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Rocko1 wrote:

Wow! Just fantastic stuff up here. I am going to have to explore this. You ever have issues leaving your car where you do?

Rocko1, No real people involved issues ever with my messing with my vehicles. I do put notes taped to car windows "hiking be back soon" and my phone #. The only major car issues have been with the rodents chewing up engine wiring harness. But that was at a trail head in the Sierras. Not as big a problem in the Desert.

Side note: On this trip I was able to get thru 3 farm gates to get closer to Martinez. Saves about a mile of hiking. On the way out the 3rd gate was locked! And I thought my adventure was over. I was exhausted, my feet were sore and looked pretty haggard and had to hike off to find the farmer. I do carry bolt cutters but didn't want to be "The bad Backpacker". I wandered up to the nearest farm house with rooster crowing and was able to have the farmer unlock the gate. I explained that Cal Topo and Google Earth show the Martinez trail head is at the end of this dirt road past the 3 gates. He just smiled like he has done this before.

Tommy750
Neat story about your rock circle search and finding it. It is always different on the ground. The same for my rock circle search. The "mystery ring" picture above sure looked man made. About 60 foot in diameter. On the ground is barely discernable. Seeing old charcoal poking thru the sand made me think it was a ceremonial gathering site for rituals perhaps. Too big for a roasting pit?

btw I remember your trip down Agua Alta. Thanks for the repost. Enjoyed it. Cheers.

That was an excellent expedition. The views are just fantastic! Looks like you arrived after the last snow of the season on Toro. Is the video of the south meadow pines the same area as picture no. 8 with the Salton Sea back drop? The shade of that pine looks like a great camping spot. How much water did you pack in? Patchy snow would be the way to go. But it would be cold.

Nice. There is so much up there to explore. Very few people up there I assume? I am a little surprised the road was open, they sometimes close it due to weather.

Glad you found the ridge down to the cottonwoods. I have really enjoyed hikes like Rockhouse to Toro where you can go through multiple biomes in a day hike.

To Add: So nice to see the sky island of Jeffrey pine, Ponderosa pine amongst other Conifers on the Southern Bench photo. They looked healthy. Hope they can hang on. I need to go there someday!

Rocko1 wrote:

rockhopper wrote:

To Add: So nice to see the sky island of Jeffrey pine, Ponderosa pine amongst other Conifers on the Southern Bench photo. They looked healthy. Hope they can hang on. I need to go there someday!

I called the ranger the day before to confirm the gate was unlocked. Really great area. I commented to Brian while walking through the pine meadows-'you know what you don't see many of? Dead trees'. What was there looked pretty healthy. But as with everything-better go see it sooner than later.

I was shocked at all the cairns leading to the southern edge of the bench-there are quite a few old ones and trails that are choked, we struggled in a few spots. Seems to be 3 'routes' going south-dead center on the ridge and to the east and just west of center. These converge about 1/4 mile before the bench drops onto the crest.

If you haven't been up there I suggest a trip-Even for a day or so. Park near the end of the road and explore the bench.

I will definitely plan a trip to the Southern bench sometime. I have hiked down to around the 7500 ft. elevation just above the bench on the south side and hiked off Toro to the East down to Black Rabbit and to the West down to the "other" abandoned Sawmill several times. That southern bench looks sweet to base camp at. Thanks for posting the video. A little ground snow for water and light winds would be perfect.

Tommy was right. The camera was out their longer than I thought at first. Camera came out in fall of 2011, purchased in 2012 and lost in spring of 2013. Judging where the last photo was taken, the camera was moved by flood water down the mountain wash a distance during each monsoon season. It probably would have kept going every year. I caught it out of the corner of my eye while x-country.

Rocko1 wrote:

Well, after mulling this over for a year, I have decided to not reinvent the wheel, do the extra mileage and take the SDTCT trail to Cuyamaca. Couple reasons. 1) It's much easier to cache water/water food. 2)I want to complete the SDTCT trail at some point and don't want to have to redo that section. 3) Less important but still valuable, much easier bail out points if needed.


