For those of you out there that do not know, we have a major life changing move planned! By we, I mean myself, my love and our dog Tinka. We are leaving sunny San Diego in mid April 2012, beginning of May to begin our trip of a life time. In the first leg we are camping our way up to the Oregon coast for about 3 weeks. We are at the beginning stages of our planning, deciding such things, like do we want to sell a car and buy a truck and camper? Where do we want to stop? It is so hard to narrow it down; there is so much to see from San Diego to Manzanita Oregon. We think we have come up with our first stop, the Channel Islands. I did not know much about these islands before this trip but after looking into them, they look amazing!! Now we have the challenge of deciding how to get there, boat or kayak tour? Which one to go to, and how long to stay? Here is some information on the islands and some pictures. If you have any information on these please let us know!! I will be keeping you updated as we keep planning.
There are 5 islands all open year round for camping, but I think we are just deciding between three of them. There is no running water or bathrooms at the first two and you must carry all your trash out. San Miguel Island is the westernmost of the northern Channel Islands, there is only one boat that will take you there about a 4.5 hours boat ride. It seems to have the most dramatic weather conditions and the most remote. I have read that you can get stuck there if the weather is bad and the boat can’t make it. And you cannot have a camp fire. But look at these pictures!! How pretty and it might be a fun way to start our adventure at such a remote location with not many people even allowed on the island at a time!
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Santa Cruz is the largest of the islands and seems to be the most diverse there are, two rugged mountain ranges, deep canyons, year-round springs and streams, giant sea caves, sandy beaches, and tide pools. There are two places you can camp, I think it would be fun to go to the remote back country at Del Norte for a few nights then hike 12 miles to the east side to the Scorpion campground where there are more people and we could rent kayaks to explore the caves. (http://www.islandpackers.com/watersport.html)
Santa Rosa is the next one that we are considering. It is the second largest island, they are known for their white sandy beaches and unlimited hiking options. The nice thing about this island is that there is running water, and bathrooms. There is also three sided wind shelter. There is beach camping but it will not be available when we will be there. I have not read about any kayaking here but I am sure that the hikes and beaches would make up for that.
It is so hard to decide where to go! And this is just the beginning of the trip, I can’t imagine how much harder it will be! I imagine these islands as what California used to be before all of us invaded it. Here is a site with al little history of the islands if you are interested. (http://www.channel.islands.national-park.com/info.htm#rosa) Which one would you go to? Help us decide!!!
sweet fucking pictures!!