Anza Borrego Dec 31-Jan 1

We spent New Years in my favorite way- away from the hoards, traffic, people, and parties- out in the middle of the Anza Borrego desert instead. We drove the scenic backroads of San Diego, stopping for lunch and pie at the quaint old gold mining town of Julian. From here the road dive-bombed down several steep grades on its almost 4000-foot descent into the Salton Trough. Our first stop was to see a neat little slot canyon in the Borrego Badlands (known simply as "The Slot"). Although short and crumbly, it turned out to be a neat little canyon complete with a couple spectacular chockstone arches. We spent some time climbing and exploring some of the side canyons before calling in time and finding our own way out of the canyon and back to the car. On the way we found a neat little patch of sandstone concretions, most perfectly round.

The next order of business was finding a camp spot for the night. We carried on the road near the slot canyon for a short distance only to find ourselves at the top of a "one way" jeep trail. I had a quick look- some of the largest car-swallowing moguls I had ever seen, on a 30°+ slope nonetheless. No thanks! We went back to the last road junction and headed further into the badlands. Just as dusk began to set in we found an offshooting road heading to a neat little granite mine in the side of a hill. We spent some time exploring this mine until we were both satisfied it was time to eat and set up the tent. We had a commanding spot over the badlands from our camp at the mine entrance, a perfect place to ring in the new year (we were asleep by 9pm!). The temperature was surprisingly comfortable through the starry night.

New Years Day we opted for a warm trail run to the Borrego Palm Oasis. It had been years and years since I had been here. I was not very surprised to see the trail had greatly increased in popularity but was surprised to the the oasis was in considerably worse shape. Apparently the canyon got reamed by flash floods in recent years- palms had been ripped out and the wonderful pools have mostly been filled with sediment. Nevertheless we found a nice hammock picnic spot in the main grove and enjoyed the cool shade of the trees before running back down the trail. We returned to LA via Warner Springs, another area of nostalgia for me.

        Big Horn Sheep in its element

        Happy new year and happy 250th blog post!

La Jolla Kayak Dec 30

Just a few pictures from a quick 90 minute kayak rental along the La Jolla coast of San Diego. Another beautiful day in Southern California, paired with clear and calm sea conditions. We kayaked past the famous sea caves (which looked disappointingly unimpressive to my biased eyes) and paddled over the kelp forests off of the cove. We saw several seals and over a dozen leopard sharks. It was good to be out for a paddle somewhere new, even if it was a short one. Thanks to the grandparents for a place to stay afterward.

 

Eaton Canyon Dec 26

What joy to be out of frosty New Mexico and enjoying a good old Southern California holiday heat wave! As it turned out, the day after Christmas Los Angeles boasted a record high temperature of 85°F! Perfect canyoning weather! This time Sara and I took my brother on his first canyoning trip. Although I had now been down several neighboring canyons in the area, Lower Eaton Canyon seems to have gained the consensus as the best canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains so it was one I was thoroughly looking forward to seeing. Unlike its neighbors, the canyon supposedly featured long sections of narrows, about ten abseils, and deep pools that offered jumps or slides (rarities in the San Gabriels). It is funny to me to think of the warnings from parents and grandparents to make sure I did not let anything happen to my brother when the one hour drive through trafficked freeways (something they deal with on a daily basis) was easily the most dangerous activity of the day.

Like all the surreal starts to San Gabriel canyons I have been to, we parked in a well-to-do suburban neighborhood at the northern edge of the Los Angeles Basin and began walking past the dog walkers, joggers, and bikers, our helmets and wetsuits curiously dangling out the side of our packs (although my third time doing this, it's still a weird experience). The resulting looks of confusion and worry are usually best dispelled by a friendly "hello" to passersby. We found the access gate to the old Mt Wilson Toll Road easily enough and began the long, switchbacked walk up past the fire station. Despite being early morning in mid-December, we roasted and sweated on the steep 2100 vertical foot climb. Through the haze and light smog we were presented with panoramic views of the Los Angeles Basin- we could see downtown, Palos Verdes, even Santa Catalina Island. Easily enough we found the old road (now overgrown and collapsing trail) which contoured in and out of a couple side canyons of Eaton Canyon. After a final descent down a loose slope, we arrived at the canyon bottom, a couple hundred feet above the first obstacle.

After a snack, we suited up and I gave the obligatory crash course in canyoning techniques to my brother. I braved the first slide of many- brrr! We may have been sweating on the way up but I could tell the way down was going to be cold. Sara and Michael followed after. The canyon was surprisingly playful and we found deep pools, slides and jumps in quick succession. My brother adapted quickly, finding his own jumps as we went. After a half dozen slides and jumps I was feeling impressed with the quality of the canyon but getting worried we were not actually going to have to do any abseils!

