Death Valley Mar 25-26

Ambitious spring break plans to go out on a solo road trip largely fizzled into a week of getting caught up on work and home, apart from a couple days camping with Heather's family at Furnace Creek. Temperatures were unseasonably exceptional with highs in excess of 104F, which made the middle of the day the best for driving or hiding in the shade or a pool. Relatedly I got a few small hikes in but it was mostly the roadside touristy variety. It had been over a decade since I had been to Death Valley proper so playing tourist was fine by me. 

The first day we hung out at the mesquite-shaded campsite, got pool passes for the ranch resort next to the campground to kill the middle part of the day, then went for a sunset hike through the Mesquite Dunes with Heather and Claire. Hiking through the dunes I particularly enjoyed the various creature tracks and sometimes following them back to their makers (frontispiece).

In the morning Heather, David, and I drove to Zabriskie Point and hiked through the badlands towards Golden Canyon. I enjoyed the many shifting views of the monument of Manly Beacon as we weaved through the drainages and crossed beneath its cliffs. Here I opted to let Heather and David do a downhill through-hike down to the Golden Canyon trailhead, while I ran up a maze of washes and loose slopes to cross-country back to the car drenched in sweat, then drove around to collect them.

Manly Beacon at right

Looking up at Manly Beacon

Back at camp we got organized to drive out to Ubehebe Crater. I was surprised to see that not only was Scotty's Castle closed but also the entire highway through the area, essentially making Ubehebe that much more isolated. Generally the storm damage in recent years has resulted in a lot of key roads and attractions still being closed years later. It was incredibly windy at Ubehebe, which would have been obnoxious except it helped cool temperatures to reasonable. I walked the rim up to Little Ubehebe craters as rogue clouds rolled in and provided wonderfully dramatic shadows shifting across the craters, nicely highlighting the fault that cuts through the crater walls. On the drive back I did a roadside stop to check out some healthy clusters of Cottontop Barrel Cactus.

After a stop at the store, we continued on to Devils Golf Course which I always enjoy, then on to Badwater. We did a quick drive around Artists Drive with a fairly obnoxious fancy 4WD tour crowding the road. The snowy peak of Telescope Peak towering about Badwater gave a dramatic sense of elevation.

Back at camp it was a roasting hot evening. Heather and I walked around the below sea level golf course, laid down on a putting green, and then check out some chunky toads. My plans to go backpacking into Panamint City the following day evaporated as Keith's plans to meet up fell apart. The wind and heat were both suitably obnoxious that I was wide awake at 4am, and feeling fairly defeated, drove direct on home. The cool cloudy morning I arrived to in Riverside felt a world away from the furnace of Death Valley. Thanks to Heather, Chris, and Terry for handling all the food and camping. Hopefully I will get another chance at Panamint City in the near-future.

Carrizo Badlands Mar 9

 

With a group of six, it was back out to the Carrizo Badlands for more mud cave survey and exploration, the third trip of the year. Heather and I arrived the night before for some cold camping, selecting a choice spot and then later being joined by Carol, then Carl. Fredrik and Rob joined at the trailhead and we all set off together.

We had enough people this time to split into groups and most of the way through the badlands, Heather and I split off to finish the survey of Five Star Cave while the others went to explore a new area with potential for a long cave system. 

Looking towards the two branches of Five Star Cave disappearing into the hill

The last passage left to survey was a fairly grim low crawlway to a submergence entrance. Heather lacked enthusiasm and I actually ended up a surveying it solo, slow progress for the short shots and a couple mistakes I made requiring some backtracking. At least the cool cave provided some respite from the sweaty outside world. Eventually around lunchtime I finished, adding 100ft of survey to get the cave to a total of 1487 feet in length, making it the longest mud cave in California. After completing our survey we went looking for the others but did not find them or their stuff at the entrances we expected. We did a pretty unpleasant angle of repose climb up a mud slope that Heather very much disliked. After that excitement and not feeling 100%, we decided to instead head back to the trailhead rather than explore further. The others ended up coming out much later and both groups surveyed though neither find a very high quality cave.

We decided to drive through San Diego for a change with a detour to Casa de Pico for some tasty Mexican food, somewhat marred by some extremely incompetent waiting staff. So all in all it was quite a lot of effort for very minimal surveying, but we did manage to finish the survey of Five Star Cave, the product of seven peoples efforts over three days. Later I drafted the map of what is currently the longest mud cave in California, map below.

Mecca Hills Mar 3

Heather was craving some more desert before things got too much warmer so we opted for a loop hike through slot canyons in the less visited portion of the Mecca Hills east of Box Canyon Road. After parking in the roadside pullout we slogged through deep wash sand, past some neat outcrops of soft-sediment deformation, to finally reach the trail that would climb up to the saddle. Here a clear day gave us nice panoramic views of the barren badlands and the Salton Sea beyond. Down the other side we followed the ridgeline and then cut down to what is left of Sheep Hole Oasis, now four palm trees and no surface water.

