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tommy750 Posts: 1049
4/8/2020
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The weekend prior to the park closure, Daren, Gary, Randy and I headed up a steep rocky ridge toward a tight grouping of gps points, the last data bursts from of a dying tracking collar. The unfortunate wearer was a ewe, presumably a victim of mountain lion predation and lying in peace somewhere on an east facing slope midway between Rabbit and Villager. The last pings were time stamped early 4/2019. With the collar battery lasting about five years, it was unclear when the ewe died or whether the collar was currently anywhere near the sheep remains. That night, Daren would return with collar in hand completing the successful recovery with little help from his hiking companions.
 IMG_20200328_140523_7 by tomteske, on Flickr
This all started when Daren emailed the group stating he was asked by a Fish and Game biologist to recover said collar ( apparently they're not cheap) and inviting us along for the adventure. Daren suggested the obvious route up the Villager ramp as an overnight. However, being the least experienced and least knowledgeable hiker in the group but apparently with the most free time, I suggested an an old native trail ascending sharply from the banks of Clark Lake to the Santa Rosa spine and ending on Rabbit. My route information was based on exactly two sentences extracted from an old BLM document and hours of rather imaginative trail spotting on GE. It would shave a couple miles off the standard route and looked much easier, at least from outer space. After successfully bamboozling the group on the "better" route, we all met under the NE shoulder of Coyote Mt and headed out.
Getting ready
 IMG_3533 by tomteske, on Flickr
Somewhere in the middle of Clark Lake, a vertical gas tank.
 IMG_3534 by tomteske, on Flickr
Also, somewhere in the middle of the the lake, BM Camp.
 IMG_3541 by tomteske, on Flickr
After crossing the lake bed, we made it to the start of the "obvious" trail on GE.
 IMG_3544 by tomteske, on Flickr
It truly was an old native trail and somewhat farther up, a nice petroglyph site.
 IMG_3551 by tomteske, on Flickr
 IMG_3548 by tomteske, on Flickr
 IMG_3555 by tomteske, on Flickr
 IMG_3563 by tomteske, on Flickr
Gary checking out trail cairns.
 IMG_3570 by tomteske, on Flickr
View from camp at the base of the Santa Rosa Mts.
 IMG_3577 by tomteske, on Flickr
The next morning, we cached our gear and started up the "trail" planning on day hiking to the top, finding the collar and returning to the vehicles. But to our dismay, there was no trail. None. Just a scramble up steep rocky terrain.
Nice piece of pottery before the ascent.
 IMG_3583 by tomteske, on Flickr
Halfway up the first 1300 ft slog, a nice land snail, the first one I've ever seen out in the desert.
 IMG_3585 by tomteske, on Flickr
Halfway up the second slog, I found this rotting Buck knife sheath. Little did I know but just minutes before it contained a pristine Buck knife, rescued by Daren who was by now far ahead of me (Gary and Randy had already had enough of my "route" and called it a day).
 IMG_3596 by tomteske, on Flickr
There actually was a trail ascending the ridge at some point as a pot drop along with multiple roasting pits, rubs and pottery sherds would attest. Just not anymore.
 IMG_3600 by tomteske, on Flickr
The view from a few rubs.
 IMG_3603 by tomteske, on Flickr
 IMG_3610 by tomteske, on Flickr
The last slog to the top.
 IMG_3611 by tomteske, on Flickr
Finally on top, the view toward Rabbit and the collar, somewhere between the far green patch and faint white vertical line on the east ridge heading up Rabbit. By now, Daren had recovered the collar and was heading back having wisely chosen not to wait for his "team."
 IMG_3615 by tomteske, on Flickr
Here's Daren's pics of the sheep and collar.
 IMG_20200328_140545_8 by tomteske, on Flickr
IMG_20200328_140523_7 by tomteske, on Flickr
Daren searching for a short cut back to camp.
 IMG_3623 by tomteske, on Flickr
The whole endeavor was about 16 miles, 5K g/l and probably not the easiest way to the top! Still, another great time in the desert. Enjoy! Tom
edited by tommy750 on 4/8/2020
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Britain Posts: 602
4/9/2020
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Nice. Good to get the last hike in at the Park.
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Cant drive 55
Britain
http://icorva.com
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Rocko1 Posts: 597
4/9/2020
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Fantastic trip! Couple questions. Do you think you ended up tracing the actual ''trail' up most of the way? I assume it's just disappeared over the years do to little to no use? What was your time up to the spine from base camp?
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
4/9/2020
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Rocko1 wrote:
Fantastic trip! Couple questions. Do you think you ended up tracing the actual ''trail' up most of the way? I assume it's just disappeared over the years do to little to no use? What was your time up to the spine from base camp?
