Summer Sand Angels in the Anza Borrego Desert

If you really want to escape the summer beach crowds of San Diego, but still want to play in the sand, you could always take a 2+ hour drive east to the Anza Borrego Desert.

Our motivation was simple, June gloom had continued two weeks into July, shrouding the coast in clouds. We had forgotten what sunshine felt like.

Mind you this is not journey for those who can't take a little heat. When we pulled up at the Carrizo Gorge turnoff, temperatures were already close to 100' and promised to rise throughout the morning.

Suprisingly, we were not the only foolhardy souls out in Anza Borrego braving the  triple digit temperatures. When Mary and I pulled off the S2 at Carrizo Gorge we noticed a couple of guys parked at the trailhead. After chatting a bit, we learned that they were doing research on the Tamarisk groves in the area. Apparently Tamarisk is considered an invasive spieces in the Colorado Desert due to its tendency to compete with native desert vegetation. They asked us if we were familiar with the area, so we directed them south down into Carrizo Gorge where we knew there were many thickets of Tamarisk trees.

By this time Daren had arrived so we jumped in our 4 Wheel Drives and drove down Carrizo Gorge to the turnoff at RockHouse Canyon. 

As we predicted, the 3 mile hike up the canyon was hot, dry and completely devoid of hikers. All of the wildflowers and cactus blooms that we had marveled at in months past were now gone, leaving behind an arid desert landscape. We didn't spend too much time exploring the canyon, but both Daren and I did manage to get impaled by cholla spines. Ahhh, got to love the Desert.

Despite the heat, I am beginning to enjoy Anza Borrego in the summer months or off season. It is nice to be able to escape the summer beach crowds even if it is only for a little while. 

Disclaimer: If you dare to brave summer in the Anza Borrego Desert, please be prepared. Bring plenty of water and wear a hat. If you are not an experienced hiker, stay reasonably close to your vehicle which should be in good working condition.
When we arrived back at the LandCruiser the temperature was 110'F which gives you an idea of the extreme temperatures you may encounter.
If you are near Borrego Springs it is a good idea to check in with the Park Ranger before you head out on a hike.

Photos from the trip are here.

Spring hike to the Goat Canyon Trestle in Carrizo Gorge - 2010

Tucked away in the southern end of the Anza Borrego Desert is an engineering marvel that, due to its' remoteness, has only been viewed by a relatively small number of people. The Goat Canyon Trestle was built in 1932 after an earthquake collapsed one of the tunnels of the Carrizo Gorge section of the San Diego Arizona Railroad.

At two hundred feet tall and 750 feet long, it remains to this day the longest, tallest curved wooden trestle ever built in the United States. The sheer ruggedness of the mountainous terrain as well as the searing desert temperatures warranted the name "The Impossible Railroad".

The preferred route is to park near Mortero Palms and take the trail that leads you up and over the Jacumba Mountains dropping you down into Goat Canyon after 3 miles or so. This is pretty much the standard route and is published in a few hiking books and on a few websites.

While we have hiked out to Goat Canyon Trestle along the "popular route", I have always had it in the back of my mind to park at the north end of Carrizo Gorge and then hike up to where it intersects Goat Canyon. Mary and I tried it once a couple years ago and eventually gave up. There is no clearly defined trail up the gorge, and a majority of the hike had us dodging cholla, hopscotching across river rocks and squeezing through catclaw. Still I was itching to do it and amazingly Mary agreed to accompany me.

Saturday morning we loaded up the LandCruiser, slapped on the sunscreen and drove out to meet up with Daren at the Carrizo Creek turnoff. After quick introductions, we hopped in our vehicles and lumbered up the Carrizo Gorge jeep road. The trail was deserted apart from a few jackrabbits, and after an hour of bouncing up the trail we were parked and off hiking into the gorge.

Now I am usually not one to worry about rattlesnakes , but the combination of the thick undergrowth and Daren's rattlesnake stories had me a bit spooked. Suddenly, almost as if Daren had a magic crystal ball, the stillness of the desert was interrupted by a loud piercing rattle. No these weren't maracas, but a 4-5' long Diamondback rattler coiled up into strike position. We quickly detoured off the trail and continued deeper into the gorge, vowing to pay better attention our steps.

A couple miles into the hike we realized we were not covering as much ground as we had hoped. By our calculations the Goat Canyon juncture was still a couple hours away while in the meantime the sun had moved directly overhead.

At this point we made the decison to bushwhack up the side of the mountain using the train tracks as our goal. We made our way up the loose material, sweating, cursing and dodging cholla until we finally arrived at the tracks of the Carrizo Gorge railway.

From here the hike was easy since we merely had to follow the tracks for about another mile and a half. Along the way we passed through two-story tall tunnels  which  have been blasted through solid rock and are supported with massive wooden beams.

Further down the tracks we passed by some old box cars perched precariously on the edge of the gorge and after a bit more hiking we found ourselves standing on the middle of the 200 foot high Goat Canyon Trestle.

Looking west down into Goat Canyon we realized the approach from Carrizo Gorge would have been all but impossible. There is a towering dry waterfall at the mouth of the canyon that looks deceptively easy on Google Earth. Our view from high atop the trestle said otherwise.

