About Oxnard's Channel Islands

I just want to reiterate that these cliffs are serious. I hope you like to climb stairs. This is the easiest way up I am sure. I mean, I'm no Chumash, but jeez, under no circumstances would I try to climb up to the top of this chunk of rock in the middle of the water. If it weren't for the stairs I would be happy to remain blissfully ignorant of what might be atop the cliffs. I am afraid of heights. I get enough cardiovascular exercise from the panic attack I have at the thought of having to scale this. No thanks.

One of the most challenging parts of my Channel Islands trip was getting on and off the boat. I am a "prepare for the worst" type who decided to bring about 65 pounds of extra gear in my pack. I had extra everything-food, water, clothes and various survival paraphernalia.

You see, the cliffs of Anacapa are so sheer they prevent any kind of normal boat landing. The very capable captain of this vessel reverses the boat up to a rusted ladder which you must climb up or down to embark or disembark. This was challenging to do with a heavy pack on. I can tell you that you do not need to bring that much stuff on this trip. Sure, if there was an emergency, which there wasn't, I would have been a hero. Instead I was the guy who decided to lug a huge pack around for some reason.

The small blobs you can see down on the rocks are actually Sea Lions. This is as close as I could get. I have included this picture to give you an idea of just how steep and high these cliffs are. There are no water sources on the island so it was never a permanent home to the Chumash Indians, the first settlers of the Channel Islands.

However, there is evidence on the island of human activity, which would suggest that the Chumash would come here to hunt and forage. That means they would have to paddle here from one of the other islands or the mainland, and then climb up the sheer cliffs. In an earlier post I mentioned that I just started rock climbing. Rock climbing is hard. There is no way I would try to climb this. The fact that a group of people could do this on a semi-regular basis is very impressive to me. I suppose by comparison I am a bit of a wimp. Well, there's humility for you.

Anacapa Island is full of blooming wildflowers this time of year. Seeing them is definitely worth the price of admission. You can walk from one end of the island to the other in about 20 or 30 minutes. We went on a guided tour, which stretched the walk out to about an hour. The island is full of spots like this. Ooh, pretty colors.

Being on Anacapa Island during this time of year reminds me of that Hitchcock classic, "The Birds," which I realize is not the most ringing endorsement of the place.

The Western Gulls come here to breed and nest. This was early in the season but they were already setting up shop all over the island. Apparently they will be crammed beak to cheek in a few weeks. They nest just about anywhere, including right on the trail. If you come too close to their nest they have no problem letting you know. They can get real aggressive, real quick. Hey, it's their island as far as I'm concerned. I was just visiting.

Here is some general information about the Western Gull:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Gull/lifehistory