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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
11/17/2014
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Headed out for an overnight backpack trip with Tom in Carrizo Gorge. We parked at the end of the 4WD drive road and started out late in the day with about 30 minutes of daylight left. We managed to get to Goat Canyon in the dark where we setup camp. We poked around the next day for about 6 miles total into the gorge before we turned around and headed back.
Tom
Looking south thru the gorge, Goat Canyon is just ahead and to the left
I call this the Mighty Groan but I think the actual BM is above this point a bit.
Breaking camp
I hardly recognized the Gorge this trip, the Tamarisk removal efforts have removed much of the thick brush.
We found some wildlife...wasn't too wild at the time though...
Here is the lower jaw bone
Figured I would try the Macro mode on my new Fuji XE-1 so here is a close up of the jaw bone
Upper jaw and macro shot
This next photo is what i think is the intestine/colon of the ram, you can see pellets inside. From what I understand, sheep, goats and such are very efficient in using every last drop of moisture in their bodies and they literally squeeze the moisture out of their feces so the pellets form inside the colon.
Tom with the Seven Sisters above
There are several rail cars over the side here, one is rusted just enough that it blends in with the natural desert terrain
Here are a couple close ups of the different rail cars
Total Mylar Balloons this trip - 1 (Tom snagged it)
http://www.sefcik.com/2014/11/carrizo-gorge-backpack-abdsp.html
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hikerdmb Posts: 423
11/17/2014
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Wow. The floor of the canyon looks so empty. Did they haul out all the tamarisk? Nice skull too.
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
11/17/2014
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hikerdmb wrote:
Wow. The floor of the canyon looks so empty. Did they haul out all the tamarisk? Nice skull too. No, all the Tamarisk is just piled up and around, much of is growing back already, I am going to ask the park about that. I would say if anybody has thought about hiking Carrizo Gorge but was put off by the thick brush. now is the time, we easily made it to Goat Canyon in the dark. David, I was remarking to Tom the whole time like a broken record how empty the place looked, how easy it was to hike thru there, I am sure he got tired of hearing it.
BTW, I may be planning a trip thru the gorge soon if anyone wants to join me let me know. Probably a 2 day, maybe a 3 day trip.
Tom has some great photos so hopefully he will post up some also
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Florian Posts: 129
11/17/2014
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What does the Seven Sisters refer too? The tunnels?
-Florian
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
11/17/2014
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Florian wrote:
What does the Seven Sisters refer too? The tunnels?
-Florian nope, the trestles, a series of seven wooden trestles.
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ziphius Posts: 911
11/17/2014
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You didn't need your red plastic storm trooper outfit for this trip, heh? I remember that old post from when you and your buddy went down through the catclaw, etc. into the Gorge, wearing those homemade 'body gaiters'. Nice trip and bighorn skull. - Jim
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rockhopper Posts: 668
11/17/2014
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That hydra -Cushion box car looks like it rode down the "hill" better than that other box car . haha
I take it that Tamarisk is non native. Nice of them to clear it out!
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
11/17/2014
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Jim (ziphius) wrote:
You didn't need your red plastic storm trooper outfit for this trip, heh? I remember that old post from when you and your buddy went down through the catclaw, etc. into the Gorge, wearing those homemade 'body gaiters'. Nice trip and bighorn skull. - Jim Nope, no storm trooper gear at all, get out there while you can..!!
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
11/17/2014
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rockhopper wrote:
That hydra -Cushion box car looks like it rode down the "hill" better than that other box car . haha
I take it that Tamarisk is non native. Nice of them to clear it out! Tamarisk is definitely non native, it sucks all the water out of the ground and leaves nothing for the native environment 
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tommy750 Posts: 1040
11/18/2014
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Nice trip Daren. Now, the hardest part about hiking Carrizo Gorge is getting to the trail head! Haven't uploaded any of my pics yet but will try to post some later. Will be nice to finally clear all those tamarisk out although it was a deal with the devil that's accomplishing it. Less cover for predators (we found four sheep skeletons total and a skunk or raccoon), a higher water table for the indigenous flora and fauna and easier hiking, all pluses. Heard the entire watershed was seeded as a result of Tropical Storm Kathleen in 1976. Took a closeup of the largest tamarisk stump I could find and by counting the rings, I ended up at over thirty years of growth. In the ballpark if my dendrochronology is right 
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
11/18/2014
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tommy750 wrote:
Heard the entire watershed was seeded as a result of Tropical Storm Kathleen in 1976. Took a closeup of the largest tamarisk stump I could find and by counting the rings, I ended up at over thirty years of growth. In the ballpark if my dendrochronology is right One of the many reasons why I like going hiking with Tom, I never would of thought of that..!! 
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anutami Posts: 491
11/18/2014
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Nice TR. Those rail cars are crazy! Nice to see a lot of action out there . How is the road getting in there?
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
11/18/2014
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Nolan (anutami) wrote:
How is the road getting in there? Your rig could do it, some soft sand the first couple of miles so 4WD for sure, after that just washboard and some rocky sections.
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tommy750 Posts: 1040
11/19/2014
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Here's a few more pics from the trip:
Sunrise Sunday morning somewhere near Goat Canyon:
 sunrise by tomteske, on Flickr
Looked like some orange dots were barely visible upstream from our camp. When we hiked closer, it was a campsite for crews clearing the tamarisks. Nice 72 gal water bladders!
 water drop by tomteske, on Flickr
Another camp much further upstream.
 coyote spike camp by tomteske, on Flickr
Not sure if this was a raccoon or skunk or ?
 raccoon maybe by tomteske, on Flickr
Close up of hooves from the ram Daren posted pics of. Front is on the left and rear on the right. Supposedly more block like and less rounded than a deer. Don't think I could tell the difference.
 front and back by tomteske, on Flickr
Nice metamorphic rock. Daren says this spot looks really nice when there's water. We did find two small areas with standing water in the sections we hiked.
 metamorphosis by tomteske, on Flickr
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
11/19/2014
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Tom, great hoove photos...like the side by side comparison.