We explored the trestle area for some time until hunger eventually got the best of us. Far off in Carrizo Gorge was a LandCruiser with cold beer and sandwiches, so we reluctantly started our long journey back.

 Goat Canyon Hike Photos are here

Dos Cabezas Day Trip

I left early Wednesday morning with the plan to do a solo day hike out to the Goat Canyon Trestle in the southern Anza Borrego desert.

According to weather reports the rain that was hitting the coast wasn't suppose to hit Ocotillo until Thursday. Sure there were high wind warnings for  the deserts and the mountains but hey, what's a little wind ?

As I began to drive up the grade past Pine Valley for my eventual descent into the desert, I quickly realized that this was not an ordinary Spring storm. Rain had quickly turned to snow as I approached the Sunrise Highway turn-off. Snow? Wait, isn't  Memorial Day weekend with its' beach barbecues and fun-in-the-sun just around the corner!? Not only was there snow, but the wind was whipping up some pretty good flurries near the Tecate Divide. Visibility was pretty bad and I strongly considered turning around. 

Fortunately once I began dropping down into the desert, things took a turn for the better. The skies cleared and the Jacumba mountains seemed to deter any further advancement of the storm into the Anza Borrego desert. 

"It was going to be a great hike", I said to myself, as I pulled up to the trailhead at Mortero Palms. I started to open the door of my LandCruiser only to have it jerked out of my hand by a sudden gust of wind. The rain squalls quickly followed as the wind seemed to force the rain up and over the Jacumba mountains.

Retreating to the warmth of the LandCruiser I made the decision to abandon the remote hike and explore the Dos Cabezas area. Luckily the rain seemed to be concentrated to the west so I was able to stay pretty dry exploring the areas east of the mountains. After exploring some new areas, I had lunch while watching the long branches of the fiery tipped Ocotillos get battered by the wind.

It is amazing what these hearty desert plants can put up with; searing temperatures, drought, flash floods and gale force winds don't seem to have an effect on them. While most of the year the Ocotillo resembles a group of long, spindly, dead branches sticking out of the sand, come Spring given enough rain, they begin to green up and  will explode with bright orange buds. The spiny covered branches of this amazing desert plant can reach heights of 20 feet and is well suited to the dry, well-drained soil of the southern Anza Borrego Desert.

By far my favorite desert plant out here. 

Pictures from the Dos Cabezas trip are here

Slideshow from the Dos Cabezas trip are here

Pinyon Ridge Solo Backpack Trip

Join David, a member of our Anza Borrego Forums, as he hikes up the Wilson Trail for a solo overnight backpack trip.

The trail to Pinyon Ridge is called the Wilson Trail. It follows an old Jeep road for about 5 miles and ends in a beautiful little valley just to the east of Wilson Peak.
This is the sign that greets you as you pull off S-22 and head for the trail head.

As the trail began I gained ground quickly and then dropped down and gained more until I had a view of Cuyamaca Peak off to the west.

Eventually I gained enough elevation that I saw the first of many Pinyon Pine trees.

As I climbed the last hill up to the small valley where I would make camp I looked off to the north and saw down into Borrego Springs.

After dropping my pack at the campsite I headed up Wilson Peak and had a 360 degree view. Here is a very nice Pinyon Pine tree and Whale Peak in the distance.

There was an okay sunset on Saturday night.

But the sunrise Sunday morning was spectacular. If you look close you can see the reflection of the Salton Sea.

Here is a picture of my campsite for the night. I did not bring a tent and did not need it as the sky was overcast but no rain.

As I was leaving my camp and heading back to the jeep I passed these two huge and healthy Pinyon Pines that mark the place where I would leave the peaceful little valley and begin the hike out.
On the way out I passed this Picture Rock.I saw what I think is Mountain Lion scat.And saw many many beautiful little flowers.

There were lots of these plants blooming however for each one of these I saw blooming there were at least 10 more ready to explode into color.

On the drive home I passed by Lake Henshaw. The valley around the lake is so green and covered with many flowers. The orange in the foreground are California Poppies.

It was an amazing backpacking trip. I have done this hike 6 or 7 times over the years and this was the third time I did it solo as a backpacking trip. The view from the top of Wilson Peak and from the eastern edge of Pinyon Ridge is wonderful. It is a pretty easy hike but it does cover about 10 miles with lots of ups and downs going in and coming out. The trail (old jeep road) is easy to follow and takes you to a cool elevation. If you do this hike you will NOT be disappointed.

Revisiting the Mud Caves in Arroyo Tapiado

04/04/2010

Tucked away in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park is a place that seems to have more similarities with moon, or at least what I would imagine the moon to look like.

Arroyo Tapiado or "Mud Wall Wash" is an area of southern Anza Borrego that has some of the most extensive mud caves in the world. A few of the dark, twisting passages can be hundreds of feet long ending in rooms with two story ceilings, while other areas require you to suck in your gut and crawl on all fours.

Archaeological excavations have uncovered fossils of mammoths, sabre-tooth tigers and other animals dating back millions of years which adds to the otherworldly feel of the area.

When exploring a place like Arroyo Tapiado it is always nice to have a guide, or someone in the know. Fortunately for us one of my friends from work Mark, is an experienced "spelunker" and is always up for a day of exploring. He was also the one that guided us around the Arroyo Tapiado Mud Caves 5 years ago.  We were also able to entice few more of our friends to join us, so after a quick meetup at Starbucks we jumped in the four-wheel drives and headed east towards Anza Borrego.

