Outdoor Adventure USA's 2014 BorregoFest

Carrizo Mountain & Southern Anza Borrego Tour

I awoke at O'dark thirty Saturday morning to head out to the Butterfield Ranch campground in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which would serve as headquarters for Outdoor Adventure USA's 2014 BorregoFest event. This would be the 6th annual gathering of 4wheeling, overlanding, and outdoor adventure enthusiast, to enjoy good times on the local desert trails, attractions, as well as amazing food and campfire conversation.

I was feeling a little disappointed that I would only be attending for one day, but also excited to see new and familiar faces and that I would soon be maneuvering my 2000 Jeep Wrangler along some of my favorite rough desert terrain. Its always a pleasure showing people sights they've never seen and places they've never experienced.

From El Cajon, I made my way Northeast along Interstate 8 and CA-79 to the touristy mountain town of Juilan, and then down the grade to Highway S2 and into camp. After a bit of socialization with some old and new friends around the campground, all the folks who had signed up for my run were soon lined up and ready to roll.

From camp, we headed Southeast along Highway S2, then East on Even Hews Highway (S80) to Painted Gorge Road, where we aired down.

Cast of characters:

John- Jeep Wrangler TJ

Greg - Ford Bronco II

Brian - Toyota FJ Cruiser

Brent - Toyota Landcruiser

Tim - Jeep Wrangler JK

Steve & Shellie - Toyota 4runner

Richard - Toyota Tundra

Simon - Nissan Xterra

Mike - Ford F150

Bill - Land Rover Defender

Our route would take us through Painted Gorge, which gets its name from the colored sections of sandstone blocks within the canyon. Metallic oxides and sulfides have introduced red, blue, and green staining to parts of the narrow gorge. Fossilized remains of marine life can also be found in this area.

The trail leaves S80 between Plaster City and Ocotillo, just west of the sign for the Plaster City West OHV Staging Area. Initially, it is a well-used graded road that serves as access for Painted Gorge. Entering public lands, the graded road becomes a formed trail that passes through a wide open area and then swings west, dropping into the sandy wash of Painted Gorge. The trail through the canyon is sandy and twisty as it winds its way into the Coyote Mountains. Embedded rocks litter the wash, but the difficulty of the trail comes not from this section but further up as the trail climbs high atop Carrizo Mountain. 

At the end of the trail, Carrizo Mountain sits high above the colorful shapes of the Carrizo Badlands at the edge of the Coyote Mountains and offers rewarding views over Carrizo Wash. The wash is closed to the public, having been once used as a military target-practice zone. In the late 1850's, Butterfield Overland stagecoaches traveled along the wash far below, carrying mail and passengers on a difficult route from St. Louis to San Francisco. 

Carrizo is a Spanish word meaning "reed grass." This reed was found to give a sweet taste to the water found in its vicinity. Native Americans used the reed as a sweetener. 

The trail climbs steeply as it swings out of the wash along a well-used shelf road. The surface is loose in places and the road is narrow, limited to single vehicle width for most of its length. Passing places are limited. As you climb, Painted Gorge unfolds beneath you. Beyond the gorge to the south are the Yuha Basin and Mexico.

The trails on Carrizo Mountain were put through for mining, and there are many to explore. There are some good back country campsites, most of which have excellent views. This route leads through a network of trails to a viewpoint near the summit of the mountain. From there, its only a short hike to the summit to take in the impressive views of the surrounding areas. The final section of trail to the top is the most challenging, with embedded rocks, loose surfaces, and a very narrow shelf road to negotiate.

We did lose two rigs on the way up. The Xterra was starting to bottom out on the rough terrain and the Bronco II was overheating, so they pulled off at a nice overlook to wait for our return. 

Carrizo Mountain is the highest point of the rocky Coyote Mountains, located in the transition zone between the Salton depression of Imperial County, and the mountains and desert valleys of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to the west. The range is located not far north of Interstate-8 near the small community of Ocotillo, and is the centerpiece of the Yuha Desert Recreation Area. The surrounding foothills and desert are popular with off-road vehicles and dirt bikes. Few venture up the old mining roads that leads to a turnaround a few hundred feet below the summit.

At the end of the road, it is a short 500 foot scramble to the summit of the mountain. At the summit, the entire Anza Borrego Desert State Park comes into view. You can see the Salton Sea (150 feet below sea level) to the northeast, the snow-capped Santa Rosa and San Jacinto ranges to the north, Whale Peak to the northwest, the 6000 foot escarpment of the Laguna Mountains to the west, Mexico to the south, and the Imperial valley to the east.

After taking in the views, we start the decent down the mountain.

