Bear Creek Ridge

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY SIX

Yesterday when I hiked up the Boo Hoff Trail I looked and saw what seemed to be a trail on another ridge. The location would be a good place for a trail, above the Bear Creek drainage. It would be a good spot for a trail because there is a palm oasis in Bear Creek but accessing it requires a difficult climb up the creek bed. Going up a ridge would much easier.

When I leave the wind is gusting. I hate the wind. Give me rain, snow, heat or freezing cold. All those things are tolerable without the wind and unbearable with it.

At least the front that is causing this crazy wind is being held at bay. There would be no exploration possible if it were raining.

I get out to the entrance of Bear Creek Canyon-when was the last time any bears were here?-and find there is NO way a trail goes up from here.

However, it is possible to get up on the ridge a little further up canyon.

Does this look like a trail? It could be. Maybe. Sort of.

If it is, it quickly disintegrates into a rocky trail-less slope.

I get up the hill a bit but any sign of a trail is unapparent.

I get well above Bear Creek Canyon and a large dry fall that is a formidable obstacle to those going up the canyon. I know. I've done this whole canyon before.

Above the canyon is what could possibly be a trail climbing out of the canyon. I'd like to follow it further but the wind up here is horrendous. There are gusts exceeding 50 MPH and I have to squat in order not to be toppled over. I also need to get back before dark. I do not want to be up here after dark. With steep, loose, rocky slopes and deadly drop offs that is not a place I want to be without sufficient light. Even though I brought a headlamp, I plan on using it in the canyon and not up here. I didn't find what I was looking for but I found enough to make me want to come back...on a nice day with plenty of time and no wind.

Water Canyon

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR

This morning my schedule forced me to get up early and do my hike before taking Nikolas to school. I don't like it this early but you do what you gotta do.

I don't often enjoy it but the sunrise sure is purdy.

I hiked up to some water tanks yesterday so today I headed over to another spot where water collects to see how it looks. Over twenty years ago when I hiked this trail it was faint and rarely used. Now, there's a sign and a fair amount of traffic although this time of day it's pretty deserted.

Kahlua and I have the place to ourselves.

One of these days I'm going to follow this canyon to the end but today we're just going to see if there's any water.

Someone has built this little dam but with a sandy bottom there's no chance for any water to stay for long.

Above this first dry waterfall is a tank that should have some water.

There's a significant amount of water in this tank and Kahlua says it's really tasty, too.

There may be more water further up this canyon but Kahlua, while a good hiker, isn't much of a rock climber so we'll have to stop here.

The Same But Different

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN

I get bored doing the same hike over and over again. If I had my way I would do 365 different hikes this year but unfortunately time and money do not allow it so I've had to repeat some hikes. When I have to do this I try to make it a little different by taking someone else along or adding a new section to one I've done before. Today I did both of these, sort of.

I did this trail near my house and took Kahlua along. What was different is that we came back a new way that we've never done before.

We get to the trail junction and take a right.

I'd like to go left again soon and go to the end of some of these canyons. I've been up there but not to the end. I know there's something cool up there, I just know it.

By going to the right I come to a big wash and this will be our return route. I've never done this before so I'm excited to see what's down here.

The wash narrows and heads down this little dry fall.

Kahlua takes one look at it and says, "What are ya, nuts?". I ain't going down that. I call her and grab her collar but she jerks away. I head down alone and figure she'll find her own way.

I had no doubt. That dog is a good route finder.

We get to another section where the wash narrows and goes through some rocks.

I'm kinda worried about this one. I think the fall might be bigger and the detour longer.

I was mistaken about the difficulty. It wasn't nearly as tough as I thought it would be. Kahlua even wonders what's taking me so long. I don't have four legs, OK?

This rock stands out to me because it's almost a perfect cube. I want it in my yard but it's a little too heavy for me to carry home.

It must have stood out to some earlier visitors because I find a pot sherd not far from this rock.

And a few more close by.

As we near the end of our hike we come across these tools and wonder if a mystery trail maker left them here.

It looks like trails aren't what they're interested in but these crazy circles. I figure that's OK because who really needs a trail anyway?

