Unbeknownst to us, our seven-person bio-less crew included one salty pirate captain, a Thai speaking second-time newlywed, a New York Times narrating writer, a kind-eyed tattooed Viking, The Wizard of the Wasatch, Brad Pitt’s stuntman, the oldest freshman lifeguard in LA, and me.
Our journey was marked by the phrase “Here be dragons” as we departed from the southern California coast, crossing the twenty-two-mile Pacific channel to explore the untamed wilderness of Catalina Island. Once a playground for Hollywood’s elite, the island is now a vacation spot with Airbnb condos and two-hour adventure tours. But that was not our reason for coming. We aimed to go beyond the safety of Avalon’s harbor and discover the island’s rugged terrain and stunning beauty. Our mission was to hunt and dance with our inner dragons.
Our expedition name, “Dancing with Dragons,” is rooted in mythology. In the past, mapmakers drew dragons on uncharted territories to warn travelers to proceed cautiously and avoid danger. It was a visual cue for journeymen to preserve themselves and their voyages.
In daily life, most of our crew avoided uncertainty to optimize for more control, making it difficult for us to explore wild places within. To face our fears and transform ourselves, we embarked on a high adventure, stepping outside our comfort zones and confronting our inadequacies.
Doubting the transformative power of an adventure trip?
Give it a shot. Picture yourself in 50-degree water, surrounded by darkness, with the threat of great white sharks nearby. You’re wearing only a 5mm wetsuit, a mask, a snorkel, and a headlamp. Your goal? To hunt spiny lobsters by freediving, plunging fifteen-to-twenty feet down, and snatching them with your kevlar-gloved hand. We may have seemed quiet and composed on the surface, but internally, some of us were thinking, “This wasn’t what I signed up for! There needed to be a brochure for this experience.” But later, back on deck, the fear turned into exhilarating tales of bravery. This is dragon dancing at its finest.
The idea of leaving our resumes behind became a powerful tool for our dragon-dancing Adventure. As men, and maybe women too, we often hide behind our careers and the work we do in the world. It’s a habit that’s deeply ingrained. When meeting someone new, the question immediately follows, “What’s your name?” is always “What do you do?”
But we stay on the surface when we lead with what we do. Our ego gets a dopamine hit, and we feel affirmed when sharing our armored version of ourselves. It’s rare to meet someone who doesn’t sound like a superhero when rattling off their career accomplishments. But as dragon dancers, we agreed to scrap that approach.
Instead, we simplified our getting-to-know-you conversations by opening up with questions like “Who and what do you love?” and “What’s keeping you stoked these days?” From the start, we focused on topics that make us human beings rather than our job titles or achievements.
In fact, we went days without revealing our careers or accomplishments, which wasn’t necessary. We were simply a group of boys at play – a pirate, a newlywed, a narrator, a Viking, a wizard, an athlete, a waterman, and me – venturing into the wild.
Our adventure had four acts.
“The word adventure has gotten overused. For me, when everything goes wrong, that’s when Adventure starts.”
-Yvonne Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia
Act 1-The OG route and the sick crew
Act 2-“Less Suffering” Please
Act 3-High Seas, High Anxiety before we depart
Act 4: Depart and Send in the Dragons
Act 1-The OG route and the sick crew
January 1st, 2022, we’re making final preparations for our January 5th departure, and disruption ensues as the reports start coming in over group text. Four cases of COVID and one RSV infection, and five out of eight crew members are sick. Bummer. “We’re not canceling. We’re rescheduling.” My favorite line from one dragon dancer “Whatever farts of obligations you have on your calendar, clear those. This matters. We need this. I need this.” Thankfully, we rescheduled for March 2022.
Act 2-“Less Suffering” Please
Several weeks after the crew healed from their infirmary, our team member who had contracted RSV expressed his concern about the daily mileage of our original Trans Catalina trail route and our camping reservations. He believed it would require too much time and energy on land, leaving us with limited time for ocean exploration. He pleaded, “Less suffering, please.” In response, we agreed to pivot and reimagine our itinerary, prioritizing ocean exploration over trail miles.