But then another turn in the canyon and we reached our first rappel. The canyon certainly had much more water than Little Santa Anita did a week before. Glancing around, I could see just how exciting this canyon would be to descend in high flow- a totally different beast. After the abseil we immediately had a fantastic 15ft slide into a deep pool- easily the best that we did. The canyon narrows continued to an impressive horizon line- carefully looking over the drop we could see we reached abseil number two, a beautiful waterfall plunging down a water-sculpted chute which poured into an overhanged pool (frontispiece). This was one of the more spectacular narrows in this canyon. After a few more short jumps and swims the canyon opened up and we had a long intermission of boulder scrambling (which thankfully warmed us up a bit).

The canyon then began showing signs of narrowing again. A few more short jumps and we saw the first (of many) signs of graffiti (the rest of the obstacles in the canyon could be climbed with logs or bypassed by use trails). This was particularly sad to see in such a beautiful canyon that felt remote up to this point. We worked our way down, noting that pools in this lower section tended to be filled in with sediment. Along the way we passed several enormous logs, a couple which were spectacularly wedged overhead from flood events.

Just when I was getting worried that the graffiti and trash meant no more abseils we found ourselves at the top of a very large drop. Worried that my 150ft rope might not quite reach, I briefed the other two on contingency plans before descending. As it turned out the length was perfect- the ends of the rope were 1ft out of the water on either side! Sadly graffiti covered nearly every rock and surface beneath this falls. After a fair bit of stream walking we reached another horizon line, this one our last. I peered over the large rock wedged at the top of the falls and had a very surprising sight- below were no fewer than 30 people staring back at me, mostly families out on a day after Christmas walk. I had not experienced such fanfare outside of Zion and it felt silly. I carefully rigged this last drop (Eaton Falls), making sure not to drop the rope on anyone's head. One by one we made it down and pulled the rope after. People had all sorts of questions about what we were doing! The rest of the walk back to car we wore our wetsuits as it was starting to get cool in the shadows- again lots of strange and worried looks dispelled by smiles and answering the occasional questions. My favorite from a youngster: "What are you doing?" "Going down all the waterfalls." "Why would you do that?"

Round trip took about 7 hours. It turned out to be a great canyon enjoyed with great company. If I ever did it again it would be in high flow conditions.

Little Santa Anita Canyon Dec 16

Back in southern California, middle of the winter, and its 80°F. Sounds like as good a time as any to take my sister down her first canyon. I chose Little Santa Anita because it sounded like a pleasant beginner canyon that has year-round flowing water. We left the house before 6:30p to miss most of the traffic (the most dangerous obstacle on this canyoning trip...), then drove the main drag through the quaint (for LA) town of Sierra Madre and on to a residential area at the base of the San Gabriels where we parked. The sun rose as we got our gear together and walkers greeted us as they passed. We walked up the trail which contoured into the Little Santa Anita drainage before steadily climbing. It was not even 8am and I could not believe how warm it was! I was sweating! We got expansive views of the enormous LA Basin as it faded into the smog in the distance before the trail finished switchbacking and entered a larger canyon. A well-marked trail led straight to the spring in the valley floor. I was delighted to see fresh flowing water- this canyon would not be as interesting without it. From here we strolled downstream for 5 minutes or so to the first obvious drop and suited up.

After a quick crash course in anchors and rappelling I descended the first drop followed by my sister. We easily got in the swing of things and descended several drops in rapid succession. The vegetation was pleasantly lush. It was just a shame the pools were not deeper and there was not more water in the falls. There was also a light use trail which spared us having to bushwhack at all. Between the warmth of the day and the knee-deep pools we really didn't need the wetsuits! Most of the drops were down waterfalls but there were also several awkward boulder choke rappels.

At the end of a nice succession of drops the water sunk into the bedrock and we walked along the dry canyon bottom, working our way past the first exit and several more obstacles. The grand final was a super nice chute waterfall (unfortunately dry) which descended into a fantastic pothole (also unfortunately dry). A few more small obstacles and it become obvious we were well overdue to remove our wetsuits. We walked out the very interesting Sierra Madre Dam and through some exceptionally fancy neighborhoods back to our car. We made great time and finished before lunch. Although it was my sister's first canyon she was a natural at at. Thanks to her for a fun half day out.

