POOL RUNNINGS L.A.'S CLOSEST NATIONAL PARK WORTH THE TRIP.

Byline: BILL BECHER

ANACAPA ISLAND - Channel Islands National Park is the closest national park to Los Angeles but one of the least visited. Only about 30,000 people a year actually set foot on the islands. By comparison, 3.4 million people visit Yosemite National Park every year.

The difficulty in getting there is part of the reason for that. Anacapa, the closest island, is 11 miles off the coast from Ventura. But if you don't own a boat, Island Packers will take you to the park from Ventura or Channel Islands harbor. In winter there's also the chance of seeing whales as they pass the islands on their 10,000-mile annual migration from waters off Alaska to Baja California.

I visited West Anacapa Island aboard the Island Packers' Vanguard on a tide-pool exploration trip with a group from Ferrahian High School in Encino. The ``floating classroom'' program is offered to area schools, but you don't have to be a school kid to go. The trips are scheduled several times a month when tides are especially low, and the public is also welcome.

On the hour-and-a-half ride to Anacapa, naturalists trained by Island Packers talked to us about sea creatures. They demonstrated how marine biologists gather information about water temperatures and plankton in the water.

We learned that ``cetacean,'' the name for the animal group that includes whales and dolphins, means ``sea monster.'' We had our eyes peeled for monsters and were rewarded as a pod of common dolphins swam by the boat, showing off their leaping and speedy swimming ability.

Composed of five of the eight California Channel Islands - San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa and Santa Barbara - Channel Islands National Park is home to more than 2,000 species of plants and animals, including 145 unique to the islands. One of the inhabitants, the deer mouse, is known to carry the sin nombre hantavirus, but to date no visitors or park workers have been infected.

Anacapa is the only Channel Island to retain its American Indian name, derived from the Chumash word ``eneepah,'' meaning island of deception or mirage. Constant pounding by ocean waves has eroded Anacapa's shoreline, leaving steep cliffs hundreds of feet high and revealing the island's volcanic origin.

Air pockets, lava tubes and sea caves are visible from the ocean. At the eastern tip of Anacapa, a 45-foot-high rock arch, large enough to paddle a kayak through, forms a natural bridge. Anacapa is actually three islands, East, Middle and West Anacapa.

At Frenchy's Cove on the west island, we were ferried to the sandy beach in skiffs. The Vanguard's friendly crew helped us time the leap to shore, so we didn't even get our feet wet. We made the short hike to the other side of the island, where tide pools exposed the sea life that inhabits the intertidal zone. As part of the floating classroom, groups of the kids had assignments, like counting the number of different species of creatures in a designated area.

While most mainland tide pools are practically barren because of human activity, sea stars, sea urchins, sea anemones and limpets thrive in the islands' intertidal areas. We also saw an octopus. California brown pelicans flew in formation overhead, occasionally plummeting to the ocean to grab a fish.

West Anacapa's slopes are the primary nesting site for the endangered birds. To protect the pelican rookery, much of West Anacapa is designated as a Research Natural Area and is closed to the public. Except at Frenchy's Cove, no landings are permitted on West Anacapa.

Plants and animals on the Channel Islands are similar to those on the mainland, but after thousands of years of isolation, many have evolved into unique variations. Remoteness from the mainland has also insulated the island from the rapid changes caused by modern humans.

At the beach at Frenchy's Cove, our naturalists provided a hands-on slimy creatures talk about the sea hare, sea star and other tide pool critters. Back aboard the Vanguard on the trip back to the mainland, the school kids made a run on the galley's pizza and soft-drink supply, while others watched for more sea monsters.

IF YOU GO

--Getting there: Island Packers Inc, 1867 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura. Trips to all islands in Channel Islands National Park. Information: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., [phone]; 24-hour recorded info, [phone]; www.islandpackers.com.

Channel Islands National Park Visitor's Center is located at 1901 Spinnaker Drive in Ventura. Information: [phone]; www.nps.gov/chis.

The Visitor's Center is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Center has interpretive programs, a movie about the park, a tide-pool display, native plant garden, bookstore and island exhibits. The park is open all year.

There are no entrance fees to visit the park. However, there is a $10 fee for camping, which includes a reservation fee of $2.65 per campsite per night.

--Activities at Anacapa: Tide-pool trips are run during low tides all year round. During the summer, park rangers dive into the Landing Cove on East Anacapa with a video camera. Visitors can see what the diver is seeing by watching video monitors on the dock. Springtime brings colorful flowers, including the strange tree sunflower, or coreopsis, a plant found only on the Channel Islands and a few isolated areas on the mainland. A museum on the island houses the original crystal and brass Fresnel lens from the lighthouse. Facilities on Anacapa include a museum, visitor's center, lighthouse exhibits, primitive campground and picnic area. This is a popular destination for kayakers who can transport their kayaks on an Island Packers boat.

--Climate and clothing: Climate is mild, with little variation in temperature year-round. However, be prepared for high winds, fog and sea spray at any time. Visitors to the islands should dress in layers, with short and long pants, windbreaker, hat, sunscreen and waterproof outer clothing. Wear sturdy hiking shoes with nonslip soles. Don't forget water, binoculars and a camera.

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Photo:

Kathy de Wetoleson, a guide for the Island Packers trip to Anancapa Island, shows onlookers a Sea Hare.

Bill Becher/Special to the Daily News

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IF YOU GO (see text)