12/26/2024
Topic:
Agua Alta overnight
Rocko1
|
Looked like a fun outing. Great pictures. |
1/6/2025
Topic:
Desert Kit Fox Trailcam Footage
Rocko1
|
Very cool! When my brother and I car camped he always set out a trail cam nearby. We never got any footage-I am sure his snoring kept everything away! |
1/27/2025
Topic:
Agua Alta overnight
Rocko1
|
tommy750 wrote:
Looks like a great trip, Brian. Disappointed to hear Agua Alta was not flowing well. Have been thinking about a loop using that spring and was assuming the flow would be good based on this video showing the spring completely rehabbed compared to the one time I visited years ago. Check it out at 1:29 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZlVN5xiFHI&t=89s Rockhopper also said it was flowing well in the recent past. Guess the Santa Rosas are pretty dry right now. Was in Rockhouse Canyon with Gary and Yoks a month ago and two of the three springs out there were dry (Cowboy was a wet spot but we located good flow about 40 feet uphill so actually 1 spring dry). Gary said for the past thirty years he's been hiking RHC, all three water sources were a sure thing. Not this year.
Am thinking the vehicles may have been stolen and got stripped out out there.
Tommy was the second dry spring barrel? |
1/27/2025
Topic:
Agua Alta overnight
Rocko1
|
tommy750 wrote:
Rocko1 wrote:
Tommy was the second dry spring barrel?
Yes, it was Barrel.
Darn. Was hoping it had something. Any chance up the drainage might have a trickle? |
1/28/2025
Topic:
Agua Alta overnight
Rocko1
|
tommy750 wrote:
Rocko1 wrote:
tommy750 wrote:
Rocko1 wrote:
Tommy was the second dry spring barrel?
Yes, it was Barrel.
Darn. Was hoping it had something. Any chance up the drainage might have a trickle?
Daren would be able to help you with that. Here's a pic taken by Yokes 11/2024 at Barrel Spring. Gary says the pipe from the spring is probably plugged and needs cleaning but again, ask Daren.
 20241128_134556 by tomteske, on Flickr
Thanks Tommy, that is bone dry! |
1/30/2025
Topic:
Agua Alta overnight
Rocko1
|
dsefcik wrote:
forum members wrote:
Darn. Was hoping it had something. Any chance up the drainage might have a trickle?
Daren would be able to help you with that. Here's a pic taken by Yokes 11/2024 at Barrel Spring. Gary says the pipe from the spring is probably plugged and needs cleaning but again, ask Daren.
It is always possible, it has happened at other springs. The village site is another close possibility but never reliable. You need to go prepared for no water and explore, you just never know.
Will do. Thanks Daren, |
2/4/2025
Topic:
upcoming? Rosa (looking for advice)
Rocko1
|
That's a big hike. Congrats. |
2/19/2025
Topic:
RHC 3 Day Backpack Trip
Rocko1
|
A couple of weekends ago Brian and I did a 3 day tour of RHC and the area that drains into it. We started Friday night and hiked in the dark from 3 miles south of the ‘parking’ area to the north exit of the canyon. Was interesting hiking in the dark through that canyon, the sand was very soft and as the canyon can be, monotonous.
We woke up and decided to check out the original cotton wood spring. Long since dry.
I wondered how long since it had water and if there was any deep under the soil. Some extremely healthy juniper trees must be drinking from somewhere nearby.
We then headed north to connect to the trail that runs along the base of Santa Rosas. We found the trail and headed to OSR and then to barrel spring-as reported earlier, still bone dry.
I poked around but didn’t see any signs of water. I didn’t look too hard.
Next mission was to get to the spring at the cottonwoods and praying it was flowing as it would be a long trek back to the car if not. Lucky for us it was producing. I would say 3-5L per minute.
https://imgur.com/n5KjFHr
We took a break at the cottonwoods then headed down the canyon.
Looks like an old pump for water or oil, not sure.
Shards
Picto
After making it back to the CW, loading up on water, we headed for OSR for the night.
Was a nice calm night. Brian had a hungry visitor in the form of a mouse.
That morning we headed over to Stiff to check the status of the spring. One drop every couple of seconds at Stiff, but upper Stiff 30-50’ up and to the left was flowing nice.
https://imgur.com/vMRd2km
We signed the register and headed to the lower rock houses. We must have picked up a old native trail as we really made good time-45 minutes.
I explored a higher elevation ‘side’ canyon not far from the zig zag trail.
Brian provided the post trip beverages. It was fantastic.