Our first stop was the Plunge Pool cave and the surrounding slot canyons. We hiked a bit up the canyon until lunch time and then headed back to the vehicles. Out came the BBQ and grill-master JP took center stage grilling up an assortment of hamburgers, veggie burgers and hot dogs. Once everone was stuffed with BBQ food it was time to don headlamps and squeeze into the narrow entrance of Plunge Pool Cave.

The cave is a fairly short trek but opens up into an amazing two story cavern with a small skylight. Upon our arrival into the cavern, a family that had been sitting in the dark having lunch decided  5 more mouths were too many to feed and quickly left. We spent some time enjoying the coolness of the cave, and then decided it was time for something a bit more challenging.

The next mud cave on our list was "Hidden Cave" which was a short hike down the wash from our camp. This particular cave will reinforce your fears of tight places or possibly cure it. The passage has you crawling on all fours and squeezing between narrow sections in complete darkness, save your headlamp.

If you have not been out to visit this amazing part of the Anza Borrego desert you have to put it on your to do list. Be prepared to get dirty and do a lot of crawling, ducking and climbing. Another thing I should mention is that if you are claustrophobic you may want to stay away from some of the tighter caves like "Hidden Cave".

Rest of post coming soon....

Slideshow from trip

Photo Album from trip

Wildflowers , Cactus Blooms and Jackrabbits in the southern Anza Borrego Desert

03/25/2010

The wildflowers and cactus blooms have arrived in the southern Anza Borrego Desert

When my sister Linda viewed last week's wildflower update post she insisted I take her on a mid-week flower hunting trip. After much arm twisting I agreed and here is what we found.

 :

We had this great encounter with a couple of Jackrabbits in Indian Valley. Once they realized that we weren't a threat they chased each other around the LandCruiser for a good ten minutes. Linda commented that it was probably some rabbit mating ritual being Spring and all. 

Check the rest of the Wildflower Photos Here

Trythe slideshow (beta)

The hunt for the elusive Carrizo Gorge pictographs

Deep in the rugged expanse of Carrizo Gorge in the Anza Borrego desert, there is a small cave of pictographs that few have ever seen. The area is surrounded by large unstable mountains, choked with catclaw, and littered with large truck size boulders. The Carrizo Gorge also marks the transition from the Colorado Desert to the dry San Diego coastal mountains.

We have visited the area numerous times. At one point Mary and I tried to scout a route to Goat Canyon along Carrizo Gorge. While this is doable, we were eventually turned back by thick groves of catclaw that proceeded to tear at our skin and clothes. 

Fast forward to a couple months ago; while Googling "Anza Borrego Pictographs" I found an image of what appeared to be dark, ghost -like apparitions painted on a cave wall. The caption read "Rock Shelter, Carrizo Gorge, Anza-Borrego State Park. I did a little research to try to narrow down the location of the rock shelter but came up empty handed. Finally while talking to retired Park Superintendent Mark Jorgensen at an ABF sposored hike, I got the clue I needed. 

I decided I would do this trip solo because deep down I didn't think I would find the shelter in Carrizo Gorge and I really didn't want to drag friends and family along on a wild goose chase. My back up plan was to hike to the cattleman's house in Rockhouse Canyon to take pictures and also scout the area for wildflowers. 

Flower season or not, mid-week in the southern Anza Borrego Desert is empty. Driving up the Imperial Highway I counted two parked cars, occupants frantically pointing their cameras at anything with a hint of color.

I turned off at Carrizo Creek and made my way up the jeep trail of Carrizo Gorge finally parking at the trailhead of Rockhouse Canyon. The majority of Rockhouse Canyon actually sits on BLM land just outside of the Anza Borrego State Park and is designated as part of the Carrizo Gorge Wilderness. The trail itself was in years past an old jeep road, now closed it is slowly being recalimed by the desert.

The trail up the sandy wash was lined with color. Desert Dandelions, Chuparosa, Desert Chicory and Brittle Bush were in abundance adding a sweet fragrance to the dry desert air. I explored a few small caves and rocks and finally arrived at the rock house.

According to historians, the rock house was built by cattleman Darrell McCain back in 1933. McCain built the cabin against two large boulders and added a small fireplace and a window that overlooks the expansive valley. It is always fun to sit in the rock house and gaze out the window much the same way the McCains might have done almost 75 years ago.

I explored the area a bit, snapped a few pictures and then headed back down the wash to the trailhead. After lunch and a short solo bongo session (seemed appropriate)  I jumped into the LandCruiser and lumbered further down the Carrizo Gorge road. First thing I noticed is that the trail has gotten much worse. I am not sure I would have ventured much past the East Fork turnoff without 4WD and low range. My guess is that the winter rains have affected the trail and that Carrizo Gorge has seen alot of flowing water in the past few months.

After bouncing along in low range for thirty minutes, the trail had become impassable, blocked by large boulders and over-growth. I parked my LandCruiser and began scouring the area for signs of a cave.

