San Miguel

Aug 17, 9:30pm

It blew - HARD - all night long, but by the time we awoke, it had calmed to 15 or so. Alas we were surrounded by a dense fog, which prevented us from leaving for a warmer, calmer place (which we gathered would be ANYWHERE in the No. Hemisphere - just not here). So we made the best of a lazy morning and Holly made her famous cornbread pancakes.

As we talked about our destination options and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, the sun finally made its promised arrival. Cuyler Harbor is spectacular, with a sweeping crescent bay bookended by huge rock and scrub promontories that protect you from the open sea. There are white sandy beaches occupied by elephant seals, turquoise waters decorated with kelp forests. San Miguel Island is a unique place: surely few people ever come here, and even fewer get to come twice. So Holly made her plea to spend our 'extra' day ashore here ... and seeing it's taken her a lifetime to get here, we gladly conceded.

Loading out backpacks with water and sandwiches, we took the dinghy ashore to the mid-point of the beach, closest to the trailhead. It was a short hike along the beach and over some dunes to the beginning of the trek which took us up a steep ravine, dripping with wildflowers of every color. Holly said it was like walking through a palette, there were so many hues; and there were just as many sizes, shapes and textures, from short fat succulent Dudlyea to giant coreopsis, with poppies and morning glories and all sorts of dainty blooms that survive and thrive in this climate.Yes it may be cold and foggy in August, but the benefit is the wildflowers were amazing.

Our hike took us up to the Juan Cabrillo monument, past a very sorry looking spare and wind-blown campsite, to the ranger's station. A plane was just landing (we had to scurry across the runway/trail) and the weekly change of hands, of the Park Ranger and researchers, was taking place. After stowing his provisions, Ranger George, a witty elderly British gentleman who volunteers as a ranger, offered to take us to the caliche forest several miles away. The trail took us up and over the island's highest point (800') along moor-like scenery, where onmipresent wisps of fog sped by. At one point we crossed tall sandy dunes - at an elevation of 750' - the power and tenacity of the wind being rather impressive.

The caliche forest appeared along a bluff scattered with huge pom-poms of lupin and 'dune'delions; like a cemetery of pure white stumps, where ghostly swaths of fog danced through. The remnants of an ancient pine forest, the caliche (calcrete) is a fossil but not truly ... too complex to describe late on a darkened night, you'll have to google it. But it was an impressive sight, and after snapping a few photos, and taking the eerie panorama in, we retraced our steps. .

Ranger George kept us entertained with details and anecdotes about the island flora and fauna, and his fascinating 70-plus-years of life, and soon the 5-mile round trip was over. As a reward, he offered us some brownies at the station, we started our slightly wobbly hike (we've been boat bound a few days, and were a bit stiff!) back along the trail and down the ravine to the beach (another mile or so). Along the way, a petite island fox (an endemic species) appeared in the trail - and then another. These two adorable young pups eyed us curiously for a few minutes, then walked into the dense coreopsis grove. It was the icing on the cake, a fabulous day.

After a refreshingly splashy (the water temp is mid 50s) dinghy ride, we took turns showering ... it never really got sunny enough to warm up the sunshower, so our baths were brisk and quick! Leftover lasagna and salad were on the menu and everyone turned in fairly swift. Kathleen announced this has been one of the biggest adventures of her life... and heck, we're not even halfway through the trip yet ;-)

Tomorrow we leave earlyish for Santa Cruz again. We expect a nice following breeze so will sail over the top of Santa Rosa, then duck into the passage between Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz, and head east to an anchorage on the south side. Thursday we'll make our way to Santa Barbara Island, by way of Anacapa, and Friday we'll head over to the Isthmus, on Catalina. By then, we hope and pray, we will meet up with some SUNNY and WARM weather!!

The gals are all sound asleep, well, happy and full. Love to all ~ Betsy