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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
10/12/2011
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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!
Really..??
Our first wood plank crossing
Scotty C heads off into a tunnel. Riding thru the tunnels was a blast, especially the really long ones
This train is now becoming famous the longer it sits out there
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The funky aqua/turquoise colors of the interior are so cool
Possibly one of my most favorite window stickers yet
Tried out some of the B/W filters for the camera
Scott and Greg immediately saw what was wrong with the train, somebody had wedged a piece of wood under the wheels
Canadian Car & Foundry (Can-Car) manufactured these railway cars
There was a lot of debris left near an abandoned tunnel
This was an abandoned tunnel that looked caved in several hundred yards into it
No idea what this is
ta'da..! the Goat Canyon Trestle
Riding the steel side grates was sketchy
Total mylar balloon count for this trip - 5
<em>edited by dsefcik on 1/4/2012</em>
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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surfponto Administrator Posts: 1364
10/13/2011
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Wow Daren,
What an amazing weekend you had out there. What was cool was that it was like 3 different rips in one weekend.
The skull is crazy!!
I am really interested in doing the MTB ride but will have to get a bike first.
Bob
<em>edited by surfponto on 10/13/2011</em>
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https://www.anzaborrego.net/
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DHeuschele Posts: 87
10/13/2011
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I agree with surfponto's comments virtually 100% except I already have a MTB (old with no suspension so it would be a rough ride). I have wanted to do that MTB ride for about a decade but have yet to do it.
It sounds like a great weekend that was very packed.
I will be backpacking to the Domelands this weekend (~6 miles RT) with my 9 year old (his second backpack trip).
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chevell Posts: 4
10/13/2011
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Great pics dsefcik, I've hiked all through the gorge well past the trestle and up into the hills many years ago. The pictures from Whale Peak were inspiring, very well done.
I'll have to make that hike someday soon. Planning a trip next week sometime as it looks to be finally cooling down. Nice post dude.
My mountain bike is Cannondale prophet 2000 with major upgrades on the parts.
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
10/13/2011
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I gotta say the only part of this trip that was planned was the Whale Peak hike. The rest just kinda happened.
The pictures from Whale Peak were inspiring, very well done.
Thanks, they actually pale in comparison to being there, the many small sandy valleys along the way sparked new ideas for trips back out there. I am already looking at Google Earth. If you have any interest in hiking in that area and are experienced in cross country navigation I say do it, great area full of many opportunities to explore less traveled terrain. Some of those small sandy flat valleys around the base of Whale Peak in Bisnaga wash could make great first time backpack trips with kids. Highly recommended.
Inner Pasture is still a target for many more trips, it is an amazing place and I can see why Native Americans favored it.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
10/25/2011
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One thing I realized when I was hiking Whale Peak was that I can tell if the weather is too cold for me just by my food. As I felt the cold breeze ripple across my sweat drenched back while eating my *crunchy* Cliff bar and eating my Trader Joe's'Os from the can *with a spoon*, it dawned on me that it really is just too cold for me if my Cliff bar is not melting when I eat it or if I can't just "drink" my canned food without the need for a utensil.
sigh...winter is coming and I may need to hang up my desert gear.....
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
10/25/2011
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DHeuschele wrote:
I will be backpacking to the Domelands this weekend (~6 miles RT) with my 9 year old (his second backpack trip).
How did that trip go? I did not see a TR for it. Curious to know if your son enjoyed it and if you guys saw any wildlife there.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
10/30/2011
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Almost forgot about this quick video I made with my camera as I was coming back down Whale Peak. Basically it shows where I started from out at the S2 and then the route up the ridge line, over to Whale Peak and then back down to where I was standing when I filmed it. That was a tough hike, I have one purple toenail from it.
Click the image to play the movie.
<em>edited by dsefcik on 10/30/2011</em>
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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DHeuschele Posts: 87
10/31/2011
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dsefcik wrote:
DHeuschele wrote:
I will be backpacking to the Domelands this weekend (~6 miles RT) with my 9 year old (his second backpack trip).
How did that trip go? I did not see a TR for it. Curious to know if your son enjoyed it and if you guys saw any wildlife there.
My son and I loved it. There were ~50 people (~40 kids). The view I would best compare to Fonts Point but still different (not as tight canyons). You can almost imagine the Grand Canyon (there were some natural monuments). The caves were awesome and the kids came up with many names for them. The high one that is entered through the bridge that you first see when you get there they called the Penthouse as it is maybe 12-15' in the air with a short traverse to get to (a few boys slept here). A pair of caves just to the left of that bridge they called the Exclamation Point (obviously it looks like an exclamation point). There was one with just a couple of small toe holes that I would guess was 10-11' up they called the climbers loft and some kid slept in the climbers loft (I could not get into it in my Krocs and did not try in boots but even in boots it would be quite challenging - the boy managed to get up there with his sleep gear).
A handfull of the kids went all the way to the bottom of the badlands.
We saw very little wild life. We saw a single lizzard when we disturbed the rock that he was under. I do not even remember seeing a bird.
When we were packing up to return from the campsite a couple men came to the site. They left just before us but we quickly passed them. They were the only people we saw after leaving the trailhead. At the trailhead there were some people who were shooting the clay targets. Those are hard to clean up but the shooters looked like they only put forth a little effort to clean their mess (at least they put forth some effort). There was also significant trash at the trailhead that had been there for a while (not likely left by these shooters). We cleaned up a little of it but it still had some trash there when we left (it would take maybe an 30-60 minutes with our size group to clean up but we were not prepared - no gloves, trashbags, etc.).
The downside (besides the mess at the trailhead) was my pack weighed ~70 lbs as we had the youngest kids carry only 1 qt of water so the older kids and parents needed to pick up the difference so I had 3 gallons of water (also 4 jars of salsa, and 2 packs of tortillas (heavy food) for the group dinner).
We found 2 geo caches that were on the Geo Cache site and another geo cache by chance that was not on the site and had not been logged by anyone. Curious if the person who placed it simply forgot to ever enter it.
I was in Santa Barbara previous weekend (10/21-10/23), Salt Lake City last week (10/24-10/29), and San Jacinto peak yesterday (10/30: with my 9 year old) so I have not done a trip report but I want to post some of the pics (not that they comare to dsefcik - I use a rugadized point and shoot that does not handle glare or light contrast (light near dark) well).
My son indicated the Domeland trip was better than yesterday' San Jacinto trip. We had a great time. I am slightly surprised there was a hike in Schad AFAF that was as good as this hike that I had not done previously. It was awesome and the caves make great shelters.
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
11/1/2011
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Look forward to seeing some pictures...sounds like you have been busy. I still need to make it out to the wind caves, I went once with my son and our dog but we were tired and it was hot so we only went about a mile or so and turned back. Glad you and your son had a good time.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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