First thing I found was a "water drop" of a dozen one gallon containers. (This area is a frequently used route for Mexican immigrants making their way through the desert.)  A few minutes later I was able to locate the cave.

The pictographs are very dark, leading me to believe they have been touched up at some point. Nevertheless the cave is impressive with morteros and an spectacular view down into the Carrizo Gorge.

I sat in the cave and finished my water in preparation for the long drive back down the trail. The only sound was the water rushing over the rocks of the creek and a few birds that seemed upset by my intrusion.

Looking out over Carrizo Gorge I thought to myself, "Hmmm, not a bad spot."

Photos from this trip are here

Slideshow version of trip

San Diego Reader Published Version - Desert Treasure

Hike to Harper Cabin with the Anza Borrego Foundation

I signed Mary and I up for a day trip with the Anza-Borrego Foundation to Harper Cabin in the central part of the Anza Borrego Desert. My reasoning for signing up for an organized tour was two-fold. First the hike was being led by Mark Jorgensen who probably knows the Anza Borrego Desert better than anybody, and second while we know the southern area of the Anza Borrego Desert fairly well, we are not very familiar with the central area. We are "down-southers" according to Mark.

The tour was set to leave at 8AM from the Tamarisk Grove campground so with our neighbor's Don and Kathleen in tow we packed sandwiches, filled water bottles, lathered on sunscreen and headed east in our trusty Toyota Landcruiser.

Once we arrived quick introductions were made, and we jumped back into the Landcruiser and followed Mark Jorgen's red Jeep for the short drive to the trail at Pinyon Wash. The drive up Pinyon Wash takes you through some beautiful backcountry of the Anza Borrego Desert. Numerous Agave, with their stalks reaching for the sky and the crimson tipped Ocotillo lined the trail.

The hike began under a cloudless desert sky, with a little bouldering up a small canyon. The narrow canyon eventually opened up into the vast expanse of Harper Flat where we explored an old Indian camp rich with morteros, metates and pottery shards. We then continued up the valley into  the narrow tributary of Harper Canyon.

The hidden treasures of Harper Canyon are the multi-level dam that was built back in the 1920s and the cabin which was used by the Harper brothers. Like many cattlemen that came before them, Julius and Amby Harper tried to utilize the abundant vegetation of the Anza Borrego Desert landscape to graze their cattle. They were able to tap into some of the underground springs of the area and went as far as building a dam to control water flow down the narrow canyon. Unfortunately the dams eventually filled with sand and the Harper brothers abandoned their cattle operation years later.

Today all that remains of the Harper brother's endeavors are the sand-filled dam which forms two massive steps up the canyon, and the cabin, where according to rangers, one of the Harper brothers spent his honeymoon.There is also a stone structure at the mouth of the canyon which we are guessing served as some sort of outpost.

We sat, ate our lunches and imagined the effort it must have taken to construct such an operation in this remote area of the desert. The solid concrete walls of the dam are close to 10 feet tall and have stood the test of time. The cabin itself has not done so well, its' support system of Agave stalks long gone.

After lunch at the cabin, we hiked back down Harper Canyon realizing we were probably following the path the Harper brothers took so many years ago. Of course they probably didn't have a LandCruiser with solar panels and a fridge waiting for them at the trailhead. 

Special thanks to Mark Jorgensen, Bert Gildart and the Anza Borrego Foundation for making this a fun and memorable trip.

Trip Photos are Here

Anza Borrego Wildflowers and Cactus Bloom Update

I took another scouting trip to the south end of the Anza Borrego Desert to see how the wildflowers and cactus blooms were progressing. It looks like we have another couple weeks for a peak bloom in the southern areas. There are many cacti with buds that are ready to explode.

This beautiful Barrel Cactus near Indian Hill was getting a jump start on its neighbors.

We also noticed a few small Fishook Cacti with tiny rings of flowers.

Penstemon pseudospectabilis(?) nestled between the rocks.

Unfortunately on our search for wildflowers near Arroyo Seco del Diablo and Arroyo Tapiado we noticed a large amount of Sahara Mustard in areas that were previously covered with Sand Verbena. From doing some research I found out that Sahara Mustard is a real problem in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. This fast growing invasive plant smothers native wildflowers by steailing sunlight and soil moisture. 

Another thing that really bummed us out were these illegal ATV tracks up near Indian Hill.

This yahoo basically took his ATV right through an area of cholla, beavertail and other cacti and tore things up pretty bad. It sucks to see someone with such a blantant disregard for the environment, harm the desert  this way.

If you want to become an expert on the various wildflowers in the Anza Borrego Desert or just interested in learning more, I recommend the field guide Desert Wildflowers of the Sonoran Desert. If this guide doesn't have it , it probably does not exist.

Photo Slideshow from this trip

Piedras Grandes and the search for desert wildflowers

Mary and I left early Sunday for a day trip out to Anza Borrego. Our destination was Piedras Grandes in the southern end of the park. While Saturday's heavy rains had  dissuaded us from doing an overnight trip, Sunday had dawned with blue skies and warm temperatures. Perfect weather for an Anza Borrego trip.