Our new plan was to spend our days and nights freediving and hunting for lobsters, dragging up red-fish from the seabed floor, filleting them for street tacos, cliff jumping, running and hiking portions of the Trans Catalina trail, chasing buffalos, and cowboy camping on the beach beneath the stars of the Pacific.
Act 3-High Seas, High Anxiety before we depart
As we prepared to execute our new itinerary on March 3rd, uncertainty once again crept in and threatened to derail our plans.
Getting there: The 22-mile channel crossing loomed ahead, but the weather forecast predicted heavy seas and high winds of 33 knots, prompting small craft to take shelter.
Impossible to reach campsites: Finding a suitable anchor point for our night two camp at Parsons proved challenging. The area was very exposed, and if waves pushed our boat too close to the shore, we risked losing gear and being stranded on land.
The trails: To make matters worse, access to the island’s interior, where we planned to hike and run, was in danger of being closed by the Catalina Conservancy due to muddy and unruly trails.
With so many uncertainties, we were left with difficult questions to answer. Should we cancel again? Would the salty pirate captain still take us? Was it safe to cross the channel? And perhaps most importantly, were our fellow adventurers still committed to the journey despite the potential for severe alterations to our plans?
My journal entry March 1st, 2022
Dancing with Dragons
Dancing with uncertainty
with forces larger than me
with an open heart for what emerges
with curiosity for the next track that this trail reveals
-Aaron
Act 4: Depart and Send in the Dragons
Our party of eight was reduced to seven when one of the dragon dancers had to attend to unavoidable obligations on land. Pre-dawn and under-caffeinated, we set out towards the impending storm, trusting that whatever came next would be unforgettable. Letting go of all expectations seemed like the only sane plan.
The salty pirate captain skillfully navigated his ship, Que Paso, through a small weather window to safely cross the channel and moor in Avalon’s historic cove before battening down the hatches. But before we did, it was time to go dragon hunting.
As the sun shone brightly and the winds and seas were calm, Catalina’s eastern rocky shores glowed with the greenery of springtime, nourished by the winter rains. The dicey weather warnings had scared off tourists, and we had the private coves to ourselves for unspoiled lobster diving and redfish hauls.
Newbies and veterans finding their edge in exploration.
Half of our group were California locals accustomed to ocean adventures. In contrast, the other half were mountain men from Colorado and Utah, more familiar with navigating risks in the snowy terrain. Although our ocean skills were limited (us mountain men), we found comfort in facing challenges together. LA’s oldest freshman lifeguard confidently guided us through every beginner’s task, teaching us how to catch lobsters (called “bugs” by the locals) and encouraging us to dive deeper.
As a reader, you may wonder how to score an invite on such a trip or find the group too daring for your liking. However, a more valuable set of questions to ask yourself are:
What is your uncharted territory?
What challenges are you yet to face?
What dragons await your dancing invitations?
The storm arrives
With the winds, waves, and knots all picking up as expected, we had no choice but to pitch a tent on deck or squeeze in below. We were unable to go ashore, despite our desire to explore. The only access available was at dawn, with land in sight but out of reach. This topsy-turvy cycle of hoping, planning, adjusting, and pivoting persisted for several days. The most unforgettable moments of our Adventure were the ones that occurred spontaneously.
What I learned while dancing with dragons
Through this experience, I realized that I possess a rare ability to adapt to uncertainty and devise an action plan as circumstances change. While it’s simpler to make and implement plans in ideal situations, I can take things one step at a time during life’s storms. My buddies also underwent personal transformations during our time Dancing with Dragons, but those are their stories to share.
Wildlife roll call
During our Dancing with Dragons adventure, we encountered a variety of wildlife, including common dolphins, Risso’s dolphins, members of the Ocean Sunfish family, Minke whales, salmon groupers, red snappers, California Spiny Lobsters, American bald eagles, Pacific Shortfin Mako Shark, Soupfin shark, Blood crabs, buffalo, and mule deer.
Friends choose adventure and slow down to embrace the transformation that uncertainty creates. Thank you to one salty pirate captain, a Thai-speaking second-time newlywed, a New York Times narrating writer, a kind-eyed tattooed Viking, The Wizard of the Wasatch, Brad Pitt’s stuntman, the oldest freshman lifeguard in LA
Let’s keep going,
-Aaron
