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ziphius Posts: 911
2/20/2012
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Spent Sat. and Sun. in Inner Pasture, Red Top, etc. I'm crazy about the Inner Pasture:
View from camp:
Practice, practice, practice:
Is this a bonafide pottery shard?
Red Top summit with sun just hitting it in the morning:
I'm going to consider Red Top my "mid-life crisis hike". 47 is approaching fast.
This was a hard scramble! I left my tent at 6:45 am and was able to climb Red Top in shade the whole way. The view out toward Canebrake from Red Top:
Morteros, I think they were in Moonlight Canyon, just before you reach the Inner Pasture:
Lenticular cloud that formed early Sunday afternoon. It grew immense by 3 pm and kept me shaded on my way back to Agua Caliente.
Ocotillo in Inner Pasture.
On the way back down Moonlight Canyon, Whale Peak in the distance?
Oh, in keeping with the tradition of what I have seen and read on this forum (which is great), I had 3 mylar balloon sightings, only two of which I could reach to retrieve. The desert is a little cleaner! Thanks for hosting a great forum gang! - Jim
edited by surfponto on 11/26/2012
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
2/20/2012
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Nice!! I am always jealous of an Inner Pasture trip...Red Top is still on my list to do.
I have a couple of questions, is there a fee to park overnight at Agua Caliente just if you are hiking or backpacking to Inner Pasture? I always park out on the S2. Also, what was the total distance going out there via Moonlight Canyon? It is about 7 miles from the S2 to get the base of the Red Top mtn ridges.
Yes, that does look like some pottery you found. That is also a great shot of Canebrake, looks like the Crawford ranch way off in the distance and you can see the huge sand berm.
We flew out in a helicopter Saturday to Canebrake/Inner Pasture and Vallecito, did you happen to see a small white/blue helicopter fly by? We went right over the top of Red Top. Check out my forum post from the trip here: http://forums.anzaborrego.net/travel/anzaborregoprevious/forum/topic231-abdsp-via-helicopter.aspx
Daren
<em>edited by dsefcik on 2/20/2012</em>
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DHeuschele Posts: 87
2/20/2012
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dsefcik wrote:
I have a couple of questions, is there a fee to park overnight at Agua Caliente just if you are hiking or backpacking to Inner Pasture?
The last time I was there if you entered the park with your auto you paid a fee but there was a parking area just outside the entrance area to the camp ground. I would like to believe there is no fee for walking through the park if you park outside the park (never tried it though).
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ziphius Posts: 911
2/20/2012
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Daren,
Thanks for the comments and confirmation on the pottery. One guy did Red Top via Agua Caliente a bit more efficiently than me (12 miles RT), his link is here:
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=924453
Including minor unintended deviations from my topo and some other bushwacking inefficiencies, I ended up doing 14.6 miles RT. 5.75 hrs moving and 5 hrs of stoppage time, according to my GPS. So, your estimate of 7 miles from S2 to the base of Red Top is in that neighborhood RT-wise. I paid 5$ a day to park in the day-use area of Agua Caliente Park. I splurged for 2 days just so I wouldn't have to rush to get back. It was nice because I got to park near the picnic ground within view of the ranger kiosk where I felt my car was safe. There is also the added bonus of being able to 'check in' with the ranger and let them know when you expect to be back. They will mark your parking pass with your intended destination and expected time back out. Since I was solo on this trip, I especially wanted someone to know where I was. Easy to break an ankle on this ascent / descent, hard trip for an old guy like me. I didn't see your helo on Sat. I arrived at Agua Caliente around 11:30 and got to my camp at Inner Pasture around 2 pm. Didn't make the trek up to Red Top until Sun. morning. I've never been to the Crawford Ranch / Canebrake area. What's the story behind the huge sand berm? Natural feature? Seasonal water dam?
Jim
<em>edited by ziphius on 2/20/2012</em>
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anutami Posts: 491
2/20/2012
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Nice trip! Is red top considered the most remote spot in southern ABDSP? Looks like there is a bunch of pinyon pines on the summit. How was the wind factor sat night and sun on the summit? I was near mortero palms and I thought my truck and camper was going to blow over. I had that 5th wheel picture daren took in the back of my mind.
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
2/21/2012
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anutami wrote:
Nice trip! Is red top considered the most remote spot in southern ABDSP?
It is actually BLM land, part of the Sawtooth Mtns range
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ziphius Posts: 911
2/21/2012
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anutami wrote:
Nice trip! Is red top considered the most remote spot in southern ABDSP? Looks like there is a bunch of pinyon pines on the summit. How was the wind factor sat night and sun on the summit? I was near mortero palms and I thought my truck and camper was going to blow over. I had that 5th wheel picture daren took in the back of my mind.
Thanks! I don't know what the most remote area is... but there isn't much going on in the Sawtooth range. The summit register wasn't overflowing! There was a bit of gusty wind on Sat. night and Sunday morning, but nothing too bad. I should have paid more attention to the flora at the top, I can't recall if these were pinyon pines or desert juniper, but I think they were the latter.  - Jim
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sddarkman619 Posts: 153
11/26/2016
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that view from Red Top! What a view!
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