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It was pleasant and sunny as we started off on a before-dinner hike from the lower campground.
We started off by walking down the dirt road back toward the rusted cars. Once there, we saw some
foxes scurrying about. What we didn't see was other people, a stark contrast to an hour earlier
when there were at least a dozen people milling about, waiting for the boat to arrive to take them
back to Ventura.
Next to a ramshackle shed and a bit to the right of the visitor's center, we found the trailhead.
We immediately started climbing up the narrow trail, quickly gaining views of Scorpion Cove below.
We could see a row of kayaks stacked near the shore, a wide trail climbing up the hill opposite from
us to the south, and the rusted cars below us. We also saw that it was becoming quite windy.
Kayaks at the boat landing
Smuggler's Cove Road is clearly visible across the way
View of the boat landing area
The wind shook the grasses around us as we climbed a bit further still, gaining even better views
of the cove and the ocean. We followed the trail as it contoured around the edge of the island in a
counter-clockwise fashion. After that initial short climb, it's pretty much level for awhile.
Mainland California barely visible on the horizon
Rocks just off the coast
As we headed west, we saw what looked like feathery brushes amidst the grasses
blowing wildly in the wind. Backlit by the sun, it was quite a pretty sight. As we continued
along the trail, with the wind blowing right at us, I found similarities to Remarkable Rocks on
Kangaroo Island in Australia. There were rocks there and grasses here, but it was windy in both places,
and the feel of each place just seemed the same.
Blowing in the wind
A rare picture of me taking pictures
Jean taking pictures
In the distance we saw a weather vane blowing straight out. We eventually came to a trail
intersection. We turned left and headed downhill toward the campground. This is a narrow somewhat
steep trail down a gully. Shortly we were back at the campground, albeit the opposite (western)
end of it.
Heading down the sweeping trail back toward camp
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