Carrizo Gorge Overnight Backpack | ABDSP

I've been wanting to explore the depths of Carrizo Gorge for some time now. My treks out to Goat Canyon trestle would always afford me expansive views of the gorge from high above and the boulder-strewn, vegetation-chocked, twisting course has beckoned to my sense of adventure and exploration. So when I found myself with some time available on a weekend to try out some of my new overnight backpacking gear, I made plans to head out and camp somewhere within the gorge. The State Park and California Conservation Corps have been involved in a tamarisk removal project there, clearing out the invasive trees and making it much easier to traverse the canyon. 

There's not a whole lot of information out there about a hiking route down the length of Carrizo Gorge. An earlier edition of Afoot & Afield In San Diego County describes this hike as a long, rugged, difficult, and memorable one, with bushwhacking, boulderhopping, and mud-stomping in abundance. However, most people who head into this area come to hike or bike along the old San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway, built in the early 1900's.

Carrizo is a Spanish word or reeds, cattails, or tall grasses growing along watercourses around the Southwest and Mexico. Carrizo Gorge drops in elevation from 2,800 feet at Jacumba along Interstate 8, and descends to 700 feet some 18 miles to the desert floor near Bow Willow along Highway S2.

California Conservation Corps trucks parked along the north end of the canyon.

The vehicle route from Highway S2 extends about six miles into the gorge. It starts out as a wide sandy wash, eventually becoming a slightly technical, rocky trail.

Parked at the roads end. From here its all on foot.

A few State Park support vehicles were parked here as well.

This trip certainly provided stunning views of the natural beauty found in the desert. When I go hiking, no matter the difficulty of the trail, there is something thrilling about being out in the backcountry with nothing but my pack. Climbing up a mountain, having a close encounter with a wild animal, exploring new territory, and seeing new sights all bring a form of adrenaline rush. Even the toughest situations become great stories and proud accomplishments.

Pottery shards found along the way.

The dried up Carrizo Creek bed. I came across very little water along the creek, which was surprising since I remembered seeing quite a bit from above on my last Goat Canyon trestle hike just three months ago in November. 

Without the tamarisk removal here this hike would have been much more difficult. Tamarisk, also known as salt cedar, is an exotic, shrubby tree which was introduced to the western United States for ornamental use, windbreaks and erosion control; however, it has become a dominant, invasive species.

I've seen these old rail cars along the hill side quite a few times, but never from this vantage point. 

The waterline along this boulder shows just how deep the creek can get.

My first sighting of water in the gorge. This hike would be interesting during a wetter season.

More evidence of the tamarisk removal efforts. It has a very aggressive growth pattern and displaces native vegetation within watersheds and also constricts water ways. This plant absorbs a large amount of water with its long roots causing water depletion in its region.

Just before reaching the junction with Goat Canyon I found a suitable campsite under a large boulder. The full-sized sleeping bag probably made my pack heavier than it needed to be. It'll be getting a lightweight backpacking one before my next overnight trip. My pack is an old  Kelty Sierra Crest 3950 exterior frame.

My home for the  night.

I spent the evening finishing up one of my books.

The next day a explored a little ways down the gorge before heading back.

Water bladders for the work crews. I could see these from the railroad tracks above a few months ago.

It looks like this is where they keep the herbicide used to help eradicate the invasive tamarisk.

Looking up towards the tributary of Goat Canyon. The railroad trestle isn't visible from here; you need to climb up a bit further to see it. I'll save that side trip for another day.

It seemed like there was some weather moving into the area. Strong winds had battered my tent for a few hours the night before.

Oh man, this pack is so heavy! Why am I doing this again? Oh, that's right. I enjoy my solo treks because I can enjoy the beauty of silence and the sounds of nature. I like listening to the rhythm of my breath, looking at the small details of the natural world around me or loosing myself in the magnificent scenery, trying to engrave it in my memory. When I hike I want to feel fully immersed in the nature surrounding me, I like to remember how small I am. It helps me to put things in the right perspective. 

California Conservation Corps crew, on their way back to work. I had passed them the day before on their way out.

Of course I packed out the one mylar balloon I found.

The CCC campsite was situated near the end of the vehicle route.

On my way out I couldn't help stopping a few times to just take in the views.

I'll be making plans for a day hike down the length of the gorge sometime soon. From Jacumba to the end of the road should be about 12 miles. The tamarisk removal project should also make this an easier trek than it would have been a few years ago.

Making a quick stop at the Carrizo Badlands overlook before continuing on down the highway and home.

Overview of my 6.5 mile round trip.

Check out these Carrizo Gorge adventures by fellow Anza-Borrego enthusiast, Daren Sefcik.

Carrizo Gorge Backpack - ABDSP

The Impossible Railroad & Carrizo Gorge Solo Backpack

Anza-Borrego Adventure & Breakdown (2013 BorregoFest PreRun)

With Outdoor Adventure USA's 2013 BorregoFest event coming up, it was time to get out and check on the conditions of the trails. At 6am on Saturday, September 21st my good friend Ollie picked me up in El Cajon and soon we were headed east in his Toyota FJ Cruiser. Southern California's back country had experienced some major thunderstorms and flash flooding a few weeks ago so we were curious to see how this might have affected some of our local desert trails.

We made our way through the Laguna Mountains, past Lake Cuyamaca and fueled up in Julian before making our way down to the Oriflamme Canyon trail head in Banner.

This area is between Highway 78 in Banner and County S2 at the bottom of the grade from Box Canyon. Chariot Mountain is ringed by three trails. On the south is Mason Valley Truck Trail through Oriflamme Canyon. On the west is California Riding and Hiking Trail through Chariot Canyon and to the east is Rodriguez Spur Truck Trail through Rodriguez Canyon.