Gold Strike Canyon Dec 2-3

Las Vegas makes a convenient halfway point on the drive between Socorro and Reno, where I was headed to attend a mining conference. I started looking up cheap hotel rooms in Vegas when it hit me that there were perfectly good camping places near Vegas- much more appealing! A while back Sara and I went on a really pleasant overnight camping trip down the Black Canyon of the Colorado, which starts at the base of the Hoover Dam. The river just below the dam was moving so fast that by the time I looked at a map we had already passed a couple detours I wanted to take including Gold Strike Canyon and its hot springs. Now that I would be passing back through the area, I looked into how easy it would be to hike to the springs. It turned out very easy- a couple mile hike starting from a trailhead down the canyon itself so it would not be too much of a detour for the drive. Sold!

After an uneventful drive across Arizona, I reached the trailhead opposite the Hoover Dam access. This trailhead was disturbingly close to the Vegas superhighway and the tell-tale signs of broken auto glass had me a bit worried for my car. Luckily it looked like some friendly folks in a hippie bus were planning to camp in the parking lot which allayed most of my fears and I started walking down the dry wash a couple hours before dark.

How surreal this place was! The rugged volcanics smacked of a desolate and remote landscape yet it was impossible to go five minutes without signs of human marring- an enormous highway bridge plastered right over the canyon, wreckage of old cars, powerlines, graffiti, traffic noise, carved steps, trash, tourist helicopters buzzing overhead. Despite having the misfortune for being situated next to Las Vegas for the last hundred years, the canyon still preserved some of its beauty. Downstream the canyon walls continued to climb and narrow and several dryfalls and boulder chokes provided some pleasant downclimbing entertainment. The canyon abruptly opens up into large amphitheater-like area where several side canyons join. Downstream the canyon continued to narrow, and several large boulder piles were navigated.

Before long I began to see signs of hot springs nearby- minor seeps and travertine deposits. Sure enough just past the next boulder garden I came to the first of about a dozen hot pools in the canyon. This first one (below) was well built, crystal-clear, warm, and could probably fit about ten people easily. But it was only the first pool and I had more to explore. Downstream from this pool a small warm water stream formed in the canyon, which persists all the way down to the Colorado River. The canyon becomes lush and water ouzels called out for me to follow them. Presently I came to two more nice pools before continuing downcanyon to a boulder choke where the canyon takes a narrow turn. These were my favorite hot springs and I would end up camping here for the night. A rope led down a sloping boulder to a ledge between two beautiful pools- on canyon's left a crystal-clear lukewarm pool, on canyon's right the cave pool, where I would soak much of the evening.

I had another 30-40 minutes of daylight so I continued exploring down the canyon. The going got rougher (lots of boulder scrambling) and for about 10 minutes there were no more good soaking pools. Then I came to the second group of hot springs, collectively referred to as Nevada Hot Springs. The upper pools was most impressive- a high-volume 5 foot-high hot waterfall poured into a deep (6 feet?) crystal clear pool with room for 20. This pool was almost too hot, and the chain of pools downstream suggest that other people had thought the same. As the canyon takes a turn to the left, copious springs emerge from the wall on canyon right making a hanging garden of sorts. Another five minutes of obstacles and I was at the Colorado River. The sunset was just beginning to kick in so I quickly dropped my pack and readied my camera and tripod. Hoover Dam was just out of view but I got a rather nice shot of the bridge downstream in sunset pinks. I explored the sauna cave upstream briefly, put my headlight on and then slogged back up Gold Strike Canyon to my chosen campsite next to the cave pool.

The cave pool (frontispiece) had old sandbags blocking a channel between two rocks which created a 4-5 foot-deep pool, 5 feet-wide by 14 feet-long. At the back of the pool was a dark and narrow crack. Probing with my light I realized there was a room beyond and it would be possible to swim under the narrow constriction to emerge into this secret sauna. The walls were adorned with creamy-white calcite and the water temperature was noticeably warmer. That was the best part about this pool- you could find the perfect temperature by moving forward or backward in this pool. It made for one of the best hot spring soaks I have had in a while. I would like to say the stars were amazing but the reality was that the lights of Vegas bleed their way over my head. Nevertheless, it was a remarkably warm and pleasant evening. I slept out on the ground with my sleeping bag lightly draped over me.

I awoke bright and early to the dawn flights of helicopters. I had a mandatory soak in every pool upstream before hiking back up to my car, picking up abundant trash along the way.  Gold Strike made for the perfect overnight stay for me and I piled back in my (unbroken into) car feeling much more refreshed than if I had slept in a cheap Vegas hotel. The drive across Nevada was very eventful! After negotiating a head on tumbleweed storm I crossed one of the high passes and the entire northern half of Nevada I drove through heavy snow and ice. At one point I lost control and skidded off the highway. I shifted the car into 4WD-L and remarkably got back on the road without further incident. I ended this most stressful drive at a friend's warm place outside of Reno. Thanks to Jim for that.