This year’s solo retreat to Catalina island was a wet affair. Forecasts showed a grey cool weekend with a high probability of rain on President’s Day. Knowing it would be difficult to rebook campsites, I pushed ahead thinking I could probably escape the island early Monday if the rain got too bad. And that’s exactly what happened. I packed my soggy gear just before sunrise on Monday morning and made it to the ferry terminal in record time. By the time the ferry was making its second stop at Two Harbors, dozens of hikers were queued up to get on what might have been the last ferry of the day. This year is definitely at the bottom of most enjoyable Catalina trip but still a beautiful by any standard.

Check out the highlights below and click any photo to see the full Google album.