After a quick stop at the Subway in Jacumba we dropped down into the desert around 9:30 AM. We drove up the S2 scanning the vast desert for any sign of desert wildflowers. A few budding Ocotillo and some yellow Brittle Bush flowers but not much else blooming. As we bounced up the Mortero Wash trail, we caught up to a 4Runner who had stopped to take pictures of an incredible Agave. Not ones to miss out on a good desert flower picture, we grabbed our camera and began snapping away.  The Agave or "Century Plant" has an average lifespan of 25 years, all of those preparing for its' culminating display of brilliant golden flowers. It is always fun to be on hand to witness such an event.

Our next stop was the trailhead at Piedras Grandes. Suprisingly, there were a couple of trucks already there,  so we drove a little further up the trail and parked. The Piedras Grandes "Big Rocks" area is well known for its abundance of cultural artifacts and habitats. Hiking up the former jeep trail, we were amazed by the sheer number of cave shelters and amazing rocks. We found the deepest mortero we have ever seen as well as the largest Yoni. There were also numerous water cachments carved out of the large boulders that held water from Saturday's rain.

About 1.5 miles up the trail we came upon the famous "Horse and Rider" pictograph. The pictograph depicts a figure of a man on a horse which according to Diana Liindsay's Guide is the only "known representation of horse and rider in Kumeyaay rock art". This had led archaeologist to deduce that this pictograph may have been drawn to record the Kumeyaay's first encounter with Juan Batista De Anza back in 1774. 

Unfortunately this amazing piece of history was no match for careless campfires and much of it is damaged and hard to make out. Luckily, there is a small sign that recreates the drawing from an archaelogical survey done back in the 70s.

It is nice to think that in this technologically obsessed world , a place like this even exists.

As we hiked back to the Landcruiser on a trail that we have driven in years past, we realized that some places in the Anza Borrego desert are better traveled on foot.

Photos are here

Slide Show is here

Journey to the Railroad Construction Camp in Anza Borrrego

   Our trip began with a late afternoon stop at the Lazy Lizard in Ocotillo. Mary and I had planned to head straight out to the campsite but Linda would have none of it. "We are stopping at the Lazy Lizard, aren't we ?",  she inquired as we started to drive up the S2. Hard to argue with that so, three beers, two t-shirts and a few dollars lighter the three of us were heading up the sandy washboard road of Mortero Wash.

After our last  failed attempt to find the railroad construction camp, I was determined to try again. This time I was lucky since recently I had been sent a scan of a topographic map with an "x" marking its' location.

Now, I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I am pretty new school, and need a GPS with a waypoint to pretty much find anything. Consequently when I received the map from a member of our forum my first question was "OK how do I get this onto my iPhone".  

Our hike to the railroad construction camp took us through some of the most beautiful areas of the Anza Borrego Desert. Numerous Ocotillo and other desert flora are in abundance here. The temperature was perfect, and the intense blue sky seemed to accent the large boulders prolific in the area. The Ocotillo were covered with bright green leaves and a few even had bloomed with beautiful orange flowers.

We took a quick detour to check out the pictographs at Indian Hill, and then continued north through the Desert using the map and the GPS to guide us. The first thing we found were thousands of old rusted tin cans, which I assume were discarded by the railroad workers. Pretty incredible to think that many of the cans were over one hundred years old and were still intact.  

The camp was constructed to support the railroad workers who were blasting tunnels through the Carrizo Gorge a century ago, so standing amongst the dilapidated wood structures is like getting a glimpse back in time. There is one wall of the camp still standing constructed of old blasting powder cans and held together by mortar.  There are also the remains of an above ground gravity feed water system which was quite necessary in the arid work conditions the workers had to endure.

The railroad construction camp is not easy to find , but if you are interested in the history of this area it is well worth the journey. Who knows I may even send you a map with an "x" on it. 

While we were hoping to see more flowers on this trip, it seemed we were 2-3 weeks early.  There were signs that this years flower bloom could be a good one. The Ocotillo looked very green and healthy, and we saw a few Chuparosa bushes that were beginning to bloom.

Guess it means we have another excuse to head out to Anza Borrego in a few weeks. 

Photo album is here

Slideshow beta here (using PicasaViewer)

The Forgotten Artist: Indians of Anza-Borrego and Their Rock Art

Desert Bighorn Sheep in Anza Borrego

Just when I feel like I have seen everything there is to see in the Anza Borrego Desert, I read a BLOG or catch a book entry about someplace new and exciting. This time around it was an abandoned railroad camp in the southern end of the park. The ruins are almost 100 years old and were built to support the construction of the Carrizo Gorge Railway.

According to Jerry Schaad's book, the railroad camp ruins are located NW of Indian Hill so I felt pretty confident we could find them.

With this fresh on our minds, we packed up the LandCruiser in the late morning on Sunday and headed east. The straight week of heavy rain in San Diego had also brought a lot of snow to the local mountains. Traffic heading up Sunrise Highway towards Mount Laguna was completely stopped. Seems a lot of people wanted to go play in the snow and were busy purchasing Adventure Passes and putting on their tire chains. I breathed a sigh of relief that we were continuing east, far from the hordes of snow lovers.

  An hour later , we found ourselves driving up the sandy washboard trail of Mortero Canyon. A couple of lifted jeeps passed us on their way out but otherwise this area of the Desert was empty.

There was evidence of water everywhere. Parts of the trail were completely submerged, and as much as I wanted to test the capabilities of our diesel Toyota LandCruiser, Mary my voice of reason said otherwise.

