborers and often worked as a family during the summer months and the shearing seasons. Wool production dropped during the 1970s and 1980s as the expense of ranching on a remote island rose considerably. In 1996, the government purchased the ranch, clearing the way for a national park to be established and opened to the public. By 1999, the last of the 10,000 sheep on the island were removed.
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| Overlooking Potato Harbor |
While anchored at Little Scorpion Bay we decided to dinghy over to the Scorpion Ranch and Campgrounds. There we met a park ranger who informed us the site was closed while a new pier was being constructed. As we visited with him, he finally said, "Oh well, the contractor has yet to begin the construction project, so you might as well enjoy the island. You are two of only four visitors on this end of the island today. Have a great day." And, with that, we were off. We did have a great day hiking Potato Harbor Road, North Bluff Trail and Cavern Point Trail. These trails took us along cliffs overlooking the Santa Barbara Channel and the rocky beaches below. Again we saw another Island Fox, a special treat.
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| Overlooking Santa Barbara Channel |
Soon, our six day stay on Santa Cruz Island was over and we left for Oxnard, California. We had a delightful sail across the Santa Barbara Channel, only to find ourselves back in the hustle and bustle of civilization with all of its crowds, congestion and noisy traffic. We were already wishing we were back on Santa Cruz Island with its peaceful, quiet solitude.
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| Hiking the Santa Cruz Island Trails |
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| Hiking the Santa Cruz Island Trails |
Note: The pictures in this post looking back towards the mainland appear hazy because of the smoke from the Santa Clarita, California "Tick Fire", which was burning 74 miles away at the time. Ultimately, more than 4,600 acres burned, threatening 10,000 homes, destroying 29 buildings, and damaging another 44 structures.
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