There was an obvious trail most of the way up to the ridge we ascended but nothing convincingly apparent afterward. I thought I saw something on GE but may well have been game trails. Couldn't tell you the time to the top off hand but was just happy a few days after another birthday with the number six in front of it to have made it up there!
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
4/9/2020
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Britain wrote:
Nice. Good to get the last hike in at the Park.
Am planning on a day hike or two this weekend but will park on BLM land and hike cross country. I also live nearby.
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Rocko1 Posts: 597
4/9/2020
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tommy750 wrote:
Rocko1 wrote:
Fantastic trip! Couple questions. Do you think you ended up tracing the actual ''trail' up most of the way? I assume it's just disappeared over the years do to little to no use? What was your time up to the spine from base camp?
There was an obvious trail most of the way up to the ridge we ascended but nothing convincingly apparent afterward. I thought I saw something on GE but may well have been game trails. Couldn't tell you the time to the top off hand but was just happy a few days after another birthday with the number six in front of it to have made it up there!
That is quite a feat! I hope to be able to climb something this difficult when I get to the 6's.
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ziphius Posts: 911
4/9/2020
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Nothing better than an old-fashioned easter egg hunt! I think your snail may be a 'shoulderband' species, and probably rarely-documented from that area. If you ever use iNaturalist.org, post a photo and location of it there. Great trip report!
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http://www.coyotelearning.org
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
4/9/2020
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ziphius wrote:
Nothing better than an old-fashioned easter egg hunt! I think your snail may be a 'shoulderband' species, and probably rarely-documented from that area. If you ever use iNaturalist.org, post a photo and location of it there. Great trip report!
Thanks, Ziphius. What do you think about this ID for a snail on an old Cahuilla trail? Latin name seems to check out  https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/172128-Cahuillus-indioensis
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Buford Posts: 456
4/9/2020
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Cool trip, pictures and finds along the way.
Funny, I have been planning a trip up that ridge for a while to access Rabbit. Wanted to bypass the ramp and see new ground. I was supposed to do it last month but things got in the way.
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Links to my photos: ABDSP photos, Bighorn sheep photos, ABDSP time lapse video, Wildlife photos (mainly birds)
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
4/9/2020
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Buford wrote:
Cool trip, pictures and finds along the way.
Funny, I have been planning a trip up that ridge for a while to access Rabbit. Wanted to bypass the ramp and see new ground. I was supposed to do it last month but things got in the way.
Buford, I can assure you it will be waiting for you Looked through a few hundred posts on peakbagger to see how often Rabbit and Villager are ascended out of Clark Lake and found none on our route but a few to the north and south. Have fun.
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
4/9/2020
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Nice pics Tom, I like them..!
No real good place to carry a stray 6" blade up and down the side of a rocky desert mountain, but the shoulder strap worked...mostly
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
4/9/2020
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dsefcik wrote:
Nice pics Tom, I like them..!
No real good place to carry a stray 6" blade up and down the side of a rocky desert mountain, but the shoulder strap worked...mostly
Were you able to find anything out about your new knife from serial numbers etc?
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Scooter Posts: 114
4/10/2020
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Thanks for a great trip report. Very interesting!
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ziphius Posts: 911
4/10/2020
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Tom, yeah that has to be the species, nice find! Coachella Desertsnail. 'Imperiled in the United States'.
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http://www.coyotelearning.org
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Rocko1 Posts: 597
4/10/2020
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A west approach is now certainly on my to do list. Here is a decent trip report-https://www.summitpost.org/rabbit-and-villager-peaks-an-epic-dayhike-in-the-santa-rosa-mountains/381710 Not sure this is the best or least steep option.
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rockhopper Posts: 668
4/10/2020
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Great expedition Daren, Gary, Randy and Tommy. I always wondered if there was a another old Native American trail over to the East side of the ridge besides the one to the north heading up and out from the Rock house Ruins. Nice find. Nice petroglyphs too. Definite trail.
I've seen those same Petroglphs elsewhere in the region. Pic. No.2 I've seen the same style only in a few places.
Pic. No 17. Try to image there was probably a shady Pine near the slicks a thousand years ago. What a view.
Oh, Thanks for your service on the collar retrieval and enjoy your Buck Knife. That knife sheath looks like it has been there 30 years!
Cheers
edited by rockhopper on 4/10/2020
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
4/11/2020
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tommy750 wrote:
Were you able to find anything out about your new knife from serial numbers etc?
It only says "Buck 121 USA" on it.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/information-on-this-buck-121-knife.785893/
https://www.ebay.com/b/Buck-Knife-121/43322/bn_7023228743
BTW, I think we had 2 or 3 balloons on this trip.
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edited by dsefcik on 4/11/2020
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
4/11/2020
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dsefcik wrote:
tommy750 wrote:
Were you able to find anything out about your new knife from serial numbers etc?
