dtoujours

all messages by user

2/28/2024 Topic: Greeting! dtoujours	Hi there, I want to introduce myself to everybody on the form. I've been a bit of a lurker off and on for a while, but looking forward to participating now. Hiking is a big part of my life and I love visiting environments throughout the American Southwest, but the desert is my true home, and Anza Borrego is my home desert. Cheers to you all!
2/29/2024 Topic: Greeting! dtoujours	Thank you! Gosh, that's a tough one. One of the things I like about Anza Borrego is that there's always a fresh adventure you can make for yourself. That said, I like the badlands south of Truckhaven Rocks with the Salton Sea in the distance and anywhere I can see the ocotillos and smell the creosote! Do you have a favorite hike? Brian wrote: Welcome. What's your favorite hike in Anza Borrego?
2/29/2024 Topic: Ghosts of the Wilderness with Daniel Toujours dtoujours	This presentation is at Helix Brewing in La Mesa, but its theme focuses on deserts, including Anza Borrego, and the wider American Southwest region. Ghosts of the Wilderness-Free Presentation with Daniel Toujours-Hiker, Naturalist, and Author Daniel is an everyday guy who, like many of us, spends as much time as he can hiking during his evenings, weekends, and days off. Looking to explore more, he set out on a mission to find the iconic, but elusive American animals that he hadn't yet seen in thousands of miles of hiking. Along the way, he discovered history from the American Southwest, stumbled upon artifacts, and learned a little something about life. Please join us for an entertaining and informative talk. This presentation is part of the Adventure 16 Wild Wednesdays Series. These fun and casual FREE presentations are aimed at Inspiring and Informing SoCal's Outdoor Community. Wednesday, March 27, 2024 6:30pm Meet n' Drink; 7:00pm Presentation, Ends around 8pm Food Truck on Site Helix Brewing 8101 Commercial Street La Mesa, CA 91942 https://adventure16.com/pages/events-1
3/11/2024 Topic: Knee replacement dtoujours	Good on ya getting back out there, Britain!
3/11/2024 Topic: Wildflowers starting to bloom around June Wash dtoujours	Beautiful! Thanks for the report.
3/12/2024 Topic: Wildflowers starting to bloom around June Wash dtoujours	The wildflowers are getting a little local news coverage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOeJnxZ6hZ0
3/18/2024 Topic: Greeting! dtoujours	Thanks! tekewin wrote: Welcome!
6/20/2024 Topic: Solstice Cave dtoujours	Since today is the Summer Solstice, I took the day off work and headed out in the middle of the night to hike and scramble to the so-called "Solstice Cave" in the Anza Borrego Desert, a boulder cave with Native American pictograph paintings of the sun and other objects. One of these pictographs is supposedly illuminated at sunrise on the Summer Solstice, so I wanted to check it out. I had a high-lumen flashlight in addition to my headlamp, but unfortunately I still had difficulty finding the way at one point and arrived at 5:49am, 12 minutes after official sunrise. Looking at the angle of the sun to the various pictographs, I didn't think it would have illuminated any of them. But I waited around for a little over an hour to see if anything else would happen, until the sun had risen high enough in the sky that I didn't think the angle would allow it to shine into the cave anymore. None of the pictographs had been illuminated during my time on site. The number of sun pictographs (with none of them standing out as the main one) and their angles to the sun makes it seem unlikely to me that one of them could have been illuminated exactly at sunrise, but I'm disappointed that I wasn't there to know for sure. I wonder if anyone had any sources or information on this or if you've had personal experience or know someone who has. To me, it seems this cave may have been misnamed and doesn't have anything to do with the solstice. Perhaps this eastern facing boulder cave was just a good place for the Native American Shamens to watch the sun rise year round. You can check out my Reddit post on this topic for photos: https://www.reddit.com/r/sandiego/comments/1dko5h4/solstice_caveanza_borrego_desert/
7/22/2024 Topic: Solstice Cave dtoujours	That article about the winter solstice was interesting. The summer solstice sunrise is somewhat to the northeast and the winter solstice sunrise is somewhat to the southeast. That would make the winter solstice sunrise more directly and fully illuminate the cave from an area with fewer obstructions, but probably wouldn't lead to the type of pinpoint moving light effect I was expecting. Also, an interesting point about the smog/dust in the valley. It was surprisingly clear that day, so maybe I arrived too late or maybe the effect doesn't take place in this location. @dsefcik, have you witnessed the summer solstice from this location and timed it to be 12 minutes? Or did you get this information from a particular source? Indeed, we need to respect and protect these precious sites.
