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tommy750 Posts: 1040
7/27/2014
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Met up with Daren last Friday for some hiking and camping. Ended up heading out to Goat Canyon via Carrizo Gorge mainly since I'd never been. Was near 90 degrees at the start and over 100 when we arrived at the trestle which is about 600 ft closer to the desert floor. Total of 15 miles in and back.
A few railcars are still at the siding past De Anza Resort. Like to find interesting details in these steel boxes.
 Steps by tomteske, on Flickr
 Timkin by tomteske, on Flickr
Further down, Daren spotted this ewe and immediately sensed something wasn't right. She kept going in and out of the tunnel entrance and only slowly walked away as we approached.
 Guardian Ewe by tomteske, on Flickr
When we entered the tunnel, we discovered why.
 Lamb Fall by tomteske, on Flickr
We figured the lamb must have died within the last 24 hour since no smell, hardly any flies and no predation. Looked like it had struggled to stay up with several areas nearby looking like it could barely stand. Being spectators to the persistent maternal yearning for a now deceased lamb was sad to say the least. Daren says the lamb was born way too late in the season to have a decent chance at survival.
 Struggling by tomteske, on Flickr
No human company the entire way except a few military choppers flying up and down the gorge.
 Carrizo Cobra by tomteske, on Flickr
Several miles out there, looks like someone ran out of juice before reaching their destination.
 Scooter by tomteske, on Flickr
After ten tunnels, the trestle. Couple panoramas and time to get back in the shade.
 Goat Canyon Trestle Panorama2 by tomteske, on Flickr
 Goat Canyon Trestle Panorama by tomteske, on Flickr
Daren lugged a huge camera and tripod all the way out and started looking like Ansel Adams sans the beard
 Asel Sefcek2 by tomteske, on Flickr
On the way back, these guys were kind enough to wait while I shed my pack and grabbed for my camera. Haven't seen bighorn around here this close up before so it was pretty exciting seeing seven of them take their time passing by.
 G7 by tomteske, on Flickr
Someone's missing something.
 Missing Something by tomteske, on Flickr
Heading home. Found the remains of another lamb on the way back and saw cat tracks walking to a spring inside one of the tunnels.
 Heading Home by tomteske, on Flickr
The only pic I managed from our campsite on Table Mt after a few too many refreshments. Enjoy. Tom
 The View by tomteske, on Flickr
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
7/28/2014
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Nice photos Tom..!! Makes me want to use my DSLR again....
All I got are some old B/W shots, trying for that vintage/period look of the trestle...great trip, glad we went out.
My Nagaoka 4x5 wooden field camera (photo courtesy Tom)
The trestle, Nagaoka 4x5 field camera, Nikkor 135mm lens, f/64, 1/4 second exposure, ISO 100 Arista EDU film
Some random shots from the trip, all b/w is film
Still researching the ....something...Headache Bromo Seltzer rock in Jacumba...anybody got the story on it? Is historic as they saved it from destruction from multiple projects I am sure
Total Mylar Ballons this trip - 1
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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surfponto Administrator Posts: 1362
7/28/2014
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Definitely one of my favorite areas to hike around. Looks like you had a great trip.
Very sad about the lambs. Is that due to lack of water?
You took some great pictures Tom, you guys are madmen doing that hike in the summer
What time did you get started?
Bob
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https://www.anzaborrego.net/
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
7/28/2014
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surfponto wrote:
Very sad about the lambs. Is that due to lack of water?
What time did you get started?
Bob Hard to say about the lamb, water could have been the problem..we started around 11am and got back to the cars by dusk.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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surfponto Administrator Posts: 1362
7/28/2014
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Where did you guys end up camping?
I thought the scooter pic was funny. At first I thought you guys rode scooters out there.
dsefcik wrote:
surfponto wrote:
Very sad about the lambs. Is that due to lack of water?
What time did you get started?
Bob Hard to say about the lamb, water could have been the problem..we started around 11am and got back to the cars by dusk.
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https://www.anzaborrego.net/
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tommy750 Posts: 1040
7/28/2014
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surfponto wrote:
Where did you guys end up camping?
I thought the scooter pic was funny. At first I thought you guys rode scooters out there.
We ended up camping near the radio towers at a pullout with a nice rock wall. Nice view if you could see straight 
Scooter ride out there would be interesting and a little more sane than what we did. Wasn't sure if it was because he found a shiny red thing out in the desert or the heat, but sensed Daren was starting to think about "rescuing" that thing
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ImpatientHiker Posts: 41
7/28/2014
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Nice summertime desert trek guys! What heartbreak to see the lamb going thru such difficult times, hope it's able overcome, survive, & thrive. On another note, is it possible to use Dstretch on the Bromo picture?
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ziphius Posts: 911
7/28/2014
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Something very artistic and sad about the struggling calf footprints. Good presence of mind to take that photo. I dunno Tommy, your photos are always razor sharp - are you using some secret filters?
The historic Bromo sign on the boulder has a California historic site number listed (CA-SDI-9159) in an environmental assessment for some project near Jacumba:
https://nemo.cbp.gov/sbi/san_diego/jacumba_area_ea_sec3.pdf
There is also a geocache hidden near it: http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC3DXY0_bromo-seltzer
Then again, there are geocaches every 10 feet nowadays.