Since our normal departure point to Indian Hill was a bit "crowded" (2 cars), we stopped for lunch at the end of the trail and tried to figure out the best route. No sooner did we cross the tracks to head up the wash when a herd of Desert Bighorn males appeared.  The group moved silently along the cliff above us and occasionally would stop to make sure we weren't making any sudden moves. Their movements along the crumbling cliff were nothing short of amazing. They moved nimbly from rock to rock just as you or I would step up a curb. Finally, the one large male that appeared to be the leader led the group of seven up the cliff and out of sight. 

We continued our hike, still in a state of awe and commenting that we need a better camera. In our 15 years coming out to Anza Borrego we have only seen one Desert Bighorn, which illustrates how rare these animals are. To see a herd of seven moving up a cliff in unison is just amazing.

We never were able to find the railroad construction camp which at this point seemed somewhat trivial, but vowed to come back one day and find it. Who knows maybe we will get lucky again.  

Our Desert Bighorn photos are here

Desert USA Desert Bighorn Page

The plight of Anza Borrego's Desert Bighorn Sheep

The Forgotten Artist: Indians of Anza-Borrego and Their Rock Art

How not to cook a turkey in the Desert.....

Our annual Thanksgiving tradition is to spend Thanksgiving with our family and then head out to Anza Borrego the following day for a couple days of desert fun. This year turned out to be one of the more memorable trips we have had, so sit back and I will try to explain what transpired.

Friday morning found Mary and I heading out to Carrizo Gorge to meet Jan, Gina and crew at one of our favorite campsites. Jan had left the night before to get the Imu Pit ready. Imu Pit ? you ask. Well yes, this year after 5 successful years of grilled turkey perfection we opted to try the Polynesian method of cooking the turkey in a pit in the ground. The process itself is a bit more complex and requires banana leaves, burlap sacks, chicken wire and 4 or five hours of patience.

When we arrived Jan informed us that our preferred campsite was occupied. We were a bit disappointed, but our group had set up camp a little ways down the canyon which was fine. We quickly prepped the turkey which meant, wrapping it in the banana leaves, covering it with chicken wire, and placing it in the pit underneath the wet burlap sacks. Plywood was placed over the pit and dirt shoveled over everything to keep in the heat. We even brought one of those fancy turkey thermometers with a remote so we could monitor the temperature sitting comfortably sipping refreshments.

As with the grilling method, the "Imu Pit" method also requires a lot of waiting. We passed the time playing bocci ball, harassing tarantulas and munching on some awesome grilled tacos prepared by Steve and Kat.

After 4 hours, numerous games of bocci ball and the occasional adult beverage the turkey thermometer hit 160' . With great anticipation we pulled the concoction out of the pit and begin to unwrap it. What we saw laying between the banana leaves was something I won't soon forget. Instead of a grilled brown turkey, our bird looked whiter than when it had gone into the pit. As was eloquently put by one of the members of our group,  "It looks like a white, wrinkled baby butt !".

Seems there is a reason you won't find many references to an Imu Pit turkey on Google. The traditional Imu Pit method relies on steam created by the coals and held in by the various layers of leaves. While this works for a pig, it proved to be ineffective on our two turkeys. 

Funny thing is that I think the turkey was actually cooked at this point but the ghost white appearance was hard to get past. We quickly threw it on a grill and charred it. 

The next morning we were woken up by some strong gusts of wind and light rain. Let me clarify; the wind was strong enough to blow my new REI sleeping bag out of the rooftop tent and alight it perfectly on top of the lit Coleman stove which resulted in a flaming explosion of down feathers. The resulting mess ended any hopes of a mornng cup of coffee. It was at this point we decided to cut our losses, finish packing up the Landcruisers and say our goodbyes.

Mary and I had originally planned a trip to the Arroyo Tapiado Mud Caves but the rainy weather thwarted our plans. Instead we pointed the Landcruiser north towards Borrego Spring. Our destination was the "creature desert" just outside of Borrego Springs. Thunderstorms punctuated by periods of sun created an amazing display of rainbows along the S2.

We dropped down the S3 into Borrego Springs wondering how we were ever going to find the sculptures, when suddenly off to our right we spotted what looked like a prehistoric mammoth! We quickly pulled the LandCruiser off the road and grabbed our camera....

The Creature Desert
     The creature desert is the creation of  sculptor Ricardo Breceda who was commissioned by Dennis Avery of Avery lables fame. Breceda's creations vary from turtles, to farm workers, to life size dinosaurs and are scattered throughout the Borrego Springs area.
As Mary and I drove through the desert looking for the sculptures we felt a bit like like dinosaur hunters from the movie "Jurrasic Park".Our favorite were the raptors and the life size Tyrannosauruses.

While the sculptures themselves were impressive, seeing them in the context of the timeless Anza Borrego Desert made the experience that much more authentic. 

If you find yourself in the Borrego Springs area I highly recommend you check out these amazing sculptures.

Trip Photo Album is Here.

Creature Desert Slide Show

Flooding in Ocotillo and a mystery train at Dos Cabezas

Believe it or not a week after my solo Torote Canyon trip I found myself camping in Mortero Wash with Mary. We were actually trying to scout out some places for our post Thanksgiving trip.

