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dtoujours Posts: 12
6/20/2024
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Since today is the Summer Solstice, I took the day off work and headed out in the middle of the night to hike and scramble to the so-called "Solstice Cave" in the Anza Borrego Desert, a boulder cave with Native American pictograph paintings of the sun and other objects. One of these pictographs is supposedly illuminated at sunrise on the Summer Solstice, so I wanted to check it out. I had a high-lumen flashlight in addition to my headlamp, but unfortunately I still had difficulty finding the way at one point and arrived at 5:49am, 12 minutes after official sunrise. Looking at the angle of the sun to the various pictographs, I didn't think it would have illuminated any of them. But I waited around for a little over an hour to see if anything else would happen, until the sun had risen high enough in the sky that I didn't think the angle would allow it to shine into the cave anymore. None of the pictographs had been illuminated during my time on site. The number of sun pictographs (with none of them standing out as the main one) and their angles to the sun makes it seem unlikely to me that one of them could have been illuminated exactly at sunrise, but I'm disappointed that I wasn't there to know for sure. I wonder if anyone had any sources or information on this or if you've had personal experience or know someone who has. To me, it seems this cave may have been misnamed and doesn't have anything to do with the solstice. Perhaps this eastern facing boulder cave was just a good place for the Native American Shamens to watch the sun rise year round.
You can check out my Reddit post on this topic for photos:
https://www.reddit.com/r/sandiego/comments/1dko5h4/solstice_caveanza_borrego_desert/
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Britain Posts: 601
6/23/2024
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Good hike even when cooler.
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Cant drive 55
Britain
http://icorva.com
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Rocko1 Posts: 596
7/18/2024
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What lends you to believe it is a summer solstice location? Winter solstice is the more important time and likely would find the light hitting some of the markings during the period surrounding winter solstice. Here is a good read-https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1988/dec/22/cover-daggers-of-light-patterns-of-power/
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
7/18/2024
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Winter solstice site? No
Summer Solstice site? Yeah, it could be back before all the of the smog and dust from the valley.
Light rays passage across the pictos is about 12 minutes long if the morning smog and dust doesn't obscure the sun's rays. You don't have to be there exactly on the 21'st to see things. Good luck and please respect this very special place.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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dtoujours Posts: 12
7/22/2024
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That article about the winter solstice was interesting. The summer solstice sunrise is somewhat to the northeast and the winter solstice sunrise is somewhat to the southeast. That would make the winter solstice sunrise more directly and fully illuminate the cave from an area with fewer obstructions, but probably wouldn't lead to the type of pinpoint moving light effect I was expecting.
Also, an interesting point about the smog/dust in the valley. It was surprisingly clear that day, so maybe I arrived too late or maybe the effect doesn't take place in this location. @dsefcik, have you witnessed the summer solstice from this location and timed it to be 12 minutes? Or did you get this information from a particular source?
Indeed, we need to respect and protect these precious sites.
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
7/22/2024
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@dtoujours: Yes, I have been there and yes, it happens fast and depending on the exact date light will pass over different pictos. This has all been detailed in archeo docs. All it takes is a slight layer of smog or dust at sunrise and you will not see anything, you have a 50/50 chance from my experience.
Winter solstice, no, the sun is too far south and doesn't even hit the cave in the AM, just hits the draw outside.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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dtoujours Posts: 12
7/22/2024
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Thank you for sharing!
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