7/22/2024 Topic: Solstice Cave dtoujours	Thank you for sharing!
10/18/2024 Topic: Agua Caliente Cultural Museum dtoujours	Thanks for sharing your trip, Tom. I'll have to stop by the museum the next time I'm in the area. I recently went to the Barona Cultural Center & Museum and while it wasn't as large as the Cahuilla museum seems to be, they were showing a nice film about the Kumeyaay creation story and had exhibits about the Kumeyaay view of constellations and the Cerutti Mastodon site.
10/31/2024 Topic: Agua Caliente Cultural Museum dtoujours	Those look like some good reads!
12/8/2024 Topic: Ancient Giant Camel Track in Anza Borrego dtoujours	I was hiking in Anza-Borrego and found what appeared to be a fossilized animal track. After my hike, I did some research and I'm almost sure it was Camelops hesternus, the ancient giant camel. I put together an amateur video you can check out below, sorry about the portrait orientation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEMNBKhFKqY I'd love to provide a GPX track for everyone, but due to the sensitivity of the site, I'll keep the details private. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the video.
12/9/2024 Topic: Wonderstone Wash & Lake Cahilla Bathtub Ring dtoujours	Most of the routes to get to the portion of Wonderstone Wash that lies within Anza-Borrego Desert State Park pass through native or private land and I was grateful to get permission to do so the other day. I put together 6 minutes and 47 seconds of amateur footage to share the adventure, and I'm sorry about video and audio quality issues at time due to use of old equipment. https://youtu.be/edVxz1vHUFE I hope you enjoy!
12/10/2024 Topic: Wonderstone Wash & Lake Cahilla Bathtub Ring dtoujours	Thanks, both, I was hoping people would enjoy seeing the wash who didn't want to mess with getting permission for access.
12/30/2024 Topic: Agua Alta overnight dtoujours	That's an impressive cairn in your initial post. Did you use any recover gear to get unstuck besides recovery boards, like a winch? You guys have some good spring knowledge! edited by dtoujours on 12/30/2024
12/30/2024 Topic: Wonderstone Wash & Lake Cahilla Bathtub Ring dtoujours	I started by asking permission from the gravel company, per the advice in the Lindsay "Anza-Borrego Desert Region" guidebook, but they said I needed to talk with the Torres-Martinez people. I contacted them and they asked me to complete a form and submit a map of my proposed travel route, and they approved me a month and a half later. No collecting, but I was happy to leave the things I found for future visitors to enjoy. Thanks for the link!
12/30/2024 Topic: Ancient Giant Camel Track in Anza Borrego dtoujours	I left a couple messages for the park paleontologist right away and then the next week, but have yet to hear back from them. That's a good idea, I'll follow up with the park paleontology society in the new year if I haven't been contacted by then.
1/1/2025 Topic: Wonderstone Wash & Lake Cahilla Bathtub Ring dtoujours	I essentially followed the BorregoHiking path, although I parked my car farther to the east from their starting point. https://borregohiking.com/hiking/2016_wonderstone_wash.html I can't point to the exact points on the maps where I saw the wonderstone rocks, but it was at multiple points right along the wash path closer to the eastern start of the path mentioned above, near Rainbow Rock and what Google is calling Mowgood Mountain. I did continue into the state park for quite a ways. Edited for clarity. edited by dtoujours on 1/1/2025
1/4/2025 Topic: Desert Kit Fox Trailcam Footage dtoujours	I posted a trailcam in the desert during the month of December, which is when kit foxes are most active, and got some great footage! At one point, the fox tries to jump up and get the camera and at another point two foxes appear on the screen at once! A roadrunner also makes an appearance. https://youtu.be/t5zcNQ8Ktdo
1/6/2025 Topic: Desert Kit Fox Trailcam Footage dtoujours	Haha, that's a good idea to set out a trailcam when camping. You might have seen the video was labelled "Camera 2", well my "Camera 1" didn't get anything, so I was really happy the second one did!
1/25/2025 Topic: Hiker shot by Mexican Cartel in Jacumba Wilderness dtoujours	I hope your friend recovers quickly, Brian. This is a real shame, I've also hiked a lot in that area without any problems. However, a few months ago a friend and I hiked Davies Valley into Pinto Canyon and as we were heading back, near the mouth of Pinto Canyon or at the south end of Davies Valley, we saw a guy slipping between the gap where the border wall ends and the mountainside begins. He saw us as he was in the gap and just froze there, so we continued our hike out. Two border patrol vans flew past us as we were hiking up Davies Valley, so he must have tripped a sensor or camera.
