Cahuilla Canyon Palm Oasis

November 26, 2009

On Thanksgiving day I tried to eat myself to death. I almost succeeded, but not quite. In my state of over indulgence, I decided to take a little hike and try and get some of the mass quantities to start digesting. Calvin was up for joining me and so we headed out. We didn't have a lot of time, since it was getting late in the day, so we opted to check out a small oasis that I'd been to once before, but Calvin hadn't. This oasis is located in the Cahuilla Canyon, where we have done quite a few hikes over the years.

We started out from the road head, parking in a construction zone. I wasn't too worried, since I knew that no-one would be working this late in the day, much less on Thanksgiving.

Part of the new construction project

The first part of the hike goes up along a levy next to a condominium project, this part of the trail is really a road. You can see that lots of people like to take their dogs for a walk along this road and a few of them actually pick up after their dogs. Too bad it's not the more common. As the road bends around behind the condo complex, you arrive at the base of the hills.

Starting up the road

At the bend in the road, the regular trail goes up the hillside

The regular trail goes up the hillside, but we started out across the aluvial fan. There are some good examples of barrel cactus along through here, unfortunately one of the best ones has died.

Hiking across the aluvial fan

Soon we arrive at the base of a small hill, the regular trail goes on the left side of the hill, but our route takes us over to the right. As we head up the wash, the brush gets heavier and heavier and we find a use trail that starts up the hill. We diagonal up to the right, slowly working our way up to the top and then we go across a relative flat area and soon we are looking down into the oasis.

On the diagonal use trail

Looking down into the oasis

The last time I was at this oasis, there was a bee hive in the rocks, but they seem to have moved on. I am surprised that there are so many palms, it's been years, but I expected less than a dozen trees. We spend a little time looking around. I notice that the batteries are dying on the camera, so I had to be sparing with my photography. Since the sun is setting, we head back to the car.

Exploring the oasis

Enjoying the views

We took a slightly different route, which is worse while up on the hill, but when we drop down to the regular trail it gets much better. We stay in the wash instead of the trail, which is dusty, and enjoy rock hopping. Soon we are back on the road and then to the car. Not a very long hike, but enjoyable.

Back at the car, just in time

A short video of the hike

Ocotillo Wells With a Touch of Anza Borrego

Saturday, November 21, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTOPHER

While planning our outing for the day, Roy had some bad news, he had fallen and hurt his wrist. He wasn't confident that he would be able to belay me safely. I may not be a rocket scientist, but I knew that if my belay was unsafe, I didn't want to be climbing. We decided to go exploring. Roy had been visiting a friend who lives near Salton City earlier in the week and had done some exploring in Ocotillo Wells. He wanted to return since his friend had taken him out in a sand rail and Roy said they had driven so fast that he needed to return to see what the scenery looked like.

We left at our usual time and stopped for breakfast at the Travertine Grill, rated the best restaurant in the area. Then we headed out to Powerline Road and headed into Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area. I had heard of this area for years, but always was more interested in Anza Borrego State Park, which is next door. The main reason was that I thought that Ocotillo Wells was all about off road recreation and that all the really interesting stuff was next door in Anza Borrego. Well, I found out that there are a number of really cool things to see.

Our first stop was at Tule Springs, it's always a treat to find water in the desert and that's not all we found at this location. In addition to the spring and tule reeds, we found some ancient sea shells and a layer of sandstone with what appeared to be concretions embedded in it. After looking over this area we then headed over to the Gas Domes.

I was quite surprised when we got to the Gas Domes, they would be called mud pots in most areas, but the name doesn't really matter. They are fun to watch and wonder about. What makes them bubble? The story I've heard is that they bubble because of the high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the water. One would expect boiling temperatures to cause this phenomenon, but it's actually cold. The mud has a fine grain consistency and makes a very uniform layer on anything dipped into it, like my finger. After it dried I thought it would just flake off, but I ended up washing it off as it didn't come off on it's own.

Main mud pot at the gas domes, fairly active

Deep vent with bubble at the bottom

The least active, bubble wise

Dried layer of salts, sounded like potato chips when walking on it

The Gas Domes are popular with the off road riders

After looking around at the Gas Domes, we went over to the Artesian Well. Here clear water is bubbling out of the ground and someone found what looks like an old aircraft auxiliary fuel tank for the water to flow through. I couldn't think of any good reason for this, just an excuse to use the fuel tank. As we admired the Palm Trees that someone has planted next to the well, we noticed some rubbish piles in the area. We checked the piles out and found they consisted of bricks and a tar like substance with some wood, nails and other debris. We speculated that they must have been some sort of kilns, since the bricks had some sort of glaze on one side that seemed like a glass type substance. Another thing we found in the area was a mineral we thought was calcite.

