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Thanks for your efforts. For some reason I cannot log on using Widows 10 on my lap top. Works fine on my Windows 7 PC.

great shots there in that other thread!
Yeah my girls are getting big too. So the easiest fastest way to get to Harper Flat is from Split rock? I'm thinking about coming in from The Squeeze, down the dropoff and parking and checking out Harper Dams and the Cabin if I can find it. then going to Harper Flat sometime, I'd love to check out some more Indian habitation sites.

did you go to the cabin on this recent trip?
Is the cabin one drainage over from the dams? I'm camping in the area next weekend would be nice to see it.

Looks like you had great weather. Nice photos. Thanks for sharing.

Tommy, you must be part of the vast government conspiracy to kill the ghost ship story. You *know* it's there and that it's filled with treasure and you just want to get to it first. Selfish.

all in the same article: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tarantula-species-named-for-johnny-cash/

Nice truck....

Ewwwww!

The car was gone Wednesday morning. I parked at the same spot and did some cycling along S22. Not much in the way of wildflowers in northern park along S22 nor Henderson Canyon road. Some nice lush ocotillos in Coyote Canyon but not blooming yet. I camped Tuesday night along Ella Wash. Here's a picture of my campsite ..

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBljJFoPakc/


-Florian
edited by Florian on 2/10/2016

We are hoping the heat doesn't affect the flowers. Good chance it being this warm this early will.

That's the kind of rock that most would not even glance at. The 2 on the right below your hiking pole might catch my attention, but nothing else would! So, there's a resident bobcat in the area too? Doesn't matter if the area is outside the ABDSP at all, this forum is all-inclusive.

Maybe after this weeks rains the blooms will begin to start popping up.

Pretty good blooms going on north of DiGiorgio Road at the south end of Coyote Canyon, just returned. Lots of desert lilies there and also south of the S-22 opposite Clark Dry Lake. Tons of sphinx moth catepillars on the plants too. Alex has all the photos

For anyone not wanting to get some run around or whatever there's a guided tour hike for this place april 9th:
http://earthdiscovery.org/events/san-diego-natural-history-museum-canyoneers-hike-at-rancho-jamul-ecological-reserve/

Camped Tuesday night (3/15) in northern AB. Lovely afternoon and evening but not a whole lot going on re wildflowers. Some brown-eyed primrose and a few desert lily already gone to seed around Arroyo Salado and Truckhaven areas. Henderson Canyon road area quite a lot of sunflowers past prime and some dune primrose but not a lot else. Ocotillos vary from green and lush to looking rather poor. But frankly, i prefer when the wildflowers are subdued. Less people and less problems with my allergies.

-Florian

I haven't been out there Bob, only Fossil Cyn., which your photos remind me of. Looks like a great place to explore!

If you are talking about the turnoff just before entering the park(before the border patrol check point) going north on S2 from Ocotillo.....yes. It is the road going to what they now call the 'dome lands', we called it the wind swept caves. We used to backpack to the 'caves' make that a base camp and then pack into the Carrizo Impact area. This was back in the late 50s when I was in my teens....I'll be 69 in a few days. Before BLM closed the road at the mud hills, you could drive way back in there to almost below the caves. There was nothing back in there except some old mining claims. We would find posts with a tin cans attached and inside would be a description such as northwest corner of the so and so claim. There used to be tons of pristine solid sandstone fossils of clams, snails, sea urchins...you name it. I haven't been back there since say mid seventies or early 80s. It is a fascinating area, but it has been definitely been found. I see photos of the domes almost everywhere. If you follow the old road and stay left, you can take a wash all the way down to near the old stage station site. You will be just inside of the impact area.

Tomás

Surf, Neat report and photos. Driven by many a time looking at the Coyote Mountains but on my way elsewhere. Need to check it out. BTW you are right our ABDSP has been many things in the past. Inland sea, wetter, colder, forests,etc......

oldest first, that is the time honored order of forum threads...first to last.

Hey Bob, found this neat website that has a bunch of TRs on the Coyote Mts!

http://www.anzaborrego.net/anzaborrego/Forum/topic973-the-domelands-wind-caves-and-slot-canyon.aspx

http://www.anzaborrego.net/anzaborrego/forum/topic695-carrizo-mountain--indian-hill-dec-th-.aspx

http://www.anzaborrego.net/anzaborrego/forum/topic426-carrizo-mountain--yuha-basin.aspx

http://www.anzaborrego.net/anzaborrego/forum/topic275-coyote-mountains.aspx

http://www.anzaborrego.net/anzaborrego/forum/topic196-dolomite-mine.aspx

http://www.anzaborrego.net/anzaborrego/forum/topic171-domeland-and-wind-caves--oct-.aspx

Here's some of my flickr albums of the the Coyotes. Love that place.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tommy750/albums/72157636976269185

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tommy750/albums/72157636738433725

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tommy750/albums/72157629181073275

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tommy750/albums/72157628200928743

Whitney is a good goal. Have you done it before?

