Scorpion Canyon Loop on Santa Cruz Island
By Austin Explorer on 10/27/2022
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Distance: 5.47 Miles Duration: 3 hours, 33 minutes
Visiting Santa Cruz Island requires a 1 hour boat ride (each way) out of Ventura. On our trip out to the island the conditions were a bit choppy and some of the passengers onboard had a rough time of it. We both managed out OK.
When the boat pulls up to the dock at the island, passengers listen to short orientation before they are free to go their own way. One really needs to make sure to make it back to the dock for their return trip to the mainland or else they'll be stranded overnight!
There are several buildings here, remnants of the extensive agricultural operations that took place on the island. There are plenty of quite interesting displays showing what life was like for the workers here.
Given our expected hiking speed and the time we had on the island we opted to do the Scorpion Canyon Loop for our hike. We were told that doing this loop in a clockwise direction meant a more gradual, even ascent and steeper descents to come later. We opted for this so we started off ascending from the trailhead onto Smuggler's Road.
After getting to the top of the bluff overlooking the dock the trail turns inland. It continues to gather elevation though at a slower rate and one is struck by the mountain peaks in the distance. This is a large island. And the peaks here are just the prominances on the eastern half of the island. The highest peaks on the western half are even higher.
There is almost no tree cover on the island other that at the trailhead and near the primitive campgrounds. Plenty of sunscreen is highly recommended.
At the trail junction with the Montanon Ridge Trail we decided to head uphill some more along that trail to look for a shady spot to have lunch. We eventually found a small tree with enough shade for both of us to enjoy our meal without being cooked by the Sun. Afterwards we descended back to the junction and continued our loop on the Scorpion Canyon Loop Trail.
Descending into Scorpion Canyon is where we pay back the gradual ascent earlier with a steeper descent now. The footing is a bit dicey in spots though neither of us fell. The trail descends all the way to a dry creekbed and then turns to follow the creek "downstream" to the east. It will eventually pass by the primitive campgrounds mentioned earlier and head back to the anchorage at the start of our hike.
At the campground we saw one of the island's key species, the Channel Island Fox. This diminutive critter looks like a cross between a red fox and a house cat. On this day we saw three of them and none seemed too disturbed by humans. They just ignored us as they went about their business looking for their next meal, sometimes coming within a few feet of us. We were not approached by them for food, so that's a good sign that visitors are not doing stupid things that would endanger them in the long run.
The one hour boat ride back to the mainland was quite a bit calmer than the ride out. The other great thing about the return trip was the swarm of dolphins. I'd never seem so many in my life. In fact, I think I saw more dolphins on that one trip than I've seen in the entirety of my life combined.
Several pods of dolphins flocked to the boat to leap out of the water and swim along the wake created by the boats speed. Just when one pod dispursed another would come in from a different direction and join the fun. Our photos and video of it don't do it justice. It was amazing.
In the end we spent 3.5 hours on the trail and logged five and a half miles. Looking on the map it's humbling just how little of the NPS' eastern sliver on the island we actually visited.