Bear Creek Canyon, South Fork, La Quinta

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND ONE

I want to be a morning person, I really do but it's more difficult than anything I've ever done. My body just doesn't want to cooperate. I wanted to get up and hike up to the Bear Creek Palm Oasis but I couldn't drag myself out of bed early enough to be able to make it there and back. So I did something else. It happens a lot.

I headed up the Bear Creek Wash and got to where the trail heads up to the oasis. Instead of heading up the trail I just went straight into the canyon.

The canyon narrows and a large canyon--the main Bear Creek drainage--takes off to the right but I again just go straight.

The floor of the canyon is dry but there is water beneath the surface. This mesquite is a good indicator of subsurface water. It also makes passing through here tricky and I get pricked trying to crawl under the branches.

If the mesquite weren't enough to foretell water, this palm is. Palms have very shallow roots and require constant water to grow. There probably isn't much water, though, because this is the only living palm in the canyon.

A dry waterfall blocks my path and I wonder if I'll have to leave the canyon to get around it.

But when I get closer I find it's not that tough of a climb, only about fifteen feet. This is the view from the top.

This second dry fall gives me pause.

But only for a second. It's not too tough, either.

After a couple more dry falls--the last which was impassible--I head out of the canyon and take the overland route back to the car. Even though this wasn't the hike I'd hoped to do it may have actually been more fun. Being in the canyon helped because it was windy today and climbing those dry falls was really enjoyable. I may have also spotted another Indian trail but that will have to wait. There never seems to be enough time to do everything I want to. I guess I'm just gonna have to get up earlier.

Social Climbers

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY NINE

I actually started to do two hikes today but only completed one. It's a good thing, too, because if I had completed the first hike I'd have never taken the second one and that one was better.

I went this morning to go and hike near the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Visitor's Center. The weather was not too hot and I hadn't been in a couple of months. The last time I came there were still wildflowers in bloom. Not so this time.

I forgot my hat at home and so slathered myself with sunscreen and hoped I wouldn't get too cooked in the time I would be out. This trail was originally created for people to walk their dogs on after they got booted off the Art Smith Trail but the Bighorn Institute complained about it being near their facility and so now dogs are stricken from this trail now, too. I didn't get too far when the batteries went dead in my camera. No hat, no dog, no pictures: that's three strikes so I'm outta here.

Later that day....

I decided to put my hike off til this evening. The sun would be behind the hill or some clouds so I wouldn't need my hat. I charged the camera batteries so I'd be getting pictures of the hike. I brought the dog. Also, some kids as well.

We went to the area near Lake Cahuilla where Ranch of the Seventh Range used to have a horseback riding stable. The shoreline of the ancient Lake Cahuilla is very visible in this spot. Nikolas had fun explaining to his friend, Jakob, about the ancient lake and how it once filled a large portion of our valley.

We hiked up the hill near these remnants of the old fence put up by the stable.

When we got to the top, we saw a trail heading up the hillside. This very well could have been an old Cahuilla trail. The trail doesn't look like one that a stable would want their novice horsemen using but you never know.

Looking down from the trail you can see how this must have once been a beautiful sandy cove at the ancient lake. Rather than trying to "save" the accidental Salton Sea maybe they should just fill it up again and make a huge lake. Sure, some farmland would be lost but imagine a freshwater lake twenty times larger than the Salton Sea. It would be the most popular destination in the world. Just let me buy some property here first.

We hike up the trail and then around the far end of the mountain. On the way back I ask the boys if they want to do a little climbing. Being boys they live to climb so I knew what the answer to that question would be.

As we make our way to the dry falls that we are going to climb, I notice another trail and figure this will be a good pathway down.

Nik starts the climb but soon realizes the hiking stick is not doing him any good. He would rather use his hands on the rock so he tosses me the stick. It's dad's job to carry all the extra stuff, in case you didn't know.

The boys quickly make their way up the rock and I follow behind. It may look scary but it's a pretty easy climb with ample hand and foot holds. I wouldn't let them do anything really dangerous without proper equipment. It feels exciting for them, though.

Nik supervises Jakob as he makes the crux move to the top. After topping out, we walk back down the trail I spotted and he back home. The trail is pretty eroded but passable. It was actually more treacherous than this dry fall.

It was a terrific little hike for all of us and I'm glad we got to do it on such a nice day. It was also wonderful to have a little company along. Most years you would never want to be out here in June but today it was perfect even if it didn't start out that way.