I too do local hikes in preparation for a greater goal. My first and only time on Whitney was in back in 1987. It's a great hike. We climbed it from the west side coming up from the Kern river basin after coming over Shepard pass from the north. Climbed Mt Tyndall and Mt Williamson two other 14 teeners also. So when we summit Whitney, here are these 5 Germans speaking German and all smoking cigarettes. Go figure?

Bob, you already have your permits, you got space in the lottery? We used to do the mountaineers route when it was permit free but now you need one for any ascent (apparently). We also did Langley one year, I almost preferred it, much less of a crowd. If you have time, I recommend spending a day or two up at the portal or doing a couple of day hikes up to lone pine lake to get used to the altitude. Leave early, 2-3am.

Agree, Langley is a great hike. Just barely over 14,000 ft. When I solo'd it, there was no one there, anywhere up , at the top or down so it's a pretty empty peak but right next door (south) of Whitney. I have a great shot of Whitney from Langley but need to scan it. I'll hunt thru my piles of stuff. BTW we never did hiking permits for anything back then. Just fishing permits. :-)

Nice trip Bob. Good luck on Whitney. Word is that Langley is less crowded (but not as high).

Found this today arriving back to the car in Rockhouse Canyon (well, descending a steep wall in the canyon)

Florian wrote:

I rather like the idea of having certain areas where people can't go. Especially if they are ecologically or culturally sensitive.

-Florian[/quote

That means, for instance, that people could no longer climb around on rocks or walk up a wash, canyon, or ridge in any of our 8 cultural reserves. Think of hiking in Cougar or Sheep Canyon, primitive camping in Blair Valley, or rock climbing in Culp Valley. We and our park visitors would not be allowed to experience this park the way we have been invited to do since the park's establishment. It is also a law that would be virtually impossible for park peace officer rangers to enforce in a park so open and large.

This might be fine for a small park but not for our park. We want visitors to have the whole experience and for the most part they are respectful.

Joshua Tree is a National Park.

And SDGE tried to put the Powerlink through Anza Borrego and we successfully kept that from happening.
edited by Borregolinda on 6/9/2016

Congratulations! That is one tough hike. Only 2 of 3 of us made the whole trip to the top of El Cajon Mtn and back. Our friends feet hurt so bad after about 3 miles in that he had to turn back. My Brother and I were too fired up and said "See ya later" and continued on to the summit.
Did you start at Wild Cat Canyon?
Looks like you will be in great condition for your Whitney trip.
btw I posted some more Sierra pics in my post below for your motivation :-)
edited by rockhopper on 6/12/2016
edited by rockhopper on 6/12/2016

Bob, missed you by one day, just got back from the trail today. You chose the right day, the sun came out in full force up there today. I ran into a guy with a big pack at the summit who was training for Mt. Rainier. 4 hours round trip is a good clip.
edited by ziphius on 6/12/2016

I almost pulled off and went there Sat also, decided to head to the Cuyamacas instead...still have my permits though..!!

surfponto wrote:

We should plan to do this again.
I probably need a few weeks so Mary will forget about how hard it was than we will drag her back up there

I remember August as always being a good time to hike it...

4 hours round trip ain't bad! A night hike during a full moon would be nice this time of year with a great view of the lights Of Tijuana & San Diego. If you guys want to step up the adventure factor a bit, I'd be happy to finally meet you and lead you through a full moon point to point from El Monte Park (near the El Capitan reservoir dam) to El Cajon Mtn peak to Wildcat Cyn Rd. I'm guessing it'd take you maybe 30 mins to an hour more than your out & back from Wildcat.
-Robert

ImpatientHiker wrote:

4 hours round trip ain't bad! A night hike during a full moon would be nice this time of year with a great view of the lights Of Tijuana & San Diego. If you guys want to step up the adventure factor a bit, I'd be happy to finally meet you and lead you through a full moon point to point from El Monte Park (near the El Capitan reservoir dam) to El Cajon Mtn peak to Wildcat Cyn Rd. I'm guessing it'd take you maybe 30 mins to an hour more than your out & back from Wildcat.
-Robert