Here is my plan for November:


Day 1-Salton Sea to 2 miles south of Villager Trail head off Thimble Trail. Pick up cache at at S22 and Ella Wash. 23-24 mile day.
Day 2- Fonts Point Wash to Culp Valley Campground. Prob. cache water here to-not sure Pena is reliable. 18 mile day, large climb out of BS.
Day 3-Culp to Box Canyon-Pick up Cache. 25 miles
Day 4-Box Canyon up Mason Valley Truck Trail, cross S1 at Pedro Fages monument and head to Lake Cuyamaca. 13 miles.


Total will be 80 miles +/-. 10,000 gain, 5,400ft loss.


Map - https://caltopo.com/m/0A3SJ






edited by Rocko1 on 8/10/2022

Seems reasonable and fun...!

Thought that snake pic looked familiar! Saw it on reddit this morning. Nice find, Rocko.

3 young pups all dead?

Rocko1 wrote:

I spotted a beat up trough on GE near the end of McCain Valley Rd and it had a nice nearby spring with decent flow. It was not present on the topo map

That is a rare find, unmapped spring flowing this late in the year.

Rocko1 wrote:

I spotted a beat up trough on GE near the end of McCain Valley Rd and it had a nice nearby spring with decent flow. It was not present on the topo map

That is a rare find, unmapped spring flowing this late in the year.

Back country rodent control! I've seen those bad boys out there many times. Mostly napping on the trail of in boulder protected nooks. It amazes me to see city folk out hiking in the wilderness with their ear buds listening to music. No idea on skull.

Nice trip. Domestic dog skull. Not telescoped like a coyote and has a steep forehead.

Rocko1 wrote:

I think I am heading out here this weekend for an overnight. Do you recall seeing any live Pinyons up there Daren?

Can't recall specifically but would believe so, Pinyons are all over out there.

Awesome trip! The Wilson are is really nice.

Where did you find the Vega BM? It's not listed in Peakbagger. It must be in the area, but you found a thing.

Sunset shot is perfect.

Looks like a great trip with nice weather. Interesting point about the pinyons growing in the shade of boulders. Those trees have always been such a special and unique site in the desert and it’s a shame to witness their demise. The natural rock wall that you found… Is that natural as in nature made or is it a dry stack wall like it appears? Very neat. Thanks!

NIce TR, Rocko1. Is that a Zpacks Duplex tent? Looks familiar. Have been packing the Altaplex the past few years and definitely like the weight but setting up the ten guylines is a speck annoying at the end of the day. Glad you got out.

Always fun to explore a new area of the park. I haven't done anything in that area myself. Great looking trip. I remember Schad's book has a trip that descends into upper Hellhole from Pena spring. I did part of that a long time ago, but I wasn't experienced at off-trail travel then and it was a steep descent, so I didn't finish it.

Nice trip, Rocko1. Have literally never hiked in the NW part of the park. Need to get out more. Found a couple of those blue signs out in McCain Valley a few years ago but they've subsequently disappeared.

IMG_1070 by tomteske, on Flickr

Great trip Rocko1! Healthy pinons for sure! Being blessed with mostly predictably dry weather during our desert season, I almost exclusively cowboy camp. Especially with all those boulders to set up as windbreaks. I've had only one issue with cowboy camping, and that was when one night, the wind piled a bunch of dry cholla balls up against my bag. I was essentially a 'cholla dam'. Good lesson, I'm so much better now at picking my spots. Thanks for posting.

Cool trip. I remember finding some big pinyon pines in that area too. No big cat prints or deer in the area?

I've been down to the waterfall mentioned in Schad's book. It was dry when I was there. Definitely can be a bushwhack in the canyon bottoms.

Great trip! That area south of I-8 is some place I've never been. It's looks fun with all those rock piles.

Never heard of "Happy" either, so thanks for the lore.

Nice! That is one of my favorite areas of the park.

I've seen a lot of deer around and lots of other tracks. Found an intact baby deer skull near Goat BM, a little NE of White. Also "smelled" cat pee nearby, like fresh pee. Freaky, but never saw anything.