Water bubbling up at the Artesian Well

We then headed out and found a test well site, it had the same materials that we had seen by the Artesian Spring, except there was no water. We then headed west to the Shell Reef. The Shell Reef was the most popular area we visited. It is the site for hill climbing and there had to be a hundred vehicles congregated for the fun. Off to the side and slightly behind was the actual Shell Reef. It is fenced off, like most of the sites we visited and is a pretty good climb to get to the top. Once on top we found a tilted slab of rock that is full of ancient sea shells. I had expected to find fossil shells, but the shells are not fossilized. The shells are packed in the layer of rock and mostly consist of fragments, but we did see some fairly intact shells. Once again, a special treat in an area I have long overlooked. On the steep downhill hike back to the car, we noticed a lot more fragments of rock with the shells than we had on the climb, go figure. We then decided drive over to the Pumpkin Patch.

The Shell Reef

Close up of Shell Reef

While en route to the Pumpkin Patch, we noticed that while most of the roads are well marked, there are a few exceptions, this means that we missed a turn or two. This turned out to be a stroke of luck. We drove a little farther than we had planned and ended up taking a drive through the edge of Anza Borrego State Park. The difference was quite noticeable. The park doesn't allow OHV (off highway vehicles), only street legal vehicles. It was very easy to see where OHVs had violated that regulation. I would guess that the park has more funds, the signs looked newer and in better shape. During this little side trip we drove through an area that reminded me of the painted desert in Arizona, lots of different pastel colors, pinks, purples, tans, greens, yellows and grays along this section. We then arrived at Una Palms which was, you guessed it, a single palm tree oasis. We continued on this road for a short distance and arrived at the Pumpkin Patch.

An example of the excellent signage in the area

Colorful formations en route to the Pumpkin Patch

Una Palmas oasis in the distance

I had been told that the Pumpkin Patch had a bunch of round rocks scattered around. That information was correct, but it didn't do justice to what we saw. The rocks were scattered around in an area that I would expect to be the size of a farmer's pumpkin patch, at least ones I've seen over the years. Not only that, but the rocks were about knee high, about the same as good sized pumpkins. This was the second most popular place we visited and there were even some representatives from the state park with a information booth. Booth being an Easy-up with a table under it. The two park representatives were providing information on the how the "pumpkins" are formed and answering most any questions one has about the area.

The Pumpkin Patch

The pumpkins are formed by a rock or similar object that is buried in the sand, rains come and cause chemicals in the sand to cement the sand particles closest to the object to that object, growing over time and then eventually becoming exposed as the surrounding sands are eroded away. The kiln sites were actually wells from the 1920s, when the oil companies thinking that the area was similar to the oil fields being discovered in the middle east, drilled for oil and surprisingly, found a little, accounting for the black substances like asphalt we found. There wasn't enough for commercial purposes. They also told us about some fish traps in the area, which we then decided to go see for ourselves. While I was talking to the young one, Roy got the directions from the older one. I think something was lost in the exchange.

Portable visitor center on the right

We left the Pumpkin Patch and headed out toward the wash where the fish traps were reported to be. We came to where I thought the turn was supposed to be, but Roy said no, it couldn't be the right place, although we found another Tule Spring. So we headed out to the east and Highway 86. We crossed the highway and headed south on the east side of the highway until we arrived at Campbell Wash. The directions were to drive back west under the bridge and follow the wash to the fish traps. I had some doubts about these directions, like how far or what landmark to look for to find the traps. I need not have worried, there was a four foot concrete wall blocking us from driving under the bridge. Of course we don't give up that easy. So we continued to parallel the highway south till we could cross over the road. This was no more than a mile south of Campbell Wash and we then headed west across the desert. The road didn't go west as much as it southwest over to a low lying hill. We arrived there and after a few false attempts realized that we were not going to find the wash and fish traps on this day. We decided that we had reached our turn around point and headed for home. We had the opportunity to see some special places and I plan on returning to find the fish traps some day.

With Albert & Kevin at Suicide Rock 11/11/2009

I got an e-mail from my friend Albert asking if I was going to have Veteran's Day off work. I checked and was finally able to confirm that I did and answered him. By that time he wasn't sure that other plans hadn't been made for him, but at the last minute (more or less) we agreed that we were a go. Roy suspected that I would try to hurt him like the Captain Hook climb, so he said he was busy and couldn't go. How can a retired guy be busy?

On the Veteran's Day we met bright and early in Beaumont and carpooled up to Idyllwild. It didn't look like very many people were climbing at Suicide, only one other car, so we parked and got ready for the hike. Of course Albert and his son Kevin had said all along that they wanted to climb at Suicide. We made the hike and soon were at the base of the Weeping Wall. For a warm-up I thought we'd climb Surprise, 5.8. Everyone was excited to go and soon we were geared up and ready to climb.

Kevin is ready to go

Albert is getting ready to go

Looking down the first pitch

Soon I'm on my way up the first pitch. Since I have done this climb already this year, I try to go on some variations and on this face, you can pretty much go anywhere with out getting into trouble on this first pitch. While at the belay I spotted one of the two climbing parties we would see all day.