1/27/2025 Topic: Desert Kit Fox Trailcam Footage dtoujours	That's some really great footage! I think the fox you caught is also a kit fox. It looks like you have a good quality camera. I went the cheap route in case they were stolen. I was at the Blue Spring guzzler recently and the state locked trail cam is still there.
1/27/2025 Topic: Dolomite Desert Terraces dtoujours	These are good theories. I wondered if it was related to slope stabilization or gravel collection. It reminds me of the Topock Maze a little bit, but there are certainly differences and this doesn't seem like a cultural site.
1/29/2025 Topic: Dolomite Desert Terraces dtoujours	I'm leaning more toward your desert agriculture theory now. Do you know if there are/were any springs in the area? I'd say this was probably in Kumeyaay territory more than Cahuilla territory, and both were of course mainly hunter gatherers, but it seems they may have used some terraced agriculture, as well, especially the Kumeyaay. Do you think the terraces could have been that old? Here's what ChatGPT has to say: Cahuilla Agriculture The Cahuilla lived in the inland deserts and mountains of Southern California, where water was scarce. While they primarily relied on hunting, gathering, and seasonal movement, they also cultivated crops in certain areas. They are known to have grown corn, beans, squash, and melons using irrigation techniques in places where water was available, such as near springs and streams. Some researchers suggest that they may have used rock terraces to help control erosion and retain moisture in hilly areas. Kumeyaay AgricultureThe Kumeyaay, who lived in the coastal, desert, and mountain regions of present-day Southern California and northern Baja California, are better documented as practicing terrace farming. They built rock terraces along hillsides to prevent soil erosion and capture rainfall for acorn orchards, agave, and other native plants. Additionally, they cultivated tepary beans, maize, and squash in more suitable areas. They also pruned and managed wild plants to encourage better growth, a practice sometimes called "proto-agriculture." So while neither group was strictly an agricultural society like the Pueblo peoples to the east, they both engaged in forms of intentional cultivation and land management, including terrace farming in certain locations.
1/29/2025 Topic: Dolomite Desert Terraces dtoujours	The Viejas Band of the Kumeyaay mentions stone terraces on their website: https://viejasbandofkumeyaay.org/viejas-community/kumeyaay-history/kumeyaay-sense-of-the-land/ Of course, that piece of cloth in one of your photos seems more modern. edited by dtoujours on 1/29/2025
2/3/2025 Topic: upcoming? Rosa (looking for advice) dtoujours	Congratulations, I hope you get healed up quickly from your fall!
14 days ago Topic: Chuckwalla? dtoujours	The Seek app from iNaturalist agrees with your assessment it's a Chuckwalla. It's really crammed in there!
14 days ago Topic: Sweeney Pass Stone Wall? dtoujours	I was driving through Sweeney Pass and noticed this structure, which looks like a curved stone wall. https://maps.app.goo.gl/JVRwRRpgLRP5ykDq6 I wondered if anyone had any information on it.
5 days ago Topic: Sweeney Pass Stone Wall? dtoujours	Maybe I'm just seeing things! I started to trace it out in red, but maybe it's just a shadow on Google Street View. At any rate, I thought I saw something driving through there, so maybe I'll pull over and jump out to see for myself the next time I'm going through there. I was in a hurry to get somewhere the other day. https://i.postimg.cc/XYw46g09/wall.png
4 days ago Topic: Sweeney Pass Stone Wall? dtoujours	After carefully scanning Google Street View, I think I probably just saw some boulders or perhaps the bollards that still remain on either side of the wash. It seems the bollards in the wash itself were removed and there are tire tracks beyond them in some of the satellite views. I tried to make sense of my perceptual errors through AI-assisted poetry: At Sweeney Pass, I thought I saw A stone wall rising, sturdy, raw— A barrier, perhaps, to time's deep flow, But in the desert, the winds do blow. Magic lies in each cracked stone, In rock art whispers, history’s tone. Artifacts, secrets, each grain of sand, A thousand stories held in the land. Yet beware, for the desert's light Plays tricks on eyes, both day and night. What seems real may just deceive, A fleeting mirage, a trick to believe. edited by dtoujours on 3/26/2025
3 days ago Topic: Chuckwalla? dtoujours	A lot of chuckwalla lizards have loose skin around their abdomen and so they can squeeze into a rock crack and inflate that loose skin and it makes it almost impossible for a predator to remove them. So, I wonder if the lizard you saw had inflated its skin.

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