While the moonlight hike idea sounds like fun, it does flout the rules regarding when folks are allowed on that trail, which also passes through a shared roadway of the Blue Sky Ranch near Wildcat Canyon Road. I'd hate to give any of the rangers or Blue Sky Ranch itself any reason to further limit access (or revoke it) because we can't follow the rules. I already see a lot of cars parked outside of the Wildcat canyon gate prior to 7 am, which is the official 'opening time' for the Wildcat Canyon trailhead. I'm not trying to be a killjoy here, I have a vested interest in keeping that trail open for many years. It is my go-to hike, I've done the round-trip to the summit 75 times and would like to get to 100 soon. If enough people continue to ignore the rules, especially near the Blue Sky Ranch and the landowners decide enough is enough, then we're all hurt. Again, I'm all for radical moonlight scrambles myself, but not there. [ and Bob / Daren, if you guys want any company on another El Cajon Mtn. mission, let me know! ] Jim

right, august is a good time to hike it...
i guess my smart ass didn't translate well in writing...thought the signs there were obvious.

tommy750 wrote:

[El Cajon is closed in August because of the extreme heat.

dsefcik wrote:

surfponto wrote:

We should plan to do this again.
I probably need a few weeks so Mary will forget about how hard it was than we will drag her back up there

I remember August as always being a good time to hike it...

El Cajon is closed in August because of the extreme heat. Showed up years ago in August with my now fiancée packing two liters each and made it to the four mile saddle before realizing we'd made a huge mistake. Was 93 that day and well over 100 in some spots. We laid in a ditch in the shade till late afternoon when my very annoyed older brother (contacted by phone) showed up packing the sweetest water I've ever drank. Still read the UT and sneer at the idiots getting airlifted off El Cajon but realize I was almost one of them.

That's a really good time up and back, Bob. Need to get out there and hike it again!

sddarkman619 wrote:

what did you do for acclimation? anything?

Deal with the headaches and shortness of breath..it goes away after a few days.

Bob, I hope you and Mary are training...!!

I'll start off by saying how important it is to be prepared for any situation anytime. You should always have the tools you need to get your vehicle out a rut if your going off road. Also have a emergency back up such as plenty of water and shelter if you can't get out.
Saturday 7/30/2016 was a good day for the desert. The weather was very nice considering the heat and high humidity. Little did we know how much we would appreciate it later on.
My dad and I decided to check on the aqua drums and add water to them. We started out on the Island between I8. We just did it for fun and thought it would be cool to look at the things people threw out their cars in the past. Oddly enough as i'm driving I hear, "RORY, RORY STOP!". I stop my truck and see someone running towards me from behind. I reverse my truck and as I get close I realize it's my cousin! What was she doing out here? Turns out she was there with some friends checking the area out as well. Small world.




Abstract art on the road



Our first stop was west of Ocotillio on a dirt road off of Evan Hewes Hwy heading towards Dos Cabezas. I remember going through this area as a kid and seeing the abandoned buildings. It was creepy. I stopped my truck on the road and hiked to the drum because I didn't want to chance my truck getting stuck in the heavy sand for I don't have 4x4. Of course my truck some how got stuck anyways. So we had to build up some rocks to get grip. Why would we have to do that you might ask? Because I didn't bring out any tools like I mention on top of the post to get myself out. Fortunately we were able to get out but decided to take our losses and head to the drums off of S2.

As I did a U turn to head back I got my truck stuck once again. Now it's really not going anywhere. After about 20 mins I call my insurance (MAPFRE) to help assist. I have to say they were extremely helpful. After learning I was stranded in the desert they literally called me every 20 mins to check on me and the progress of the tow.
Well the tow company was a joke. The guy who called me from the company was nice and all, but could not take simple directions. The road I was on was even on my gps. It was frustrating. On top of that he wasn't even the driver. Instead he would relay my directions to his driver for he could't speak a word of english. No big deal right?
Finally after a hour or more we see the driver in the distance. He stops at the dirt road and my dad and I grab our day packs and start heading towards him. As we get closer to him he than goes in reverse and makes a U turn. We figured he would wait for us and at least take us to town. Instead he proceeds to take off leaving us in the dust. The guy calls me back and tells me his driver isn't comfortable going down the dirt road. I said to him that was fine and all but can you at least have your driver stop and take us to Ocotillio. Than we see the driver racing at us as if he now realized we were stranded in the desert.


So after he pick us up he takes us to the Chevron where we see another tow service. We figured being in Ocotillio that they were probably desert experienced. I go into the gas station where two sweet girls were able to give me a card for the tow. I call Reagan Shallal who was very helpful. He gave me a price and told me if his guy couldn't get me out I would have a total refund. I took him up on his deal and he had me walk back into the gas station where a man named Jim was casually standing. He's a really nice guy and I enjoyed talking to him. We got in his Mercedes 4x4 and off to save my truck. He asked us what we were up to and he gave us some of his own story's about the illegals and the border patrol. He told us a story of a large group of illegals in Corrizo Gorge dressed as boy scouts. I thought that was funny and kind of sad too.
As we pulled up to my truck I looked in Jim's eye's and could see pulling my truck out would be a piece of cake. After all, I just needed to be pulled not towed. Sure enough he gets us out in about 20 mins. He made it looks so east. Yet he had all the right tools and a 4x4 to get out of any situation. Lesson learned.

