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Talk about a trip you took out to Anza Borrego

Whale Peak / Inner Pasture / Goat Cyn Trestle

dsefcik

Administrator

Posts: 2634

10/12/2011

dsefcik

Administrator

Posts: 2634

Long weekend in ABDSP...here we go....

Full TR's and pictures here

Whale Peak via Bisnaga Wash
Inner Pasture Exploration
Carrizo Gorge Railway Goat Canyon Trestle MTB Ride

I finally got around to hiking up to Whale Peak. I planned a route up from Bisnaga Wash almost one year ago and never went. I would not recommend this route for anyone who just wants to summit Whale Peak, I would suggest one of the more popular routes up from Blair Valley or Pinyon Mtn. It took me most of the day to hike it but in the end it was worth it.

See all the pictures from the trip here http://www.darensefcik.com/Photography/Anza-Borrego-Desert-State-Park/Whale-Peak-10-07-2011/19490750_TmpnG6

Here is a Google Earth image of the actual route recorded by my GPS

This is the route going up just after getting out of the wash. Whale Peak is way off in the distance about 5 miles away

This was a steep wash ravine Google Earth didn't show me

Your's truly

Started finding pottery going up

More "trail"

Got to walk in a small sandy wash for awhile, lots of animal tracks

There was some more pottery and a small milling feature along the way

It was at this steep climb near the top I almost convinced myself to turn around and go back to my truck where there was cold beer waiting

I pressed on and found this cool old Juniper tree at the top of the ridge line

I still had two valleys like this to cross to get to the top of Whale Peak, that would still be another 1.5 miles or so.

At the top of Whale Peak looking west towards the Laguna Mountains and Vallecito Valley below

On the east side of the peak you can see the Salton Sea

There is a rock shelter that guards the hikers register. There were many great places to camp overnight at the top.

The register. This is a popular peak with entries every few days.

The next morning following my Whale Peak Hike I hiked to Inner Pasture for some exploring. There is no easy way out to Inner Pasture, you are almost guaranteed a minimum of 6 miles round trip just to get to the edge of the valley. My trip was about 14 miles total, I could have done close to 20 miles if I had left earlier but I got a late start.

You can see all of the pictures from the trip here Inner Pasture Pictures

Inner Pasture is raw and vast, if you decide to go explore Inner Pasture be sure not to follow my actions and go with a few people if possible. The undocumented travelers in Inner Pasture is obvious and active, hiking solo out there is not recommended.

Cool Dragonfly

Morteros and Pottery around this rock shelter suggest it was used by Native Americans

There was also evidence of undocumented travelers in this shelter and others nearby.

Pottery sherds and what appeared to be a possible projectile made from stone

Yoni rock carvings are always a favorite to find

Inner Pasture was once home to cattle who grazed the open valley. You can still find evidence of them today

Here is a close up of the steer teeth just in case you wondered what they looked like

Here is a close up of the horn

I also stumbled across a small shelter with a really funky pictograph, not really sure what it is supposed to be.

Here is an enhanced version with DStretch

This is with my hand in front as a reference for size

This the alcove wall I found it in, look in the lower right

Here is my mandatory scat inside of a mortero photo

On my way home from hiking Whale Peak and exploring Inner Pasture I stopped off in Jacumba to meet up with some friends to ride out to the Goat Canyon Trestle in Carrizo Gorge. Let me say this was by far the easiest way I have traveled to to see the trestle.

I had a flat on my MTB and Scotty "C" promised to fix it when I got there, he totally lived up to his promise..thanks Scotty!