Hilights of our overnight trip were :

• Flooding in the desert town of Ocotillo
  
• The mystery box cars in Mortero Wash
• Incredible red moon rising over the Salton Sea 
• Numerous jackrabbit sightings in Carrizo Creek. 
• Pie in Julian on the way out. :-)
  

The evening temperature was perfect and the semi-full red moon was surreal. Wish I could figure out how to take moon pictures with my cheap Canon camera.

Photo album is here.

Desert solitude in the heat of the summer

While most people were trying to escape the record high temperatures by heading to the beach, I decided  to head out to Anza Borrego for the day. This trip would be solo since my claims of a fun desert adventure fell on deaf ears. Mary simply wasn't buying it. She said something about triple digit temperatures and that was that. She was right, the weather had been over 110' for the past week out in Ocotillo but that failed to dissuade me. 

I dropped down into Ocotillo around noon figuring if I was going to experience the desert in the summer why not do it at midday when temps would be peaking?

As expected, Ocotillo was a ghost town, without a soul around. Seems those residents that live out here year round were holed up in their homes watching their satellite TVs with their air conditioners cranked.

Heading deeper into the desert, I did see one brave soul on a motorcycle. He had stopped in the shade of an Ocotillo at the Carrizo Badlands overlook but he was the exception to an otherwise deserted highway.

Further along S2, I turned off the road at Indian Gorge. I shifted the transfer case into low, more for fun than necessity, and lumbered up the sandy, rock strewn trail. While the trail into Indian Gorge can be traversed in a high clearance 2 two-wheel drive vehicle, the soft sand and boulders do require your attention. Getting stuck out in the midday desert sun would not be fun, and could be downright dangerous.

The trail head to Torote Canyon is less than a mile up the jeep road and is marked by a small weather-beaten sign. It was here that I parked the LandCruiser and proceeded up the canyon.

The hike is a relatively easy hike up a sandy wash. Almost instantly the canyon walls rose around me and I found myself fully immersed in the solitude of Torote Canyon.

About a 1/2 mile up I came to the first "Elephant Tree"  which seemed to be growing directly out of rock. The Elephant Tree's twisted trunk gives Torote Canyon its' name, 'Torote' being the Spanish word for twisted.

At this point I opted to turn around. I would leave the rest of the hike for another day when the temperatures were a bit cooler.

Check out the photos here

Hiking to the top of Combs Peak

In an effort to escape the Memorial Day beach crowds, Mary and I left Leucadia and pointed the LandCruiser east. Our destination was Combs Peak located in the northern end of Anza Borrego.

At 6193 ft or 1888 m Combs Peak has the distinction of being the highest mountain in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park as well as one of the highest, most remote peaks in San Diego County.

For reference here is a list of the top 10 mountain peaks in San Diego 

Our two hour drive led us through some beautiful parts of the San Diego backcountry, and after an additional 5 miles off road we arrived at the junction of Lost Valley road and the Pacific Crest Trail. Lost Valley Road, while unpaved is a fairly easy drive as was made evident by the various assortment of vehicles we saw heading in the opposite direction. At one point we both did a double-take as a SUV towing a huge Airstream camper came bouncing down the road towards us. 

We parked next to a Toyota Tacoma with Alaskan plates, grabbed the Delorme GPS and headed north up the PCT. The trail itself is in great shape and we were surprised to see a fair number of wildflowers as we made our way towards Combs Peak.

The hillside was dotted with the burned remains of Coulter pines, their branchless, blackened trunks still standing upright.

After 2 miles the hike turned into a scramble as we veered left off the trail and headed for the summit. There is somewhat of a worn path leading up the mountain, but at times we found ourselves scratching our heads trying to figure out the best approach. Using the various ducks (trail markers) as guides we were able to reach the summit in thirty minutes or so.

Once at the top, we unwrapped our sandwiches and sat down to relax and enjoy the 360' view... or so we thought. Suddenly I heard "Hey I think these flies are biting me!". Mary was right, these were not merely annoying house flies but some type of morphed devil flies that were intent on sucking our blood. We quickly wolfed down our sandwiches and high-tailed it back down the mountain.

We will do this hike again at some point, but next time we will bring the bug repellent.

Pictures are Here

Carrizo Gorge East Fork To Carrizo Palms

We left the coast on a sunny Sunday morning and pointed the LandCruiser east out to one of our favorite areas of Anza Borrego. A quick stop at Starbucks and Subway to fuel up and we were our way. This time we had a couple of Anza newbies, our friends Steve and Haeja.

Late April the temperatures begin to approach triple digits out in the Anza Borrego Desert so we knew this was one of our last trips of the season. Our plan was to hike from the East Fork of Carrizo Gorge out to the seldom visited Carrizo Palms. The palms are located in a remote location below the Carrizo Gorge Railway and are a bit difficult to get to.

Our hike began with a short 4wd trip up the Carrizo Gorge/Creek wash to reach the East Fork turnoff. 4-Wheel drive is not really necessary for most of the drive althoughyou have to make sure to stay clear of the softer sections of the trail. Tubbs our new diesel Landcruiser had no problem traversing the sandy wash in 2 wheel drive and we occasionally slipped him into 4 wheel drive to test it out.