This route was known as the short cut through Julian to San Diego in the old days. In the mid-1800's the San Antonio and San Diego mail line, better known as the "Jackass Mail Line" traveled through Oriflamme Canyon to San Diego.  

Making our way down  Rodriguez Canyon, past Right Fender Ranch. We soon find that a few sections of the route ahead are washed out pretty good. Dropping a wheel into one of the many deep ruts we came across would leave one stranded without backup or a winch.

Our next stop was Blair Valley, which is situated between Granite Mountain and Whale Peak, accessible along County Road S-2 south of California Route 78. This region offers two-wheel drive accessibility, hiking trails, primitive camping, and cultural and natural history resources.

Blair Valley contains four established hiking trails: Marshal South Home, Pictographs, Morteros trails and a branch of the California Riding and Hiking Trail, which descendsfrom the Cuyamaca region and passes through Blair Valley on its way to the South HomeVisitor Center in Borrego Springs. This, the longest trail in the park, rises to nearly 5,000 feet and drops to below 1,000 feet in Borrego Valley, exhibiting a wide variety of different habitats.

Recreational vehicle campers enjoy the flat areas surrounding the Blair lake bed, while tent campers disperse farther out into the nearby Little Blair Valley. Afterward, we continued on to Vallecito Wash and Carrizo Creek. For thousands of years, the course of Vallecito Wash has been a refuge and trail for many native and immigrant Americans. Generations of Kumeyaay people camped along the springs here. The Mormon Battalion of 1847 passed here to join in the war between the Untied States and Mexico. This wash also follows a section of the 2,800 mile-long Butterfield Overland Stage route between St. Louis and San Francisco. The route operated from 1857 to 1861.

Carrizo Creek holds the location of the stagecoach station built for the Butterfield stage line that ran all the way from Missouri to San Francisco, starting in 1858. It looks like someone is working to restore the station or is just marking its location. Click the link below for more info on this historic site.

HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

OF THE CARRIZO CREEK STAGE STATION 

An Isolated Frontier Outpost

Further travel east of the Carrizo Station will bring you to the Carrizo Impact Area, used by the United States Navy as an air-to-ground bombing range during World War II and the Korean War. It is in the Anza-Borrego Desert in southeast area and covers about 45 square miles. The range is closed to the public due to the hazard of unexploded ordnance. Bombs ranging from 3 to 1,000 pounds, rockets, 20-millimeter cartridges and 50-caliber bullets were dropped and fired on the range from 1942 until June 1959. After that, the range was only used a few times. The first clearance of material occurred during late 1959 and early 1960 and the second in January 1965. A large amount of unexploded bombs and wreckage were found. An inspection in 1970 found only detonated or non-explosive ordnance, but it took place in only one day. Additional unexploded ordnance has been found on a regular basis since then.

Clearing the area of bombs is made difficult by the large number of munitions and the fact that they burrowed up to 30 feet into the ground after being dropped from aircraft, although some have worked their way up to the surface through natural processes. Despite the area receiving the highest classification of hazard from unexploded ordnance, the area is considered low priority for cleanup because its remote location makes it unlikely that anyone (except maybe folks like me) will be hurt by it.

Exiting Carrizo Creek and back into Valliceto Wash, we turned north into the twisting canyon of Arroyo Seco del Diablo (Spanish for "Devil's Dry Wash). This area is part of the Carrizo Badlands, an ancient alluvial fan from the ancestral Colorado River, which emptied into the Gulf of California as a delta outlet. Arroyo Seco del Diablo has cut through the hardened sandstone concretions carried downstream from afar to create the deep-sided canyon this trail follows today.

To get to Fish Creek we would have to descend Diablo Drop Off and into a narrow canyon called Broken Shaft Gulch. The drop-off is made up of two descents with a break in the middle. The first drop is usually steep with loose sand and ruts but on this trip a found major damage from the recent rains. The second part, which is a narrow slot with large steps and wheel rut, wasn't really affected from the storms.

  

Shortly after descending the drop off and entering the gulch, I perched myself atop a ridge to get a few shots of Ollie's FJ making its way through a few rocky sections. As the vehicle started to climb a boulder it suddenly died. Ollie tried starting it again but to no avail. We were suddenly stranded in the desert.

When your broke down you might as well break out the beer! A couple of Jeeps ended up coming up the canyon from the opposite direction so it was nice to know we weren't totally alone out there. However, Ollie already had us in contact with our wives and some friends who could help us via HAM radio. After a few hours of troubleshooting we managed to find a little 20amp fuse for the electronic fuel injection that had blown. After replacing it the FJ started right up. We were saved! It was bittersweet finding such a simple fix to our situation.

Fish Creek on the eastern edge of the park south of California route 78, is an area of sparse vegetation and abundant wildlife. Some of the main attractions of the Fish Creek area are the beautiful twisting canyons, oddly shaped caves and raised fossil reefs. The sun was getting low as we made our way through this fascinating area and back towards the pavement of Split Mountain Road.

Cruising through Split Mountain puts drivers at the base of shear sandstone cliffs, rising perhaps a hundred feet or more from the dusty bed of Fish Creek. Split Mountain was formed by an ancestral stream that divided the Vallecito Mountains from the Fish Creek Mountains. Geology students and park visitors from all over the world come to study it and enjoy its rugged, awe-inspiring beauty.

Soon this truly adventurous day came to a close. Unfortunately, vehicle problems prevented us from covering as much ground as we wanted too, but its all part of the experience of exploring the back county. So its always good to be prepared. We had enough water and food to stay with the rig for awhile or bug out if needed; we also had a way to communicate with others. With more than 600,000 acres, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park has countless areas that one can explore. I'll be looking forward to getting out here again in October for OAUSA's 2013 BorregoFest event.