You should definitely go back for Thimble and San Ysidro. Super fun. Easiest way to get there is from Cherry Canyon. I can upload a track if you aren't sure where to park.

It takes real commitment to keep going when faced with that sort of terrain.

I remember reading that not everyone in park management is on the same page about whether the guzzlers should even be maintained. Some prefer a natural selection approach (IE, let the sheep die out if they can't survive without human intervention).

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/environment/story/2022-05-07/anza-borrego-bighorn-sheep
edited by Brian on 11/21/2022

That is a fun hike. I remember the cholla garden coming off the peak down to Blue Spring well. I have not been up the Bighorn drainage, it looks worth exploring. I did a double take with the gloved hand and the register, I thought those were my pictures since I wear the same gloves

The guzzlers used to be monitored and maintained by volunteers and park employees. Volunteers were supposed to check their "adopted" guzzler occasionally. The park has been short staffed for a while. Don't know how much effort the park employees have put into maintaining the guzzlers and how much they care about them per the UT article among other things. The state park, DFW, and other agencies are all separate and may not all be working towards the same goal. Many volunteers are now unwilling to work with the park due to changed rules for volunteers. The park has also been less than responsive when informed of issues.

Guzzlers have parts break from being out in the elements. Things can clog, float switches freeze open, catch matts get blown away, and many other problems. This could cause one tank to be full and another empty even though they are in close proximity. I don't know which guzzlers got helicopter drops this summer.

There was a part time job opening available earlier this year to monitor the guzzlers for DFW. I don't know if they filled it. If anyone is interested I can try and find the link again.

I am pro guzzler. They are replacing water sources and making areas inhabitable to make up for what we have destroyed. What about all the ranches that tapped historic sheep sources dry? What about the golf courses, farms, windmills, and houses moving onto sheep habitat?

pre pandemic gary and i were the monitors for the sunset mtn guzzler but always checked in on the blue spring, nolina, pinyon and harper guzzlers. ditto what buford said, floats go bad, pin holes develop, wind pulls apart plumbing, etc. harper was the only non functioning guzzler i was aware of as of 2021. park officials started requiring covid vaccines, finger printing, background checks, etc for volunteers so gary and i resigned as volunteers.

Nice hike Rocko1. You're really getting a great start to desert hiking season. Congrats. Were there any BHS and wildlife tracks to the guzzlers? I read certain animals can "smell" the water from a great distance. Cattle for example, will stampede over you to get to it. If you see a dragon fly, water is very close nearby. Thanks for the trail report.

Nice report. I think my wife also would rather do this then shopping. On another note about 20 years ago I passed through the same area. A park ranger had a few vehicles stopped. On the hood of the Park ranger truck was a few fire arms. What happens to people that get caught using firearms in the park?

Impressive trip and great pics. I think it would bother me to do all that climbing out of Hellhole and then immediately give back that elevation gain going down Grapevine. I know you were looking at a shorter route that wouldn't have done that, but opted for the official route.

Must be nice to be young and fit! Great trip. Your Plum tent/moon pic is really trippy. Like it.

Nicely done! I'm still thinking about a route, but not getting any younger. If you saved a gpx track, wouldn't mind seeing the general route you did in map form.
edited by ziphius on 12/14/2022

That is a lot of miles but some cool scenery. Inspiration Point is one of the best places to watch storms spilling over the Ysidro range and onto the desert floor.

I too am surprised about going all the way up to the top of the Jasper Trail and coming back down Grapevine instead of cutting across the badlands from Arroyo Salado to the Texas Dip and through the narrows.

Wow Rocko1, that was an epic trek from shore to crest. You really were covering a lot of miles at a pretty quick pace. Probably 3 to 4 miles an hour or so. About double my usual meandering pace of 2 mph. I really like the picture 6. It is just mesmerizing! Congrats on your expedition success.

Nice, have never done the PCT side, have always gone the Schad route and then drop down into Bitter Creek Cyn to return. The Schad route can be tough with the false summits and rocky ridge.

I went partway up one time on Schad's route, which starts from the other side in Grapevine canyon. It starts by going up a dry fall, which isn't too difficult when you figure out the route. Then it went up a hillside that as I recall was a bed of loose rocks interspersed with cactus. That part kicked my ass and when I topped out on the ridge and saw Grapevine one ridge over, I decided not to continue.