Lunch under Even Hewes Highway (S80) with Carrizo Mountain in the distance.

This now abandoned section of Old Highway 80 was unusual for a desert highway. Most were paved with thin oiled macadam; concrete was used very rarely since it does not hold up as well as asphalt to the temperature extremes found in the desert. This dates from around 1915 and was built next to the former San Diego and Arizona Eastern railroad tracks, visible to the right.

This old road was considered a miracle of modern engineering at the time, but it wasn't until 1940 that a modern road was completed. In 1963, Interstate 8 was completed, making passage through the desert an easy affair with little hint of the previous difficulties. Fortunately for highway fans, there is a lot of the old road remaining.

Crossing under Interstate 8 on our way towards the small desert town of Ocotillo and Dos Cabezas Road.

Dos Cabezas Road forms an arc from paved Imperial Highway northwest of Ocotillo and runs along the alluvial plain near the base of the Jacumba Mountains. The route travels along easy-to-follow, sandy formed trails through the wide valley between the Jacumba Mountains to the west and the Coyote Mountains to the east.

The Colorado Desert vegetation is stunning in this area, particularly in spring when the ocotillos are flowering, adding their brilliant flags of orange to the landscape. The trail follows part of the route of the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railroad.

The old Dos Cabezas railroad siding here is set below the stone colored hills of nearby Piedras Grandes. A concrete pad and old water tank remain. The main trail then runs along Montero Wash to return to the highway.

Airing back up at the end of the trail.

Checking out some of the cool rigs and setups around camp.

I'm already looking forward to next year's gathering! It was good to see old and new friends at yet another successful BorregoFest event. The OAUSA crew really outdid themselves! It was a great trip with some amazing set-ups and even greater people!

Outdoor Adventure USA's 2013 BorregoFest

October marks the time for OAUSA's biggest annual event, BorregoFest. From October 18th - 20th 2013, adventure and outdoor enthusiast headed to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park for 3 days of camping, 4x4 trail runs, and hiking.  On Friday evening Leland Fetzer arrived for a presentation on the gold mines of Julian and the Cuyamacas.  Leland is the author of the book, "A Good Camp", an excellent history of the gold mining boom which gave birth to the town of Julian.  The "not to be missed" pot luck dinner and campfire was held on Saturday evening.  They also offered Amateur Radio License testing on Sunday.

This is a family friendly event located at the Butterfield Ranch Resort, located just outside the Park boundary.  The Ranch is equipped with full hookups for RVs, plenty of tent camping, showers, and a well stocked store.  Our plan was to head out Saturday afternoon after participating in the Bruce Gorder UCSD 5K Walk for Melanoma with Autumn's family.  This annual fall event in San Diego helps build the public's awareness of the importance of prevention and early detection of melanoma.

On our way and passing the big wind turbines along Interstate 8.

More wind turbines just outside the small desert community of Ocotillo.

The first order of business, after setting up camp, was to hit up the playground.  Audrey spotted it right away and eager to go play.

As the evening rolled around folks gathered for the potluck.  There was more than enough food and drink to go around. My contribution consisted of bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers and coconut rum.

The next morning I prepared coffee, oatmeal, and fruit for breakfast, after walking around camp for a bit to check out the various vehicles and camp setups.  Afterward, I packed up all our gear, gathered for the raffle, and got ready for our trail run.

I had planned on doing a run up Coyote Canyon but the seasonal closure gate was still shut due to flood damage, so I needed to come up with an alternate trail run.  I decided on a "San Felipe Wash to Old Kane Springs Road" run.  From Borrego Springs Road and the "Texas Dip" we turned right into San Felipe Wash and found a wide area along the trail to stop and air down.

Map of our route.

View of the Borrego Badlands and Fonts Point in the distance.

Rainbow Wash, one of the only routes that penetrate into the badlands hills and washes to the North. 

The wide, sandy course of San Felipe Wash flows through Ocotillo Wells SVRA.

EXPLORING FOR A ROUTE

In 1774, to block envious European empires from snatching the rich territory of California, Spain planned to plant settlers there. This difficult task was given to Captain Juan Bautista de Anza, a capable frontier soldier. To accomplish his orders, Anza would have to lead over 200 people and 1,000 animals over 2,000 miles to San Francisco Bay. Rather than jumping headfirst into an unexplored desert wilderness, the prudent Anza first lead a scouting expedition to blaze the trail. 

After crossing the Colorado River near present day Yuma, Anza and his soldiers tries to cross the daunting Imperial Dunes. The shifting sands almost trapped the expedition while the lack of water nearly killed the men and their horses. Retracing his steps, Anza wisely went around this wall of dunes. 

