January 27, 2012, 9:17 pm  Peering down into the slot canyon Near the north end of the Salton Sea is the little community of Mecca (sorry, despite what you may have thought from the headline, I did not take a hike in Saudi Arabia), and just a few miles east on a dirt road is the trailhead for Painted Canyon. I had never heard of it, but noticed it because it has a high concentration of geocaches. It must be publicized somewhere, because there were a surprising number of people there.
The landscape is desolate and rugged. It is heavily eroded, with the washes having near vertical sides a hundred feet high. Ladder canyon (so named because of the 3 or 4 aluminum ladders required to get past the dryfalls) is a true slot canyon, 3 or 4 feet wide at the base. After climbing out at the top of ladder canyon, the trail continues on among the ocotillo until it drops back down into a large dry wash which I followed back to the trailhead.
Since it was mid-afternoon, I headed for Borrego Springs where I intended to meet up with my friends from the Geocachers of the Bay Area (GBA). I pulled over for a break at the service station at the intersection of Highway 86 and S22 and spotted a familiar looking vehicle with a familiar face peering out at me. So I met up with my friends earlier than expected.
Links
—Painted Canyon 2012 photo gallery
January 26, 2012, 9:57 pm  Caches on PCT section C starting at Cottonwood Canyon trailhead From a geocaching perspective, there is an interesting section of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) that begins just north of I10 near Cabezon. My goal for the day was to start at daybreak from the Cottonwood Canyon trailhead and hike north as far as the Whitewater Preserve. I didn’t achieve those goals, but had a great time anyway.
I got to the trailhead later than I intended because it seems I always underestimate how long it will take me to get organized, have breakfast, and drive. It also took me longer to find some of the caches than I estimated. I got close; I could see the Whitewater River and hear the water, but I adhered to my turn-around schedule and made it back to the trailhead just after sundown.
It was a nice day, in the high 70’s, and just a light breeze. The first caches weren’t too difficult, but after cresting the pass and starting down into the Whitewater drainage, a different cacher was hiding the caches and chose to make them more difficult.  Elevation graph: 2500 ft in 13 miles During the 13 mile hike I only ran into one other hiker, and that was near my turn-around point. On my way back, as sunset was approaching, i was serenaded by coyotes—never saw them but there was much barking and howling. Finished with 32 caches found. If I ever get back to the area I’ll start at the Whitewater Preserve trailhead and try to find the other 20 or so caches on the PCT in this area.
Back at the motel, I was too tired to invest much energy in finding a restaurant, so I just went to a nearby mom and pop Greek restaurant (Nina’s Pita and Pizza) that only had 3 tables and ordered takeout. The Yelp reviews were good, and my gyros plate was very good.
Links
—Whitewater PCT 2012 photo gallery
January 25, 2012, 10:45 pm Today was the long drive south to Palm Springs in preparation for the geocaching event Roughneck Rendezvous III at the Ocotillo Wells SVRA. I decided to go earlier than my friends from the Geocachers of the Bay Area (GBA) because there were a couple of interesting hikes I wanted to do.
My route took me into the dreaded (for me, at least) southland freeway system (the 5, 210, 10), but since I passed through during mid-day, the traffic wasn’t bad. When I got to Redlands I headed south-east on San Timoteo Canyon Road. This route included a short power-caching run with the caches named after auto raceways (start here). Power-caching trails like this are meant to be done by teams, but I wanted to see what it was like. The experience wasn’t enjoyable. The small, country road had a considerable amount of traffic and I could barely get off the road for parking. At times it felt unsafe, so I did a few and skipped a few.
Next, I navigated across Highway 60, intending to pick up a number of caches along the Jack Rabbit Trail. I was immediately put off by a large sign saying it was a private road and trespassers would be subject to arrest. After the fact investigation suggests an over-aggressive landowner, and that it really is an unmaintained county road.
I went on to Sunset Avenue in Banning and found a few as the sun was going down. This was a nice little excursion, worth finding more, but I ran out of daylight.
With that, it was time to head to Palm Springs and check in to the motel, eat, and get ready for a big hiking day tomorrow.
|
Consider this:“This is my command: Love each other.” John 15:17 |