Here is the metamorphic rock water bed back in April 2010
And the snake I was telling you about in the canyon where we camped
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ziphius Posts: 911
11/19/2014
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I remember driving past Carrizo Creek towards Jacumba a year or two ago and seeing all the shattered tamarisk in the valley bottom, wondering if some massive summer flash flood had wiped out the trees. Found out later about the removal program. I want giant water bladders delivered to me in the backcountry! The skull... maybe a possum? Looks pretty flat on the top, teeth are widely-spaced.
edited by ziphius on 11/19/2014
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tommy750 Posts: 1040
11/19/2014
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Jim (ziphius) wrote:
I want giant water bladders delivered to me in the backcountry! The skull... maybe a possum? Looks pretty flat on the top, teeth are widely-spaced.
Opossum wasn't even on my radar. Now that you mention it, think you're right Jim. Was thinking the exact same thing about dropping a few of those bags out in the boonies. Would save a lot of our backs from wearing out
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tommy750 Posts: 1040
11/19/2014
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dsefcik wrote:
Here is the metamorphic rock water bed back in April 2010
quote]
I like it! Do you have any pics of the swimming pool with the shallow end rock dam? Think I'll stay with my tent and dump the bivy especially after your snake pic. Felt like a straight jacket anyway.
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
11/19/2014
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Tom, doesn't look like I took any pictures of it but here is the shelter we ate dinner in and the metamorphic rocks in Feb 2012
Interesting, looks like the "firewood" underneath the boulder was there almost 3 years ago....
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AdventureGraham Posts: 170
11/19/2014
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I've always wanted to hike Carrizo Gorge. Looks very doable right now.
I'll be looking down into the gorge this weekend, though, on a trip out to Goat Canyon trestle.
edited by BorregoWrangler on 11/20/2014
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
11/19/2014
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BorregoWrangler wrote:
I've always wanted to hike Carrizo Gorge. Looks very doable right now.
I'll be looking down into this weekend, though, on a trip out to Goat Canyon trestle. Now is definitely the time!!
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AdventureGraham Posts: 170
12/1/2014
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Oh by the way, on our way back from the trestle on our recent hike, we could see the worker's camp down in the gorge and hear the chainsaws going. I wonder how long they'll be working in there?
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
12/1/2014
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BorregoWrangler wrote:
Oh by the way, on our way back from the trestle on our recent hike, we could see the worker's camp down in the gorge and hear the chainsaws going. I wonder how long they'll be working in there? There were 2 camps, one below Goat Canyon and a second further south, Coyote Spike Camp. They have been out there almost 2 years so far it seems like and doesn't look like they are done. We could see chainsaw blood on the boulders and such, but overall they are doing a really good job keeping things cleaned up while they work.
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anutami Posts: 491
2/23/2015
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dsefcik wrote:
BorregoWrangler wrote:
Oh by the way, on our way back from the trestle on our recent hike, we could see the worker's camp down in the gorge and hear the chainsaws going. I wonder how long they'll be working in there? There were 2 camps, one below Goat Canyon and a second further south, Coyote Spike Camp. They have been out there almost 2 years so far it seems like and doesn't look like they are done. We could see chainsaw blood on the boulders and such, but overall they are doing a really good job keeping things cleaned up while they work.
There is also a base camp at the end of Carrizo Gorge Road.
I have also noticed an alarming rate of disrespect out there as well and people seem to think it is Ocotillo wells recreation area. Alot of jeep tracks heading off trail into where ever they want.
Many illegal fire pits
and this was nice to see when getting to the end of the gorge, Luckily my kids didn't see it. I guess they were pissed they couldn't continue with their jeep further up the gorge?
edited by anutami on 2/23/2015
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
2/23/2015
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Thanks Nolan, if the sand drawings and campfires were the worst people could do we would probably be alright, without the parks conservation efforts there would be no place for small minded people to go out and destroy.
Nolan (anutami) wrote:
dsefcik wrote:
BorregoWrangler wrote:
Oh by the way, on our way back from the trestle on our recent hike, we could see the worker's camp down in the gorge and hear the chainsaws going. I wonder how long they'll be working in there? There were 2 camps, one below Goat Canyon and a second further south, Coyote Spike Camp. They have been out there almost 2 years so far it seems like and doesn't look like they are done. We could see chainsaw blood on the boulders and such, but overall they are doing a really good job keeping things cleaned up while they work.
There is also a base camp at the end of Carrizo Gorge Road.
I have also noticed an alarming rate of disrespect out there as well and people seem to think it is Ocotillo wells recreation area. Alot of jeep tracks heading off trail into where ever they want.
Many illegal fire pits
and this was nice to see when getting to the end of the gorge, Luckily my kids didn't see it. I guess they were pissed they couldn't continue with their jeep further up the gorge?
edited by anutami on 2/23/2015
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tommy750 Posts: 1040
2/23/2015
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After driving nearly seven miles through the beautiful Carrizo Canyon and then being denied VEHICULAR access to the last 500 yards of dirt road. How tragic!
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
2/23/2015
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tommy750 wrote:
After driving nearly seven miles through the beautiful Carrizo Canyon and then being denied VEHICULAR access to the last 500 yards of dirt road. How tragic!
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