On March 10th, 1774 the scouting expedition arrived in the Ocotillo Wells region where they encountered a native band, likely Kumeyaay frightened by the Spanish horses. With the help of Anza's Indian guide, Tarabal, these indigenous people were persuaded to meet with Anza. In return for gifts and trade goods, they gave the expedition directions to water holes on the route North. This land and the trail were new to Anza, but were already known to Tarabal and the local natives.

A HUNDRED YEAR STORM 

A blizzard in the desert? Hard to believe, but Anza's second expedition was blasted by wind and snow for almost a week as it crossed Imperial Valley in December of 1775.

Despite the freak storm, Anza lead his 200 people safely through the freezing conditions. Only a few horses and cattle perished from the cold.

Upon arriving just East of here on a Sunday night, December 18th, 1775, the Anza Expedition celebrated its harrowing passage with an impromptu "fandango." Despite the rain, the camp was alive with dancing as soldiers, settlers, and Indians rejoiced in surviving the once-in-a-century killer blizzard. Anza, a seasoned soldier and the expedition's leader, was usually as odds with Father Pedro Font, the expedition's religious adviser. They were soon quarreling again over the morality of the "raucous party" and its accompanying "bawdy" songs. 

Upon reaching Highway 78, we stopped for lunch at the Blu In Park and then made a short detour to check out the airplane graveyard. 

Traveling down the ever narrowing and twisting arroyo, I kept an eye out for evidence of an ancient lake visible along the sides of the wash. I stopped here to show the group shells embedded in the sediment. 

Prehistoric Lake Cahuilla was an extensive freshwater lake that filled the Coachella, Imperial, and Mexicali valleys of southeastern California and northeastern Baja California during the centuries prior to Spanish entry into the region.  The lake was almost 100 miles long by 35 miles across at its widest point, extending from the delta in Mexico north to the vicinity of Indio. It was six times the size of the present Salton Sea. 

This ancient freshwater lake completely filled the Salton Basin to overflowing behind the natural delta-dam. The shoreline of the old lake is still visible at the base of the surrounding mountains. It averages about 40 feet above sea level, but varies from 25 to 50 feet elevation. The variability of elevation is thought to be due to subsidence of the basin floor.

Continuing on our way, we suddenly came upon a water hole around a bend in the wash. I jokingly mentioned over the radio that someone should drive through it, but didn't think anyone actually would. We ended up having to use two vehicles to recover the FJ out of the seemingly bottomless mud pit.

Here's some video Autumn took of our recovery efforts:

Once on our way again we turned South on Pole Line Road and then East onto Old Kane Springs Road.

Old Kane Springs Roads skirts the southern boundary of San Sebastian Marsh. This unique, water-based habitat has supplied a permanent, dependable source of water for people and wildlife since ancient times. The marsh was a stopping place for Anza, who named it after his Indian guide Sebastian Tarabel and after trading with some 400 Kumeyaay assembled there, continued northwest up San Felipe Wash into the Borrego Valley. The marsh is the only designated critical habitat in California for the desert pupfish, an endangered species. Because of its importance in sustaining this unique marshland environment, San Felipe Creek and San Sebastian Marsh is a registered National Natural Landmark. It has also been designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). The area around the creek and marsh are easily damaged and very sensitive. The marsh is closed to vehicle use, with closure of boundaries clearly posted.

“To this site I gave the name of Zienega de San Sevastian, alias del Peregrino. In the place where we halted there is a good spring of very potable water, and there are many others to the west which are saline. From them is formed a marsh more than a league long with plentiful pasturage, although it is likewise salty.” –Juan Bautista de Anza, March 10, 1774; translated by Herbert Bolton, 1930; underlines ed.

Tales of a Rusty Pipe

"We have not yet uncovered actual historic records of the site, but from what we have seen, one can readily infer the story. Rainfall is scarce, but often occurs in extreme downpours. In such situations streams can meander rapidly. It appears that in the past when erosion first threatened the well, the wall was built upstream to protect the stream bank and the well. However, as they ultimately will, the natural processes of downpours, flooding, and stream dynamics overwhelmed the efforts to protect the bank, the wellhead was lost and at some point, the well casing stood up at least 12 feet out of the stream bed before toppling due to rust and perhaps human intervention."

Toppled wall lying in wash upstream of the well.

The well casing of Harper's Well lying across the wash.

Our journey ends near the junction of Highways 78 and 86. It was a fun filled weekend spent with my beautiful girls and other adventure-minded people. I'm already looking forward to next years BorregoFest!

More info on the historic Anza Expedition and surrounding area.