Talk about a trip you took out to Anza Borrego
Pinyon Wash to Harper Cabin
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surfponto Administrator Posts: 1362
4/7/2024
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Not an extreme hike compare to what some of you guys do but thought I would post it anyway 😉
First night we camped down in Jojoba Wash but man oh man the military air traffic was ridiculous.
The final straw was a military Osprey thundering through the sky at 1AM shaking the truck camper.
On the positive side there was an amazing cactus bloom display.
We spent the next day hiking around taking cactus pictures but decided we would camp further north the next night.
Beavertail in bloom (Jojoba Wash)
Barrel Cactus in bloom (Jojoba Wash)
Hedgehog in bloom (Jojoba Wash)
Next day we drove over to Pinyon Wash which I have now decided is my favorite area to camp. We have camped here before but it has been at least 10 years as all of our camping is usually south of Scissors Crossing.
After a better night's sleep i.e. no air traffic, we decided we would hike up to see how much was left of the old Harper Cabin site.
Last time we hiked here was on an Anza Borrego Foundation sponsored hike led by Mark Jorgensen, so we were curious as to how it has fared in the last 10 plus years.
We got an early start and reached Harper Flat by 9AM. There was a great display of Desert Dandelions covering the valley floor so of course we had to take a bunch of pictures.
A field of Desert Dandelions (Harper Flat)
Not soon after we met up with a lone mountain biker that was doing a big overnight loop from Borrego Springs, unfortunately for him, he had run out of water so we offered to fill one of his water bottles. He mentioned that he had not slept that well the previous night since he was worried about his lack of water, so we were glad to help him out.
After saying goodbye to our new friend and hiking up a couple incorrect tributaries we did find the old cabin. It was in much better shape than either of us predicted.
Old water trough which is your clue you are close to the cabin
Maybe to call it a "cabin" is a stretch but it is cool nonetheless.😀
The old dam is not going anywhere.
This thing is solid and is truly an engineering marvel considering the time period it was built.
Fishhook cactus blooming in Pinyon Wash
Beavertail blooms in Pinyon Wash
edited by surfponto on 4/7/2024
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https://www.anzaborrego.net/
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tommy750 Posts: 1040
4/11/2024
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Nice TR, Surfponto! I feel your pain regarding the Marines flying stuff overhead. I live five miles away from El Centro NAF and see/hear/feel their big birds at all hours of the day including midnight. The Blue Angels practice here every winter and 5-6 F-18s flying overhead makes your ears ring. Have never visited Harper Cabin. Glad to hear it's surviving. Agree, Pinyon wash is a great camping spot and great starting off point for lots of hikes to Sunset, the four nearby guzzlers, Pinyon Mt, Whale, Harper Flat. Was out at Split Rock a couple months ago and met hikers coming in from Pinyon to check out the pictographs.
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tekewin Posts: 365
4/11/2024
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Those blooms are amazing. Sounds like a successful trip and kudos for being kind to the biker.
Is the road OK all the way to Harper Flat or even Hapaha Flat? I've only been down that road a little ways to hike to Sunset Mountain.
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Britain Posts: 596
4/11/2024
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I was on Granite a while back. Lots of jet traffic that day. Nice captures. I also live about 5 miles from NAF El Centro. Lol I get all the traffic to and from Yuma right over my house. It's really loud when the Blue Angles are in town. Harper flat area is a cool place to hike around and explore.
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Cant drive 55
Britain
http://icorva.com
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