In the main wash we past a group of backpacking boy scouts hiking out from an overnight, the only people we saw on our hike here. As the wash narrowed we enjoyed the great exposures of slickenlined fault planes and the tall cliff with its buttress unconformitied sediments resting against multi-colored basement metamorphics. Past some neat bedrock amphitheaters, we reached the subtle entrance to the slot canyon here. As previously it started with an option to either do an awkward boulder climb or a sneaky crawl to get into it. Once past this gateway obstacle the slot was every bit as good as I remembered it with sinuous curves, multiple shades of darkness, and a complex multi-storied maze of twisting rock above. Another awkward section got us into the deceptive slot branch. This was less dark than our previous trip here but we found a nice spot in the cool shadows for a snack and break before continuing on. Though this slot was easily the highlight, the darkness prohibited good photos. 

We continued up until the slot relented, then took the northern branch of the walled wash. This easily led us up out to a saddle where we could cross two drainages to reach the top of the wash draining into The Grotto. The scattered ocotillos were looking desiccated and thirsty but I did find one with unusually low flowers providing a rare closeup view.

After the one mile jaunt over the sparse landscape we dropped into the top of Grotto Canyon. We were quite surprised at how different this canyon was, presumably change driven by Tropical Storm Hilary in 2023. It still had some great scenery but there were several new rockfalls providing new challenges to navigate and the lower grotto section was completely different. Instead of a neat chamber followed by a ladder exit, the area above was filled in with rockfall such that we did not notice we were out of the slot until we were. 

We were doing pretty good on time so I was interested in going down the main wash and up a slot tributary to make a loop of the hike as we had done on our first trip out here. Keith had mentioned a tricky rockfall in the slot canyon, which I was expecting, but this proved to be a more formidable obstacle that I had planned with multiple levels through loose friable climbs, ball-bearing sand, and false floors. After leading Heather to the top of the rockfall pile I decided the descent was going to be even worse for her and so we retreated to go back past Sheep Hole Oasis and on to the car. We had just enough time remaining to grab a tasty meal in Palm Desert before driving on home. 

It was great to get in a ten mile hike and see the changes that had occurred. Overall though it was a much less satisfying, lower quality hike than our previous visit out here thanks to the many new rockfalls. What I had considered to be one of the best day hikes in the state has now been downgraded in my mind, but it is still a special place and a great choice to get away from people.

Agua Caliente Jan 31-Feb 2

This was already my third visit to the greater Anza Borrego area of the year with a fourth visit to soon follow. Whereas the other trips were focused on exploration and mapping of mud caves in the Carrizo Badlands, this trip had been planned nearly six months in advance as a chance to celebrate a milestone birthday with family at Agua Caliente. My parents joined myself, Heather, and kids to camp at two of the most primo campsites in the campground (124 & 126 for reference to future me). My sister and her family were set to join but bailed last minute due to lingering illness, which was incredibly disappointing. 

We managed to get an early departure from Riverside Friday allowing time to get settled into camp with my parents arriving shortly after. We ended the evening with a campfire and a dip in the indoor hot pool. Both nights were notably cold, but the days comfortable. Saturday we drove out to Arroyo Tapiado (popular!) to check out a few of the mud caves. We all went through Chasm Cave, which was a little rougher than I remembered (particular kudos to my mom for making it through). I then led the kids over the top and down the wash walls, which was a small adventure. We then checked out Plunge Pool Cave and my dad and I checked out Big Mud Cave. Arroyo Tapiado was busy (there was a group of 20 girls with their fathers and that was only the tip of the iceberg!) and Claire wasn't feeling great, so we ended up heading back to camp after those. 

Back at camp we had lunch and then a lengthy swim. Heather, my dad, and I then did the Moonlight Canyon Trail loop which I had never actually done before but enjoyed. It offered some nice expansive desert views and nice cholla patches. 

After dark there was a nice surprise in my brother rallying to come out to spend the night while he was still briefly in-country between trips. It was nice to spend time around the fire with everyone, enjoy some birthday cake and cheap champagne, and go for another relaxing soak in the indoor hot pool. In the morning Claire was still feeling lousy and so we ended up packing up and heading out early. We were thwarted by some accident in inland Temecula that had us at a standstill for about an hour but eventually made it home. So it was a pretty mellow weekend and was not everything I hoped it would be after months of anticipation and planning. I was glad to be able to share a favorite campground with my parents and brother and was glad they enjoyed it and my parents seemed interested in revisiting. Thanks to everyone for coming out to celebrate, especially Heather for planning.

Pisgah Crater Jan 25

Every time I teach the hundred-student intro geology course I offer an optional field trip to give the keener students a chance to get out of town and ideally spark some curiosity, fascination, and interest. Over the years I've adapted the strategy somewhat, stepping back from more ambitious field trip itineraries and moving the trip towards the start of the quarter to get the students to open up in class and labs earlier. My go-to has become Pisgah Crater and the Lavic volcanic field, which is well suited for covering topics covered in lecture and allowing open exploration. At about a 2 hour drive from Riverside, it makes for a manageable day trip and a unique experience for the students. Typically I get about 20 students sign-up and 10 that actually show up but this time I managed to get 20 students appear. This time around the mine at the crater seemed inactive with plenty of boy scouts camping nearby, but we still parked near the gate and walked around the cinders then worked our way across the lava with some lecture stops along the way. Though the lava flows here are thousands of years old, the desert environment preserves the intricate flow features well enough that the students can directly relate what they see to footage of recent Iceland eruptions. I led the way to SPJ Cave, one of the longest lava tube caves in the field where I deployed the extension ladder I brought for students to climb down into the tube to explore. 

