Ruby & Tataviam Canyons Jan 30-31

This was one weekend I certainly didn't want to find myself sitting around the office or office, regardless of the 1" rain forecast for Sunday, so I joined Alden and Dave for a couple canyons up Piru Creek, including a recently found classic and a first descent. After setting up the car shuttle at Lake Piru, we hiked in on an excellent trail from Oak Flat. As we gained elevation and approached one false summit after another, I began to realize we the first mile of our hike was all on a large landslide, extending from the crest above to the valley below, all through the Violin Breccia dumping off the ancient fault scarp at the edge of Ridge Basin- great geology! We maintained a solid pace to keep ahead of a large hiking group who set off at the same time as us. Reaching the saddle we gained a fire road, and followed it around towards the head of Ruby Canyon, before finding a reasonable (but still loose) ridge that would drop us into the drainage. This drainage seemed to be choked with stealthy (leaf-less) poison oak twigs...

        Dropping into Ruby (I see a landslide!) 

Once in the drainage we were mystified to find a well-trod trail with many fresh footprints. That is until we started to see abundant signs of illegal grow operations. The trail allowed good progress until just above the Ruby narrows (again suggesting non-hikers). These narrows (and indeed all of the two technical canyons we descended) were in the conglomerate member of the marine Juncal Formation. These first narrows were rather short and not very deep, but certainly well carved and a beautiful place.

         Short but sweet narrows of Ruby

These narrows gave way quite dramatically to the technical section, involving tricky downclimbs over large and smooth boulders. Despite being the third group down in a year, we were glad to see anchors in good shape, requiring little maintenance. As we continued downcanyon the horizonline effect improved. A couple awkward-ish rappels led to one 200' beauty down an amazing fluted rappel.

        Above and below: The standout 200' rappel

And the canyon continued. A further three rappels led to a final 160' rappel to the conglomerate/shale contact, signifying the end of the canyon. The view looking back up the canyon was impressive. With more time and many more spectacular floods, there is no telling what beautiful features would be created in this canyon.

A short stroll brought us to Piru Creek about 2pm. We unloaded camping gear, spare clothes, food, etc and began a rough and tough bushbash/scramble up the drainage opposite Ruby. This slowed us down some but we eventually reached the summit where a short descent dropped us to the start of our new canyon we named Tataviam after the Indian tribe that called the Piru area home.

A 40' downclimb brought us to a hanging pothole with just what we needed to rig an anchor down this large drop. Although I think we had higher hopes, the rappel was still quite nice with some excellent travertine formations- it would be a beauty after some rain. The second rappel which followed was more like 100'. Scrambling down a bouldery valley bottom, we soon encountered very fresh signs and abundant signs of illegal growing operations. We treaded lightly and a little on edge, but did not encounter anyone.

         The large drop with travertine

At the end of this section the canyon picked up momentum for a final 100' drop down into the Piru narrows. This was a larger drop than I was expecting and a particularly beautiful spot with flowing water, hanging pools, grottoes, and a final drop to the edge of Piru Creek right at it's narrowest spot. We were back at camp by a little after 5pm. We had a nice campfire to counteract the drizzle which had set in.

We awoke to solid rain to eat breakfast and pack our gear in. The air temperature now noticeably chilly. An avid outdoorsmen staying nearby stopped to say hello, and proved to be our fortuitous guide out Piru Creek to his car parked at the road end. This was a delight, saving us many hours of missed trail connections and the walk out on the long dirt road back to our car. What we thought was going to be a death march turned out to an easy 1hr20min to his vehicle. By the time we reached the vehicle the storm was in full swing with small landslides ripping of the steep shale slopes and normally dry creeks bursting to life. After completing the car shuttle I was left to brave the most perilous part of the trip: the drive through LA in heavy rain. Thanks to Alden, Dave, and our outdoorsmen friend for a great trip.

Caltech & Eaton Canyons Jan 10

We had a couple days of solid (mythical) southern California rain so I was eager to follow some of the water down one of the more interesting local watercourses. Alden rounded up a six-strong group for the trip and proposed entry to Eaton via a rarely visited tributary, Caltech Canyon. On the plus side the approach and canyon would be a completely downhill trip. On the down side we had an enormous car shuttle to complete on a road we were not completely sure was open. We met at the Eaton exit and then carpooled up the Angeles Crest and Redbox Road to Eaton Saddle where we parked in a snowy pullout. Great mountain views. I should have brought a jacket.

        A wintery start

        Mueller Tunnel on approach

        Caltech trying to be a canyon

We filed on through the snow, and eventually dropped below it. The approach ended up being considerably longer than I expected but pleasant enough. The stragglers towards the rear of the group even managed to see a bear. We had a quick snack where the trail crossed Caltech Canyon and headed down. Lots of downed trees, small downclimbs, occasional pools to skirt, a modest amount of flowing water. Occasionally short stretches of bedrock would appear. It was trying hard to be a canyon like it's big brother Eaton, but not succeeding very well.

        Nuisance pool!

