Lost in a Naturalist Wonderland on Santa Cruz

As the Sunfish approached Santa Cruz, a thin fog lifted from the island’s northern bays to reveal ridges tinted pink and lavender in the mid-morning light.

An hour from shore, gleaming black discs of bonito leaped from beneath the waves. A short while later, a group of Risso’s dolphins--their huge, shark-like dorsal fins glistening in the sun--frolicked in our wake before dipping back into the dark waters.

Within a mile of shore, the island’s true colors--the greens of its gently sloping hills and the browns of its sheer ocean cliffs--came into view.

State’s Largest Isle

Only 24 miles off Santa Barbara, California’s largest island (96 square miles) seems far removed from the mainland’s crowds and freeways. For nearly 150 years, Santa Cruz, with its two mountain ranges and 77 miles of coastline, was privately owned and used for sheep and cattle ranching.

With the death of the island’s principal owner in December, the western nine-tenths of Santa Cruz was deeded to the Nature Conservancy, an international nonprofit organization that purchases land for preservation.

The cattle and cowboys are gone, though the conservancy will maintain the ranch houses for their historical value and will continue to take small groups for naturalist-led day trips.

On the crisp morning I booked passage on such a trip, the Sunfish detoured into Potato Harbor, so named for its whitish cliffs of diatomaceous earth.

The crisscross patterns on the ridges far above our heads were trails cut by feral sheep, which continue to overgraze the island, despite the efforts of conservationists.

Conservancy naturalist Bob Gentry spotted a few rams on a precipitous bluff--a convincing testament to these once-domesticated animals’ adaptability to rugged terrain.

Leaving the cove, we passed over thick underwater forests of the earth’s fastest-growing plant--giant kelp, which can add 22 inches to its length in a 24-hour period.

Sun-basking sea lions and harbor seals in nearby Chinese Harbor could only be seen when they shifted positions, as their dark fur blended with the browns of surrounding rocks.

Great Blue Heron

Rounding a bend, I spied a great blue heron perched regally upon an offshore boulder. Soon it calmly lifted into the air and flew off--a periwinkle patch in my vision, disappearing behind a rock outcropping which the Sunfish couldn’t negotiate.

Santa Cruz is not only biologically colorful, but its past is a crazy quilt as well. Prisoners Harbor, the next bay on our route, was named for criminals left on the island in the 1830s by the Spanish government.

Poor weather precluded the ship’s captain from delivering them to an appointed spot farther north on the mainland. They were abandoned, without supplies, though they eventually fashioned crude boats and made their way to Santa Barbara.

After disembarking and going ashore via a small skiff, we ate lunch on bluffs overlooking the seaside caves and tide pools of Pelican Harbor.

Dilapidated stairs and a grove of century plants served as sobering reminders of human transience--of the Pelican Bay Resort, which operated until Prohibition shut its doors.

Our two-mile hike began at an ancient village site of the Chumash Indians, who lived on the island for more than 6,000 years before the arrival of the Spaniards.

Numbering 1,500, the Santa Cruz Chumash maintained a sophisticated society of bankers, merchants, fishermen and quarry workers until 1806, when disease ravaged the population, leaving fewer than 100.

As on the mainland, here on Santa Cruz the environment continues to pay the price for ranching, introduced animals (feral sheep and wild pigs), and its non-native grasses, which grow like weeds, crowding out indigenous species.

A little farther along the trail, we passed into a pine forest, many of its trees fallen or rotting. To combat the death of the oak and pine forests, much of the land where we hiked had been fenced off from the sheep to prevent further encroachment and erosion.

I saw several strong saplings where, last season, there had been only grasses.

Still a Chance

Gentry was hopeful about the Nature Conservancy’s efforts on Santa Cruz. “Give the trees time and they’ll retake the meadows,” he said. “These forests are gone on the mainland. It’s too late there. That’s why we’re here on Santa Cruz: We’ve still got a chance.”

About half the group decided to turn back at this point, unaccustomed to uphill treks. The remaining 15 followed Gentry to an ironwood forest.

In spring, creamy-white blooms, 1 1/2 feet in diameter, burst from the trees, making the hillsides appear draped in lace.

In the fall, the flowers had long since shriveled and darkened, waiting for winter storms to knock the seeds from their branches. The only member of its genus, the island’s ironwood is a relict species, having once been widespread throughout the Southwestern United States, but now only found on Santa Cruz.

I spent my last minutes on the island peering into the pumice tide pools at the shore, watching purple anemones and spiny, black urchins sway in the rocking waves.

By 3:30 p.m., I was back aboard the Sunfish. Fifteen minutes later, we pulled away from Santa Cruz. The sun pulled closes to the horizon and a large pod of common dolphins swam toward us.

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Island Packers, which offers ferry service to Santa Cruz, also takes groups to Anacapa, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa and San Miguel, four other members of the Channel Islands archipelago.

Overnight accommodations for a maximum of 12 are available in refurbished bunkhouses on Santa Cruz, year-round on weekends ($100 per person) and 3- to 4-day stays ($155 per person) July through September. Food, personal gear and bedding are not included. Round-trip boat fare is included.

Information: Call (805) 642-1393, or write Island Packers, 1867 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura 93001.

Channel Islands Adventures ((805) 987-1678) operates a primitive camp and a small dude ranch on Santa Cruz, which, combined, can accommodate 28 people. Monday-Friday or Friday-Monday packages, including everything but the $100 round-trip air fare, are available year-round and are $330 per person double occupancy for semi-private rooms or $240 for tents.

Boaters may obtain landing permits by writing to the Santa Cruz Island Co., 515 S. Flower St., Los Angeles 90071.

Island Packers excursion boats depart early, so plan to spend the night before in Ventura. Ventura has several hotels within 10 minutes of Island Packers. Hotels include the Harbortown Marina Resort (double $95-$115), phone (800) 772-2243; Sheraton Ventura ($85-$105), (800) 325-3535; Holiday Inn of Ventura ($83-$115), (800) 842-0800, and Motel 6 ($28.25), (805) 643-5100.

Year-round camping is available at McGrath State Beach, phone (805) 654-4616.

For information on primitive camping on Anacapa and Santa Barbara islands, write to Channel Island National Park, 1901 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura 93001, or call (805) 644-8262.