The students seemed to have a good time branching out to explore some of the different passages in SPJ in both the downstream and upstream directions, with a few students managing to find the small manhole-sized backdoor entrance upstream. The light beams coming into the main SPJ entrance were the best I had seen and students seemed to enjoy taking their selfies and poses.

Once they were satisfied with SPJ, we snacked on the surface and I gave the students a choice of what to do. Surprisingly this crop of students was keener than previous years, with all opting to explore more of the lava field. Two groups set off with one group more interested in checking out some of the other lava tubes and summiting the crater rim and the other group nearly as ambitiously circumnavigating the crater following rough wasteland flows. I followed the lava tube group past Suicide Bridge, into the back of Glove Cave, and up to the crater rim (windy!). 

Around 2pm we all assembled at the car and worked our way back, the traffic mostly forgiving thanks to my decision for a Saturday field trip. All in all the trip seemed a success and everyone seemed to have a good time. One student even made two more trip out there on their own with friends since! Thanks especially to the grad student helpers I had.

Carrizo Badlands Jan 18-19

With so much more mud caves to survey, several of us rallied for a second time in two weeks to head into the Carrizo Badlands. This time to make the most of the time constraints we had, Heather and I backpacked in Saturday with the plan of doing some mop-up survey in Chaos Canyon and then meeting cavers to survey another nearby cave I had tentatively been referring to as Five Star ("*****") for the 5/5 rating I gave it for its length and overall quality, not with any intention for that to be its final name. Anyway a chill morning and drive got Heather and I backpacking in the mid-afternoon. The temperature was pleasant but with the weight of lots of liquids I soon got sweaty. We did my cross-badland traverse route in 2 hours, smooth other than plenty of grumbling from Heather at the steep and loose slopes. 

We dropped all our gear at the Chaos wash junction then strolled up to the Chaos Canyon North caves. After a quick crash course in surveying for Heather, we finished surveying the second cave. I scouted the third cave (not particularly comfortable dimensions but worth surveying) and then we surveyed up through the top of it. The bottom half of the cave was mostly knee-crawling on sharp rocks, then after a short boulder climb the cave changed to follow a moderately-dipping oyster bed to its top entrance. We wrapped the survey around 6pm, (completing the second cave's survey at 275ft and the third one at 98ft) and worked our way back through the cave to set up our primitive camp on the sharp shell-crete floor and satisfy our grumbling stomachs. A canned margarita, hot meal, tiny fire, and bright stars made for a very pleasant (if cold and desolate) evening.

Overnight the temperatures dipped much lower than the 45F forecast and probably approached freezing. Relatedly we were a little slow to get moving until the first hint of sunlight dipped into our wash. We packed a daypack, leaving the bulk of our gear for the hike out, then walked down the wash towards Five Star, leaving a few notes on flagging for our friends to find us (removed on the way out). Heather and I went through the main passage of Five Star to the top entrance, then went overland around to the lower entrance. 

After a snack and water we started surveying in from the lower entrance. About 9 stations in we heard scraping noises, surprising in that they were in the upstream direction. It turned out to be Fredrik, Carol, and Carl (once again two cavers bailing last minute). They followed us out to the lower entrance to say hello and come up with a plan. I had briefly called the cave Carrizo King (as likely longest in the area), but was quickly vetoed with the others actually preferring Five Star Cave and so thus it was officially christened. Happily, Carl had an all digital surveying setup like me so I knew that would help a lot with efficiency. I led them partway around so that they could survey in from the top entrance and we could continue our survey up towards them. All-in-all the surveying went smoothly and we ticked off all side leads in our section. Partway through there was a dramatic meander cutoff where about 50ft of passage was shortcut but cutting 2ft through a wall. At our station 26 we joined their station 26 to tie-off the main passage survey of about 750ft. Excellent! Regrettably all this productivity meant no photos though.

About 2:30p, Heather and I were out of time and needed to start heading back. Carl, Carol, and Fredrik rallied to survey the side branch passage as we took off back for our stashed gear. The report I later got was that they surveyed another 280ft with two leads and more cave to come back to. So as I guessed and hoped we managed to find a cave over a thousand feet in length, a notable milestone for mud caves most places! Heather and I had a less eventful hike out, taking 1hr50min to reach the car. We battled recreational vehicle caravans on the drive back and excitedly wolfed down dinner in Temecula.

Thanks to Heather, Carol, Fredrik, and Carl for some productive surveying. I guess we have to go back to finish! And then comes the real fun of compiling the surveys and drafting the caves. Below is my finished map of Chaos Canyon Complex.