Nice trip guys, thanks for posting. - Jim
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http://www.coyotelearning.org
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tommy750 Posts: 1040
7/28/2014
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Jim (ziphius) wrote:
I dunno Tommy, your photos are always razor sharp - are you using some secret filters?
My "secret" is dragging a glass brick around and then shooting the pic in raw and photoshopping it. Always try to imagine every pic needs to be interesting enough to hang on my wall and try to spend a few extra seconds on the basics like framing, balance, movement. Every once in a while it actually works! Tom
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
7/29/2014
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ImpatientHiker wrote:
On another note, is it possible to use Dstretch on the Bromo picture?
Normal
DS #1
DS #2
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
7/29/2014
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tommy750 wrote:
Jim (ziphius) wrote:
I dunno Tommy, your photos are always razor sharp - are you using some secret filters?
My "secret" is dragging a glass brick around and then shooting the pic in raw and photoshopping it. Always try to imagine every pic needs to be interesting enough to hang on my wall and try to spend a few extra seconds on the basics like framing, balance, movement. Every once in a while it actually works! Tom You come up with some really cool artistic shots, never forget the power link tower all silver and such.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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tommy750 Posts: 1040
7/29/2014
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dsefcik wrote:
The trestle, Nagaoka 4x5 field camera, Nikkor 135mm lens, f/64, 1/4 second exposure, ISO 100 Arista EDU film
Thanks for posting you pics, Daren.
Sorry for my ignorance, but how much postprocessing can you do with this negative? In PS, you whip through about 10 different filters and make any individual corrections to colors with a slider. Do you have to shoot ten different pics all with different filters and then tweak them while exposing your paper?
dsefcik wrote:
Still researching the ....something...Headache Bromo Seltzer rock in Jacumba...anybody got the story on it? Is historic as they saved it from destruction from multiple projects I am sure
Also, speaking of historical graffiti, not sure if this guy makes the 50 year cut but, but does anyone know anything about this tagger/street artist? I'm thinking they're all the same guy. One of these is from the first spur, the other is at the trestle with the railroad switch and water tower from Dos Cabezas. Looks like these have been around for a number of years. Tom
 Graffiti2 by tomteske, on Flickr
 Goat Canyon Graffiti by tomteske, on Flickr
 Fools by tomteske, on Flickr
 Milky Way by tomteske, on Flickr
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
7/29/2014
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tommy750 wrote:
dsefcik wrote:
The trestle, Nagaoka 4x5 field camera, Nikkor 135mm lens, f/64, 1/4 second exposure, ISO 100 Arista EDU film
Thanks for posting you pics, Daren.
Sorry for my ignorance, but how much postprocessing can you do with this negative? In PS, you whip through about 10 different filters and make any individual corrections to colors with a slider. Do you have to shoot ten different pics all with different filters and then tweak them while exposing your paper?
--Post--processing..?? First I have to actually process them...developer/agitate/stopper/fixer/etc...then dry, scan and then post process..just one photo, only a hair of USM since my scanner sucks. On a light table I can read the graffiti on the railcar on the far left at the edge of the trestle on the plain negative. The only filter I used was a Y48 yellow filter on the lens...that's about it. With a real 4x5 scanner I could get another 1-2% around the edges, right now it is cropped off because my scanner is only meant to go up to 120 format negs.
10 different pics?? you're funny, yeah, just carrying 3 film slides with 2 sheets each was 3lbs, nevermind the camera, light meter, cable release, filter,focusing loupe, etc...digitl has some advantages.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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rockhopper Posts: 668
8/2/2014
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Great report and photos! In the news a while back the was a group of investors planning to open the rail line down to Mexico. Any new info? That train ride would be one of the top train rides in the world and would bring in tourists from all over. Oh, Oh! Maybe better if left as is. After all is was/is the impossible railroad!
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
8/2/2014
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rockhopper wrote:
Great report and photos! In the news a while back the was a group of investors planning to open the rail line down to Mexico. Any new info? That train ride would be one of the top train rides in the world and would bring in tourists from all over. Oh, Oh! Maybe better if left as is. After all is was/is the impossible railroad! Tom kept saying the whole time we were out there they should just open it up to tourists...would make tons of money.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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railexplorer Posts: 71
8/7/2014
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rockhopper wrote:
Great report and photos! In the news a while back the was a group of investors planning to open the rail line down to Mexico. Any new info? That train ride would be one of the top train rides in the world and would bring in tourists from all over. Oh, Oh! Maybe better if left as is. After all is was/is the impossible railroad!
The investors, or I should say the group with operating rights, is known as the Pacific Imperial Railroad (PIR). In a nutshell, because the whole story would make War and Peace look like a short story, the PIR is still "functioning" to what degree no one really knows. They made their $500K payment to MTS in July and supposedly have the next $500K installment in hand.
There are questions whether their lease agreement with MTS is legal. Two congressmen, D. Hunter and J Denham (Merced), have asked for MTS to provide them with documents regarding the lease.