It only says "Buck 121 USA" on it.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/information-on-this-buck-121-knife.785893/
https://www.ebay.com/b/Buck-Knife-121/43322/bn_7023228743
BTW, I think we had 2 or 3 balloons on this trip.
I even pulled out my old lady glaasses to look at it but it does not have any markings other than "Buck 121 USA", no dots or symbols per the Buck website.
https://www.buckknives.com/about-knives/how-old/
Even had my son look at it, I am gonna say '70's just by the look of it. It looks new, never really used, the blade is perfect, no dings, scratches, chips, etc, nice and sharp still.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
4/11/2020
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For those that did not know, Buck had their factory out in El Cajon forever, I used to go there when I was kid, we used ride our skateboards out there and dig thru the dumpsters looking for scraps. They have since moved to Idaho, CA I guess killed them off too.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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tekewin Posts: 368
4/11/2020
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Amazing trip! That trip had everything in it and a cool way to get to Rabbit.
I am curious about that cement cylinder with the benchmark in it. Was it stamped with a name? Seems like an odd place.
I am itching to get back out there in some remote place, but the park is officially closed. From what I read, even dirt roads and washes are closed. Gonna hunt online for a national park that is still open. Going crazy sitting home. (edit to check notification box)
edited by tekewin on 4/11/2020
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
4/11/2020
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tekewin wrote:
Amazing trip! That trip had everything in it and a cool way to get to Rabbit.
I am curious about that cement cylinder with the benchmark in it. Was it stamped with a name? Seems like an odd place.
I am itching to get back out there in some remote place, but the park is officially closed. From what I read, even dirt roads and washes are closed. Gonna hunt online for a national park that is still open. Going crazy sitting home. (edit to check notification box)
edited by tekewin on 4/11/2020
It's BM Camp. It seems to be almost exactly on a line between BM Shack to the NW and BM Lute to the SE. Never seen a BM with so much X'ed out.
BLM is open if you follow the standard social distancing stuff.
 IMG_3539 by tomteske, on Flickr
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tekewin Posts: 368
4/11/2020
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Thanks! yeah, the metal stamp version of white out, haha!
I was just checking out BLM land in caltopo.com. I think I am gonna try to do something off McCain Valley Road.
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
4/11/2020
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rockhopper wrote:
Great expedition Daren, Gary, Randy and Tommy. I always wondered if there was a another old Native American trail over to the East side of the ridge besides the one to the north heading up and out from the Rock house Ruins. Nice find. Nice petroglyphs too. Definite trail.
I've seen those same Petroglphs elsewhere in the region. Pic. No.2 I've seen the same style only in a few places.
Pic. No 17. Try to image there was probably a shady Pine near the slicks a thousand years ago. What a view.
Oh, Thanks for your service on the collar retrieval and enjoy your Buck Knife. That knife sheath looks like it has been there 30 years!
Cheers
edited by rockhopper on 4/10/2020
I showed that pic to my wife and said, "don't you wish your kitchen had a view like that?"
IMG_3610 by tomteske, on Flickr
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
4/11/2020
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dsefcik wrote:
tommy750 wrote:
Were you able to find anything out about your new knife from serial numbers etc?
It only says "Buck 121 USA" on it.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/information-on-this-buck-121-knife.785893/
https://www.ebay.com/b/Buck-Knife-121/43322/bn_7023228743
BTW, I think we had 2 or 3 balloons on this trip.
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edited by dsefcik on 4/11/2020
Those leather Buck knife sheathes in your links look pretty heavy duty. Was the knife and sheath buried except the little piece that survived? Nice find!
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
4/11/2020
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ziphius wrote:
Tom, yeah that has to be the species, nice find! Coachella Desertsnail. 'Imperiled in the United States'.
Looks like a malacologist on iNaturalist gave the snail pic "research grade" props. Must admit, never heard the word malacology in my life till today. Thanks for the suggestion Ziphius!
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/41838590
edited by tommy750 on 4/11/2020
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
4/11/2020
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tommy750 wrote:
Those leather Buck knife sheathes in your links look pretty heavy duty. Was the knife and sheath buried except the little piece that survived? Nice find!
half buried
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Here are 3 knives I have found out in the desert area over the last few years
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edited by dsefcik on 4/11/2020
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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ziphius Posts: 911
4/11/2020
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tommy750 wrote:
ziphius wrote:
Tom, yeah that has to be the species, nice find! Coachella Desertsnail. 'Imperiled in the United States'.
Looks like a malacologist on iNaturalist gave the snail pic "research grade" props. Must admit, never heard the word malacology in my life till today. Thanks for the suggestion Ziphius!
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/41838590
edited by tommy750 on 4/11/2020
Nice work Tom! Looks like the southern-most record for the species on iNaturalist!
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http://www.coyotelearning.org
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