Trip Totals
30 Miles, 5,062’ Gain, 5,075’ Loss
4 balloons recovered
Water Report as of Feb. 9th, 2025
Hidden Spring-could pull 6-8oz or so out of the small depression. Wouldn't count on it.
Stiff, only drips. Upper Stiff-1L/minute
Barrel-Bone Dry
Cottonwoods-flowing great.
Album link-https://postimg.cc/gallery/sDVcNN9
edited by Rocko1 on 2/19/2025 |
2/19/2025
Topic:
RHC 3 Day Backpack Trip
Rocko1
|
Brian wrote:
Nice overview of our trip. It was great to have some extra time to fully explore. So much to see in this area.
Yes, one could really spend a week up there. |
2/21/2025
Topic:
Coyote south ridge
Rocko1
|
Nice report. Is that mini lake at 33.309572, -116.306719? |
2/21/2025
Topic:
Coyote south ridge
Rocko1
|
tekewin wrote:
Rocko1 wrote:
Nice report. Is that mini lake at 33.309572, -116.306719?
Yes, that's it exactly!
When I walked through, it looked like there was a fire circle set up at the mouth where it drains to the east. I didn't walk over to confirm. It might have just been a pile of rocks.
Looks like a good place to camp to get out of the wind that can rip over that mountain. |
2/25/2025
Topic:
RHC 3 Day Backpack Trip
Rocko1
|
tommy750 wrote:
NIce TR. Like your sunrise and evening pics. And glad you found water. If you found a nice trail from the rockhouses to/from Stifferino, that's a great find. The few times I've been out there, that stretch always seems to be where you end up trudging through a dozen different drainages.
I think it was a combo of game trails that turned into a native trail. It certainly wasn't arduous at all and shockingly efficient. 
edited by Rocko1 on 2/25/2025 |
25 days ago
Topic:
RHC 3 Day Backpack Trip
Rocko1
|
Buford wrote:
Great report. Not good that some springs don't have water. I think Gary knows of the trail between Stifferino and the rockhouses?
I've also walked the canyon in the dark a couple times. I've driven the last three miles of road in the dark a couple times too . It can be a nice walk if the rain left a nice hard crust on the canyon bottom.
Nice gloves 
There wasn't much of a crust in the canyon this time. We have hiked it before where there was and it's soo much easier.
Glacier Glove Ascension Bay gloves. A must have.
May be the same track we followed. It has to be the or close to the best route. Saw a few markers but not many.
We saw a few large pile of rocks near the trail that skirts the slopes and wondered the meaning. Burial site?
edited by Rocko1 on 3/7/2025 |
25 days ago
Topic:
RHC 3 Day Backpack Trip
Rocko1
|
rockhopper wrote:
Brian wrote:
rockhopper wrote:
I always wanted to complete the ridge trail down to Martinez along the old native trail.
That's on my bucket list too. Rocko1 and I hiked up to the ridge line from the Rockhouse Valley side a couple years ago, but we didn't continue down to Martinez. That trip would be a lot more viable for me if there was a reliable water source on the Martinez side.
My bucket list too! Here is an old map showing the old trail over from Rock house valley to Martinez. This map was generated from aerial photography 1938-1944 so the trail was still visible from the air back then. ( I have embellished info on this map showing the other trails and some springs to the east of the ridge in wet years.) Best approach for a thru hike would be after a major wet storm and or gather snow for the trek down to Jack Miller cabin and out to Valiere.
Brian and I went up on the ridge just south of Stiff. It wasn't too bad. That way and the old native trail shown seem to both be about 1 mile and 1,700-1900ft of gain. |
25 days ago
Topic:
Coyote Canyon Road current conditions?
Rocko1
|
Buford wrote:
tekewin wrote:
Buford wrote:
Turkey Track from Anza got graded some time ago, I think to get fire crews back there. Since then it has gotten worse again. I don't know the current status.
Unfortunately I would not expect realistic road conditions from the visitor center employees. They either don't know, or give way too cautious recommendations, for good reason.
edited by Buford on 3/3/2025
edited by Buford on 3/3/2025
Thanks for the info, Buford. I have a buddy who wants to go up Salvador Canyon. I think we are going to try to mountain bike from the gate at 3rd crossing, about 4.7 miles from the entrance to Salvador. Depends on the weather, too.
I know people that have done that when their vehicle was not ready for the bypass road. Only issue is biking in soft sand is a slog.
I made a mistake above, the road from the top of Boulder alley to Salvador is fine. I mixed up Alder and Salvador.
The road to Alder is down the Turkey Track.
Be careful of grow sites if you go up the canyons.
Are there confirmed grow sites up Alder or Salvador canyons? Seems like access would be horrible for an operation. |