That was a few years ago before I was used to that sort of terrain. I like to think I'd do better now.

Great hike and photos! Glad you made it.

When Henry and I visited, we didn't find the register, but didn't know it was located in the base of the cairn. It might have been there. We left another in the open that maybe was removed or added to the original. These photos kind of want to make me go back, but I also remember how I felt coming down. Haha.

The bighorn carcass was a great find.

On thing being up there really solidified is actually how far away Rabbit and Village look. Knowing how thick the brush can be it seems to be a very daunting task to get to them.

Yeah, they both looked a long way off. Crazy that some people have traversed the entire ridge in one go.

Congrats. Great trip report. Thanks for sharing the route map. I like it!

I've never gone up Pinyon. That's a nice view of the northern part of the park.

I love driving along S-2 when the Lagunas have snow. Makes a nice contrast with the desert.

I like the snow picture at the top with the elevation sign. Looks like a great hike.
edited by surfponto on 2/9/2023

Well done! Hiking in desert snow is magic.

Nice Trip. You're really clocking off the miles Rocko1 !! First time we climbed Whale was in January snow. We used the snow melt for water. I have an old film photo of us in a snowball fight somewhere.

Very nice hike. Brian is right. There is a lot to explore in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto wilderness. The PCT thru the San Jacinto's is a favorite.
Looks like you scored a perfect day for your hike!

Rocko1 wrote:

Very nice! Can you explain how a roasting pit differs from say a plain old clearing? I have come across many areas that are cleared of most plant life and rocks but was never sure if was by chance or a real pit.

A roasting pit is going to have fire affected rocks (usually gray/black/sometimes reddish colored) along with ashy soil. They're often on mountain ridges and can be rather pristine or eroded away. If you come upon a nice rock circle of "FAR" filled with a deep layer of ash, it's pretty obvious. Sometimes the rocks are disorganized and the grey ash layer is covered with sediment or overgrown by plants. Have to say my examples of roasting pits are pretty beat up. Daren's trick is to trench the soil layer with your boot heel and see if it reveals the gray soil.

Well I finally decided to make my own iOS ABSP hiking app. It's in development now, but here's how it looks so far: http://modesittsoftware.com/Hikes/. The app will contain TOPO maps of the area, so you'll be able to view the maps offline. I've obtained permission from Modern Hiker http://www.modernhiker.com/area-maps/anza-borrego-desert-state-park/ to include their hikes in the app.

If anyone has any GPX files of hikes they've taken in ABSP and would like to see them in the app, let me know. The GPX file can include a link back to the contributor's site if desired. I'll probably charge a few dollars for the app in the App Store to cover development costs. Comments welcome!

You guys put in some quality miles, nice pics!

How did the cave look, any obvious signs of people being there?

I might do that, but first I'm going to try doing a return trip to look again. I'll be better prepared next time. I think I've figured out where to look from the adjacent pics.

Great pics. Like the camo shirt.

Rocko1 wrote:

dsefcik wrote:

Great pics. Like the camo shirt.

Thanks. Kuiu Peleton 97 lightweight fleece. I would say it's one of the best backpacking items I own. 6oz.

Looked them up, looks like nice gear, have never heard of that company before. The color Valo looks pretty cool also.

Another nice trip. Glad you like your new tent. Was watching a youtuber last night review "ultralight tents' and zpacks didn't make the cut (the guy's sponsor was Moosejaw, so...) but it would have been the lightest of all of them. Thought zpacks way more pricy than the competition but that's not really the case anymore. Quite happy with my altaplex. Thanks!

dsefcik wrote:

At least you gave it a go and spent the day out in the desert....now you have an excuse to go again..!

Exactly. It was a nice day and I used the extra time to check out the section of Coyote Canyon road between the gate closure and boulder alley.

My nemesis


Unlucky former resident of Palo Verde Canyon


They weren't kidding about Coyote Creek taking over the road


Boulder alley is back to looking the way it did in 2012