We parked and rigged up the Brunton Solaris to run our Engel Fridge while we were hiking. There is pretty much nothing better than a cold beverage after a hot, dusty desert hike and the solar panel lets us run the fridge with no fear of killing our battery. Water bottles were filled, hiking boot laced up and we were off.

The hike up East Fork is relatively easy although it is slow going due to the soft sand and the ever so slight incline. There are numerous dry waterfall sections to navigate but nothing too technical. 

There was a decent breeze which made the 90' heat bearable and after about an hour and a half we arrived at the first group of palms.There was a substantial amount of water and suddenly Steve looked down and announced, "Hey there's a frog in the water!".  After picking him up, we quickly realized it was two frogs and scolded ourselves for disturbing their intimate moment.

After an hour of relaxing in the shade of the palms we decided to head back to the truck. Unfortunately, the breeze that had cooled us on the hike up had now subsided and the temperature felt much hotter. Our pace quickened as it was now a race to get down the trail to the waiting lunch and cold beverages.

Until next time....

Bob

Pictures Are Here.

Exploring Canyon Sin Nombre

The Anza Borrego flower season is coming to a close so we decided to take a day trip out to explore the Canyon Sin Nombre area with a group of friends. Canyon Sin Nombre translates to "Canyon Without a Name" which makes it sound a bit more ominous then it really is. Sure there are some deep sand sections and some boulders to negotiate, but in general a stock 4WD can traverse this section of the Carrizo Badlands without any problems.

We left behind overcast skies on the coast and by the time we reached the Tecate divide the sun was shining and the sky was a brilliant blue.  

Our first stop was the overlook just south of Canyon Sin Nombre, which offers a specatcular view of the Carrizo Badlands. The wind was cranking at the top and didn't subside until we jumped back in our vehicles and started descending down the jeep trail into the canyon. I opted to put the transfer case in low range to get a feel for how low the gearing is. I was impressed at the snail like pace the LandCruiser was able to maintain without stalling. The common theme in all of the LandCruisers we have owned (5 in all), is how comfortable they feel once the pavement ends. 

We arrived at the mouth of one of the larger slot canyons and parked our vehicles. What initially started out as a wide trail quickly turned into a twisting, rock scrambling hike up a narrowing gorge. In a few places the walls were so tight you actually had to twist  sideways to squeeze through.

The crew did great negotiating the trail and we eventually arrived at the top which gave us a chance to take in the view of the surrounding badlands area.

After hiking back down to the canyon floor, we sat in the shade, had lunch and watched the "Dust Devils" whip by.
It was a bit hard to keep the sand out of our sandwiches due to the wind, but hey isn't that what the Desert is all about? 

Pictures are here.

Hike to the pictographs at Indian Hill

What started out as a quick day trip to see the wildflower bloom in Anza Borrego, turned into a trip back in time.

Our original plan was to do some hiking and take pictures of wildflowers but at the last minute I decided we would try to find the pictographs at Indian Hill. There are numerous sources on how to find this magical place but most are sketchy at best. Many feel that the less exposure this area gets the better.

That being said this is not a post on “How do I find Indian Hill and the pictographs?” . Rather it is a virtual tour of the area that you can take from the comfort of your computer chair. If you do decide to venture out to the desert to find Indian Hill, do the research, study the history and most important leave no trace that you have been there.

The weather could not have been more perfect. Brilliant blue desert skies with barely a hint of clouds welcomed us as we headed north up the S2 into the Park. We turned off at Mortero Wash and proceeded to the trailhead. The desert seemed strangely quiet, and I remarked that most are probably up near Borrego Springs hunting for wildflowers.

The hike took us straight up a large wash which was covered with tiny yellow desert wildflowers which I believe are called "Wallace's Woolly Daisy" or Eriophyllum wallacei. We really had to pay attention to where we were stepping in order to avoid crushing them.

After a mile or so large mounds of rocks began to appear. I knew one of these was  Indian Hill so we began to look around.  Kaiel and I climbed up some of the huge boulders to see if we could find anything. No luck; the problem was there were numerous rock hills in this area. Which was the correct one ?

Finally after going back and forth between various hills in the area, Mary spotted a rock that looked similar to a picture we had found on the Web. Bingo!,  we were getting closer and after some more searching found the "Blue Sun Cave".

The cave was truly incredible! Numerous pictographs covered the wall in an attempt to tell a story of long ago. I counted three "sun" paintings of various colors including the "Blue Sun" which gives the cave its' name.

While this area was used by Indians as far back as 3000 BC, the pictographs themselves are a relatively recent addition of the last 300 to 400 years.We spent some time taking pictures and exploring the other caves and rock carvings  before hiking back to the FJ Cruiser.  

This is an awesome hike and one that is relatively easy......

Photos are here

The Forgotten Artist: Indians of Anza-Borrego and Their Rock Art

Anza Borrego WildFlower Report

I have been reading multiple reports that the wildflower season is starting out in Anza Borrego.

Even though we were out there less than 2 weeks ago for our hike to Goat Canyon, it looks like Mary and I are going to do a day trip to scout out some of the lesser areas known to put on impressive wildflower displays.

Something like Spring 05 would be nice where we came around the bend in Arroyo Tapiado and saw this....