Whether they actually get the railroad up and running again is still up in the air, although most people with railroad knowledge doubt that the PIR has the ability to get it up and running.
As for opening up the gorge as a tourist railroad, that won't happen either. The insurance would be astronomical, the maintenance costs and the up front costs to get the line in operating condition would make the whole project a non starter. That is unless you've got pockets as deep as Warren Buffet and have nothing else better to spend your money on.
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
8/8/2014
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@railexplorer: Thanks for the (seemingly) knowledgeable info, still think the tourist idea would be great, maybe pedal powered rail bikes...
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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tommy750 Posts: 1040
8/8/2014
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railexplorer wrote:
rockhopper wrote:
Great report and photos! In the news a while back the was a group of investors planning to open the rail line down to Mexico. Any new info? That train ride would be one of the top train rides in the world and would bring in tourists from all over. Oh, Oh! Maybe better if left as is. After all is was/is the impossible railroad!
The investors, or I should say the group with operating rights, is known as the Pacific Imperial Railroad (PIR). In a nutshell, because the whole story would make War and Peace look like a short story, the PIR is still "functioning" to what degree no one really knows. They made their $500K payment to MTS in July and supposedly have the next $500K installment in hand.
There are questions whether their lease agreement with MTS is legal. Two congressmen, D. Hunter and J Denham (Merced), have asked for MTS to provide them with documents regarding the lease.
Whether they actually get the railroad up and running again is still up in the air, although most people with railroad knowledge doubt that the PIR has the ability to get it up and running.
As for opening up the gorge as a tourist railroad, that won't happen either. The insurance would be astronomical, the maintenance costs and the up front costs to get the line in operating condition would make the whole project a non starter. That is unless you've got pockets as deep as Warren Buffet and have nothing else better to spend your money on.
You may be right. Looks like the entire route would need a substantial overhaul and a lot of it is still in Mexico. Thanks for your input. Tom
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tommy750 Posts: 1040
8/8/2014
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Here's a copy of an old map I had given to me recently. Tom
 SDAAR by tomteske, on Flickr
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railexplorer Posts: 71
8/9/2014
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tommy750 wrote:
railexplorer wrote:
rockhopper wrote:
Great report and photos! In the news a while back the was a group of investors planning to open the rail line down to Mexico. Any new info? That train ride would be one of the top train rides in the world and would bring in tourists from all over. Oh, Oh! Maybe better if left as is. After all is was/is the impossible railroad!
The investors, or I should say the group with operating rights, is known as the Pacific Imperial Railroad (PIR). In a nutshell, because the whole story would make War and Peace look like a short story, the PIR is still "functioning" to what degree no one really knows. They made their $500K payment to MTS in July and supposedly have the next $500K installment in hand.
There are questions whether their lease agreement with MTS is legal. Two congressmen, D. Hunter and J Denham (Merced), have asked for MTS to provide them with documents regarding the lease.
Whether they actually get the railroad up and running again is still up in the air, although most people with railroad knowledge doubt that the PIR has the ability to get it up and running.
As for opening up the gorge as a tourist railroad, that won't happen either. The insurance would be astronomical, the maintenance costs and the up front costs to get the line in operating condition would make the whole project a non starter. That is unless you've got pockets as deep as Warren Buffet and have nothing else better to spend your money on.
You may be right. Looks like the entire route would need a substantial overhaul and a lot of it is still in Mexico. Thanks for your input. Tom
Yes a lot of the line is in Mexico. The PIR has operating rights for the line between Plaster City and the border. According the PIR they are working with the Mexican RR people to operate in Mexico. The biggest issue south of the border is the collapse of Tunnel 3, which is the first tunnel south of the border from Campo. That tunnel collapse is why the PSRM, in Campo, no longer runs their tourist trains to Tecate.
The latest that I heard was that the Mexican RR entity wasn't going to put money into fixing Tunnel 3 until PIR had an actual operating date, (although there are some unconfirmed reports saying the Mexican authorities are going to open this segment of the RR). PIR can't really have an operating date until they know they'll have freight to haul from the Maquiladoras in Mexico... primarily Toyota. Throw in the fact that the latest news from south of the border is that the RR. infrastructure between the Tijuana and Tecate is being upgraded and SANDAG is throwing money at a project to increase and update the RR yard at San Ysidro..... One has to wonder if the authorities down south will put money into the line between Tecate and Campo.
I will say, as someone who follows the railroad industry, this line is the most screwed up one I've ever seen. Its very difficult to really get a handle on what's going on. No one really seems to know the full story.
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
8/10/2014
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@railexplorer:
Thanks for all the info, you seem to know a lot about the railway...good to have you post here about it.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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rockhopper Posts: 668
8/10/2014
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btw Awesome map Tommy 750c.
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tommy750 Posts: 1040
8/10/2014
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rockhopper wrote:
btw Awesome map Tommy 750c.
It's obviously a copy of a copy etc. Not sure where it came from but was in a box of maps I sort of inherited. The "Carriso Gorge" stop on the map looks like it would be important but doesn't look like much passing by. Tom
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