A lone cross stands on a hill overlooking Whites Landing, a cove approximately 3 miles North-West of the town of Avalon on Catalina Island. It’s not a particularly beautiful or picturesque setting, just a dusty and rocky red clay mountain with cactus and thorny low scrub bushes, creeping out between the large boulders. More like a desert surrounded by peaceful, deep and chilly magenta blue waters. Certainly no oasis.
You lazily recline on the deck of a well appointed J160 enjoying the warmth of the sun and the cool breezes off the ocean; lost in those tranquil moments somewhere between sleepiness and coherence. With heavy eyes you try to focus on a single word from the pages of your newest adventure travel book. The cross sneaks its way into view over the top of your book as the boat gently rocks back and forth. It’s seemingly small… almost lonely… simple and quiet… merely a shadow… keeping safe watch over the cove and the travelers enjoying the cool deep waters below.
Suddenly you’re woken by the sound of Julie and Johnny removing their snorkeling gear at the aft of the boat; giddy with laughter and enthusiasm over their swim.
‘Man the waters cold’ says Jules.
‘but not too bad if you keep moving.’
It’s great!
Exhilarating!
You should come in.’
You briefly consider the invitation as Johnny exclaims, ‘That was awesome! I can’t believe how cool that was. There’s a group of leopard sharks mating just off the beach. You should check them out.’
Leopard sharks?
Uhhh… those are sharks; you think… and decide you prefer the laziness and safety of the boat.
‘Yah… we watched them from the dock at first’ says Jules
‘then Johnny decided we should jump in and see if we could get a closer look at them.’
Crazy surfer boy, you think. It must be the testosterone… or possibly too much time spent in the sun.
‘The water was so murky close to the shore; all we could make out were large flashes of darkness streaking by us. It was awesome though.’ Jules describes.
Insane! You now think… your best friend is completely mad… AND she’s found her soul mate… he’s mad too.
‘So, Johnny and I are thinking about taking a hike. Maybe climbing that hill… up to the cross. Want to come with us?’
Why not, you decide. You’ve spent the majority of the morning resting up for what else?
Besides, it would be a good opportunity to stretch your legs a bit.
So you make your way down below deck to your cabin and shift thru your suit case trying to determine appropriate hiking gear. You decide on your swimsuit and a pair of board shorts, slather on some sun screen and grab a baseball cap.
Being the innately mothering figure you are, you grab three bottles of water out of the cooler, throw them into Julie’s backpack, haphazardly slip on your flip flops and head back up on deck.
Captain Joe is firing up the motor on the dingy, having agreed to drop you off at the dock and return to pick you up when Julie radios.
‘I hear there are bison on this island’ Laura calls from her cabin. ‘Take a picture of them for me.’
All aboard the dingy, Captain Joe whisks you over to a dock rising about 12-14 feet from the water. You wonder how you’ll manage to get up there. As you approach the dock you see a fully extended, rickety ladder secured by rope to the stilts of the deck above you. You think to yourself, this may prove to be interesting.
Your Captain pulls the dingy right up next to the ladder; you manage to find your balance and climb on as Julie and Johnny hold the bobbing raft as closely as possible and provide assurance on your first steps.
As the first person up the ladder you’re a bit cautious about the security of the ropes, but scamper up quickly so that your compadres don’t recognize your slight fear of heights. Your flip flop slips on the last few rungs of the ladder and you nearly loose it in the water below. You suddenly realize your poor choice in hiking footwear.
All safely on dock, the three of you make your way towards the sandy beach which is home to a primitive and vacant boys camp. You survey the camp and decide if you were in attendance you’d rather sleep in a hammock on the beach rather than take shelter in the small plywood boxes that pose as cabins. You’re thankful for the extravagant sail boat with the cozy bed you’ll be curled up in tonight, the cool breeze off the ocean and the gentle sway of the boat that will bid you a good nights rest.
You look around for a possible trail up the steep hill that leads to the cross but there doesn’t appear to be a clear path in sight.
Johnny scampers around a small group of boulders and calls down to you. ‘Hey, I think I’ve found a way up.’
You allow Julie a slight lead ahead of you so you’re not embarrassed by your slow maneuvering, heavy breathing and slipping, sliding ungraceful motions. You decide that you must get yourself to a gym when you return home and take proactive measures against the desk jockey lifestyle you’ve become accustomed to. You’re way too young to be this out of shape.
‘I don’t think my shoes are the appropriate choice for this climb’ you call up to your friends.
‘Let me see the bottoms of them’ Julie says over her shoulder as she looks down to you. She gives a shrug and says, ‘ahh, you’ll be fine.’
Be fine? you think.
Be fine all right if I break my leg… have to be carried back down… step on a cactus or more likely fall onto one.
Where does she find such faith? you wonder.
You of course, have none.
You can’t even relax enough to take in the sights around you.
All you can focus on is one foot in front of the other.
It’s slippery and sandy. You can’t manage a sure footing. You hold on to a rock and won’t let go with that hand until you can firmly grip another. You’re crouched into terribly uncomfortable positions, breathing a bit heavier now from the altitude and feel that your legs will fail you at any given moment.
You stop for multiple water breaks and act as if you’re terribly hot and thirsty; but what you really need is a chance to catch your breath and regain your confidence.
Julie suggests that you go ahead in front of her and your embarrassed because you realize this is a sympathy tactic to keep the weaker climber in the middle so she can catch you if you fall.
Meanwhile, Johnny is several feet ahead of you and continually calls down words of encouragement. ‘You’re nearly here. It’s beautiful up here. Keep going! You’re going to love the view from this cross.’
With those words, you immediately stop in your tracks and your heart remembers something it has long forgot.
Just before you take your last few steps onto the crest of what now seems like an enormous mountain you’ve just climbed, you take one last look up. You have to shade your eyes from the brightness of the light and you’re caught off guard by the majesty of what stands before you.
Standing tall with arms out stretched is the treasure your heart was seeking. You wonder for a brief moment how you made it… you had so little faith you would. You realize you appreciate the struggle and that’s what kept you moving forward.
You lend a hand to Julie and help her up.
After snapping a few silly pictures with your fiends and taking in the view together, you find a seat on a small group of rocks. You pass out the water bottles and take a long appreciative drink, letting the cool water spill over your cheeks and down your neck.
‘Man this is awesome’ you say.
There’s much conversation going on around you but you actually hear very little of it as you stare off in the distance… thinking about the symbolism of your feat.
A movement catches your attention from the corner of your eye and you jump up, startled by what comes into focus.
‘There’s a bison!’ you burst out.
You can hardly believe your eyes.
Sure enough, down the hill behind you are three bison grazing on scrubby bushes. The smallest of the three is rolling in the red dirt like a dog and you can’t help but chuckle at the sight. Johnny snaps a picture of them and there’s some discussion about whether or not they are aggressive animals. You hope you won’t run into one on the way down and find out… because you in your flip flops will be the slowest runner in the group.
Well rested and a bit hungry, you and your companions decide to head back to the boat for a little R&R before dinner. You gather up your things, take in one last view and pray that you’ll remember this moment and the placid feeling forever.
You laugh with Julie and chat casually, catching up on each other’s families. You feel light and care free and the descent proves much easier going.
Just as you’re feeling a bit relaxed, you’re foot slips on a sandy slope and you grab onto the closest rock to you.
‘Careful’ Julie calls from above.
‘It could be hell going down.’
Seriously, you think.
Seriously.
