Wild Kingdom

Channel Islands National Park isn't far from southern California, but as Robert Annis discovers, this ecologically rich archipelago is anything but familiar.

- Robert Annis

WALKING THE trail that led to Lobo Canyon felt like being on a different planet. Arid terrain gave way to steep sandstone cliffs that towered above lush greenery and spiny cacti, an intriguing mishmash of environments. At times I had to be a contortionist, ducking under the lowhanging limbs of island oak trees, scrambling up and over rocks, and walking across a wobbly hardwood plank suspended over a creek. Forcing my way through a thick tangle of reeds was slightly suffocating; I felt I might actually be swallowed up by Santa Rosa island, never to be seen again. But then the canyon opened and the trail rose upward. After a few more minutes, I stood overlooking a white beach and the Pacific Ocean. The beach was entirely free of other visitors and-judging by the absence of footprints in the sand-had been for some time.

This, I thought, is why I came to Channel Islands National Park, a chain of five islands less than 15 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara and Ventura, California. Each of the islands-Anacapa, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel-has its own unique appeal, and collectively they're often referred to as the Galápagos of North America, thanks to the 145 endemic species found nowhere else in the world.