Eventually the walls towered slightly and we reached our first unavoiable knee-deep pool. Just past it was the only real rappel in the canyon, though this could be easily bypassed. Correctly not expecting much more the the canyon, we rigged and dropped it. Shortly below was a nice 6ft+ deep hanging pothole and then a final short downclimb and stroll to Eaton. It was a lot of work for ~10 seconds of canyon. Worse still we had about a mile of stream strolling to reach the start of the technical section of Eaton.

        A few seconds of joy in Caltech Canyon

Finally, Eaton! Flow could have been ten times higher and I would have been happy but we made the most of what we were given, hooning around on the many short slides and jumps near the canyon's start. The water was considerably colder than Caltech for some reason, perhaps just because there was more of it!

        First rappel

The first rappel was nice enough and the steep slide just after was in good shape. I couldn't resist a half dozen laps since the rapline was rigged. A short distance further brought us to "the gully" the nice narrow section with a beautiful chuted waterfall dropping into a slight grotto. Easily the best 100ft of the canyon, it left me wanting more like my last trip through Eaton.

        Looking back up the gully

The gully is followed by a mostly walking interlude with a few jumps thrown in. At the top of a downclimb we ran into another group rappeling down. We'd touch and go with them the rest of the way through the canyon including a nice long snack break at the top of the main falls. Nice rappel. The pool at the base was shallower than I remembered. I was very impressed at the volunteer work cleaning up the canyon's graffiti. Hints were still noticeable but the experience was much improved. 

The last rappel was a ridiculous show with about a hundred onlookers who had hiked to this last waterfall. An obligatory group picture in the final pool and down the trail we jaunted. Unfortunately we still had to drive up the hill to retrieve the shuttled cars. It was a great trip with a great group. Even at higher flow I'm not sure any San Gabriel canyon has enough interest for me to want to do twice. Thanks to Alden and the gang.

Guadalupe Canyon Jan 1-3

Sara and I seem to have a knack for gravitating towards hot springs around New Years. The problem is many other people have similar thoughts so we have to be creative with the ones we go for (a little more effort to get to or a little less known). This time around we managed to secure reservations at Guadalupe Canyon, a bonafide palm oasis complete with at least 30 carefully engineered soaking pools in a remote corner of northern Baja.  The trip would also provide an opportunity to visit Sara's family in Calexico (where we crossed the border) and my grandparents in San Diego on the way home. More than anything I was excited go somewhere new. Sara was sick to the point of being speechless, but we had reservations to keep. The border crossing was uneventful. We drove out of Mexicali as fast as we could, headed down the new highway westward toward Tijuana. Through a slight pass in the range I could clearly spot the surface rupture for the 2010 El Mayor earthquake, as crisp as if it happened yesterday. We turned off the highway and on to the Camino Salto, the Salt Road. This free-for-all stretch of ruts crossing the length of the Laguna Salada was easily the best road I've driven in Mexico. This natural road was free of rocks and easily allowed speeds over 60 mph. I was pleasantly surprised to make such good time. Turning off this silk road, we then crossed sand, washboarded fan, and then very rocky canyon bottom to approach the hot springs. Before long we were checked in and exploring the oasis. Nice spot!

We reserved the La Cabana campsite which had a primitive hut to sleep in, a shade area perfect for my hammock, a kitchen area complete with sink, and like all other campsites, our own private soaking pool. The pool was well designed to allow temperature to easily be adjusted by draining from the bottom or regulating the hot water input. It got cold at night, but could have been much worse given the time of year.

The next day I went for a solo hike up the canyon. The trail is excellent to the first waterfall, then slightly less excellent to the next. Beyond it was much more adventurous rock hopping and traversing, particularly challenging to keep my feet dry. For the first time in a long time I felt unleashed. It was great to be out hiking at my own pace and in my own style.

        First falls (I ultimately scrambled up the right flank of Cerro Rasco on the horizon)

The third major falls was particularly beautiful with one of the largest and deepest pools I've ever seen in a desert canyon. What an amazing place in summer I imagined. I rusty bolt at the top indicated like-minded individuals passed before me. I continued on a further distance than I thought I would, overcoming a few overgrown stretches to reach another gorge. Wet feet and delicate climbing would be needed to continue so I decided this a good place to peel out the canyon and head for Cerro Rasco. I scrambled up amazing benches and hanging gardens of succulents and cacti, gaining an ever improving view as cliffs appeared below and around me. I got up to some super fun climbing and less fun cacti avoidance maneuvers. I was making good time and the random cross country route seemed like it would lead me to the summit of Cerro Rasco. But then I stopped for lunch, figured Sara might want some company, and then bombed straight down back to camp.

Night 2 was even more enjoyable now that I had the hot pool fine-tuned to the right temperature. I managed to convince Sara to leave early the next morning, which proved a good idea. A one hour border crossing was vastly better than the three hour one if we had left later. We rounded the trip out with a lunchtime visit to my grandparents before driving for home to unpack and prepare for the start of the new quarter. I'm looking forward to some deeper Baja explorations.