Climbers by the dead tree

Looking up toward the top of the rock

Soon Kevin was heading up the rock. He moved right along and was up to the belay in no time.

Kevin telling me how the climbing on the first pitch was for him

Of course once Kevin was up, it was time to bring up Albert. Old dad showed that he still had it in him as he also motored up to the belay.

Albert about half way up the first pitch

Albert near the end of the first pitch, looking like a friction master

Even though the ledge was big, I wanted to get moving, maybe because it was a cool day. This was the first time I've climbed with a jacket since last winter.

Looking down from the second belay

The second pitch has the crux move on it and it was fun to try and do it just a little differently than my previous climb. After I reached the belay, then Kevin came up. He slowed down just a little for the crux, but not much.

Kevin telling me about the second pitch, he enjoyed the problem solving

As soon as Kevin was situated, Albert came on up, making short work of this pitch just like the first one.

Albert checking out the crux

Albert at the crux section

Albert climbing the crack near the end of the second pitch

Soon I was off again, leading up the third pitch. I didn't have much opportunity for variations on this pitch, but it was still fun. Soon I was up on top and Kevin was on his way up. He got stalled on a step out of the large groove and had to continue up the groove to the belay. He was a little hard on himself for not going the exact same way I went, but now he has a reason to come back.

I think that Kevin liked the climb

Albert climbing out of the groove

Albert near the top

Albert finished the climb and we headed over to the descent. Soon the rope was threaded and Kevin was rappelling down. We quickly made our way down, with stops to check out Paisano Pinnacle and Insomnia. Once at the base we had a light lunch and then headed over to the North end of the rock, since Albert wanted to look at The Flower of High Rank, one of the most beautiful climbs in Southern California.

Kevin on the rappel

The Guillotine flakes

Once we arrived at the north end, we checked out the Flower and then started to decide which climb we wanted to do. There was another party on Yours which had been my first choice, so with a little encouragement from Albert, I decided to try the Guillotine (Roy knew he didn't want to go). With great trepidation I started up. I made sure to put in plenty of protection and despite my lack of confidence, I managed to make the climb. There were no style points awarded.

I'm laybacking on the first major flake

Placing protection at the base of the second major flake

Lots of laybacking on this climb

Kevin on the slab at the base of the climb

Kevin laying away

Kevin problem solving

After I made it to the belay, I brought up Kevin and then Albert. Neither of them seemed as worn out as I felt. The temperature was falling by this time and even with my jacket on I was getting chilled. We made use of the new rappel anchors and soon were on the ground and headed back to the car. As usual, it was another great day of climbing.

Providence Mountains

I had an unexpected day off on November 2nd, so Roy and I decided to go exploring. Years ago, 20+ I heard about a cave that had been found with a small opening. The opening is too small to even stick your head in, but the cave then opens up and goes vertically down an unknown distance. I found the cave and looked at it a couple of times and then haven't been back since. I had told this story to Roy and he has been intrigued ever since, so much so that he has put together a remote video camera system that could be lowered into the cave to see if it goes around the corner and dead ends, or if it could be the next big thing.

We start before dawn and watch the sun come up on a beautiful day. We drove out to the Providence Mountains reminiscing about other adventures (or misadventures) we've had in the Mojave National Preserve. After about a three hour drive we were at the visitor center. We checked in the Ranger to let staff know what we were up to so they didn't mistake us for ne'er-do-wells. Hey, you can't blame us for trying.

Soon we made our way out to where I thought I would quickly find the cave and we started searching.
According to the park web site, they have big horn sheep at the higher elevations, I don't know about that, but it appears they have deer.

We wandered around the hillsides and bases of the cliffs, searching and searching. We found that the area is very rugged, but not the cave we were looking for.

There are other caves in the area, one of the more famous ones, besides the Mitchell Caverns, is Cave of the Winding Stair, it's easy to identify because of the locked gate.

We searched high and low, note our vehicle in the distance.

I did find some potential caves, but not the one I was looking for. I also found lots of cactus, I was able to remove about a half dozen cholla balls from my legs. Of course, lot's of cat claw acacia found me, I have lots of scabs to prove it. Next time I'm going to wear long pants.
The rock formations are very interesting, in this area the rock is limestone, which can be very sharp. In places there are intrusions called xenoliths imbedded in the limestone. After more hours than I care to remember (sort of) we gave up. The day before in Joshua Tree I had been unable to find the iron door cave. Now I'm beginning to have real credibility problems.

As we drove back out to the visitor center we noticed this dead yucca. I thought someone decorated it until I got a closer look, how weird is that?

This barrel cactus is competing for the most suckers, I counted at least seven barrels.

I love the views from the porch at the visitor center.

Another view from the porch.

A cave formation on the porch.

I always enjoy the Providence Mountains, but this visit was very frustrating for me. I now have a grudge visit, I'm going to find the cave. It's just a matter of time and of course that's the real problem, we never seem to have enough time.