Blazing a new trail in Catalina
Kevin Ryan, trail coordinator for the Catalina Island Conservancy, pauses along the 37-mile Trans-Catalina Island Trail, which he helped design and build. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
A butterfly perches gingerly on a cactus along the trail, which climbs, dips and winds through backcountry largely unknown to the public and essentially unchanged since Tongva Indians roamed the island. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
A buffalo grazes near the hiking trail, which is estimated to take about two to four days to complete in its entirety. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
A delicate flower blooms amid cactus spines on the trail, which runs above Little Harbor campground. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Two hikers make their way along the Trans-Catalina trail. Most of the island’s tourists have never set foot on the unpaved, 42,000-acre interior. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Trail coordinator Ryan walks about 600 feet above the ocean. In a place like this, its hard to complain about coming to work every day, he said with a smile. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
A sign marks the Trans-Catalina Island Trail, built to show off Catalinas dramatic changes in elevation, which make for a surprising variety of ecosystems and landscapes: muscular peaks, scalloped beaches, lush ravines and grasslands enlivened by an array of spring flowers. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
