Summits: 1380

2013: Sep 7-8 » Catalina Mtn Biking

I had this one on the list for a while…I’d hiked the Trans Catalina Trail (TCT) a few years back, and wanted to get back there on a mountain bike. With three friends (Philip Stinis, Josh Samson, and Brian Grotz), we arrived at Two Harbors at 2pm on Saturday, and rode to Little Harbor, packing in overnight gear. Though the overnight gear was a pain to carry on the bikes, and we could have done our ride in a day, the campsite at Little Harbor is just too nice to pass up. We enjoyed the few beers we packed in with ocean views and an almost deserted beach, before cooking our dinner fireside.

Sunday, we made a monster climb up to Catalina’s airport, then not wanting to cut our day short, we rode the Ridge Trail, a fire road that almost circumnavigates Avalon, Catalina’s only city. Our overall stats for the weekend was about 30 miles with 4000 feet of gain/loss. It was not an easy weekend with the big packs and heat, but one of the most enjoyable times I’ve had on a mountain bike…