After the ordeal we decided to hit the Lazy Lizard up for a beer or 4. Great place to take a load off and talk to locals. We had the privilege to talk to Donna who also had some story's for us. She's been the bar owner for the last 10 years or so. Her and her husband own a atv rental for Ocotillio Wells. After talking to her I realized the border patrol issue was much more than I realized. When I say issue, I mean all the cameras in our desert that anybody can be filmed on at any time. I had no idea of that. I asked her how the town was doing with the wind turbines. Shes said half the town was very unwelcoming to the workers. She said she didn't mind them because they gave business and they couldn't help the politics. I agreed with her while flipping the bird at the turbines haha. After a while of kicking back we headed to Ramona stopping at each drum to give water. I also gave Donna a bunch of water as well. She was very appreciative as we were too for our beer.



The last stop of the day was Doug aka Butterfield. We've become very good friends over the years ever sense he took over. He's a great guy and I love giving him company. Say hi to him if you ever get a chance. He also has a decent book selection in the store. Really good deals on his beer for being in the desert.
We end our day successfully as we helped fill the aqua drums and got to know some locals. All the drums had exactly 6 waters and didn't look like anyone had been around. We added two water for each one. Remember that water can save anybody's life not just illegals. Always be smart and prepared.

Thanks for reading, Rory
edited by Roryborealis on 8/1/2016

Nice pictures Bob...congrats to you and Mary for a successful summit! Surprised to see ice still on the switchbacks, there was some pockets of snow still left on Langley also.

Nice job Bob! I imagine the caliber of folks going up nearby Mt. Langley is quite different from those attempting Whitney, just because the latter peak is a 'destination' landmark.

Congrats on making it to the summit AND keeping your dinner reservations, Bob! Daren and I were on Langley a couple days earlier and I was more than happy to have spent a couple days acclimating at 10-11K before bagging my first 14er. As for the quality of hikers on Langley, was a speck disconcerting seeing 70 year olds already descending while we were just starting...

Daren on the top

Whitney Pic From Langley by tomteske, on Flickr

Whitney from Langley 4.8 miles south. If you zoom in, you can see the cabin and people on top.

Whitney From Langley by tomteske, on Flickr

Congrats Bob and to your wife too. JMT2017

Such an awesome way to spend with your wife! Beautiful photos, I especially like your photo of the sunlight peaking.

Congrats! That's a big one to cross off your list.

Congratulations! Your training surely helped. The mighty Sierras are truly awesome. Hard to believe I have been visiting them for close to 50 years.
Here are some photos of "photos" from the past.
Mt Whiney summit with my friend 29 years ago.

the thief who stole my binocular case.

We also climbed Mt Tyndall while we were on our trip.

Landslide dust from Earthquake.

Mt Langley climb from the West.

Near the Mt Langley summit 30 years ago.

Mt Whitney from Arc pass near Mt.Langley.

Mt Whitney from Mt Langley summit.



Cheers!

edited by rockhopper on 10/4/2016
edited by rockhopper on 10/4/2016
edited by rockhopper on 10/4/2016
edited by rockhopper on 10/4/2016

Nice work, surfponto. You make it look easy. If you want to see a 13-year-old's perspective of Whitney-in-a-day, you might enjoy my son's write-up: http://www.peakbagginben.com/new-page-69 Warning: it is not a short read!

Viper wrote:

Nice work, surfponto. You make it look easy. If you want to see a 13-year-old's perspective of Whitney-in-a-day, you might enjoy my son's write-up: http://www.peakbagginben.com/new-page-69 Warning: it is not a short read!

I remember the That was easy button, that was back around 2004, Bob, was it still there?

It looks like it gave way about halfway up the tower. The warranty must have just expired.

http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/wind-turbine-collapses-ocotillo
edited by ziphius on 11/22/2016

Always nice to head out cross country in "our " desert. Thanks for sharing.

Nice. Haven't done any packing around Bow Willow may now give it a try.

Very nice! I haven't been in that area yet. More reasons to go.

would this be a good place? away from the crowds to see flowers next weekend?

Back in February, I met up with the parks department and a videographer who did a story / video on my quest to hike this 100 times (and then some). They did a nice job on it.

This was almost 2 weeks ago. Every thing is growing! I would head to the washes or just drive around.


edited by rockhopper on 3/9/2017
edited by rockhopper on 3/10/2017

Wow! Never seen traffic like that in BS. I'm heading down tomorrow (Monday) for a couple days. I'm hoping the weekdays aren't quite as crazy.

surfponto wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEh1i-oCn0Q
Flowergeddon

Jorgy is egging on the crowds....