How to Climb Mt. Whitney

So, you’re looking to climb Mt. Whitney? If so, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve climbed Mt. Whitney a number of times – without snow, with snow, on the mountaineer’s route, on the Mt. Whitney trail, under sunny skies, and under cloudy skies with thundersnow. I’ve seen bears, lots of marmots, and all sorts of hikers, mountaineers, and climbers. While I’m not going to say that I’ve seen it all, I’ve seen a lot, and I’ve written a lot, and since I’ll be talking about Mt. Whitney tomorrow on IIAWT, this is a great time to recap all of the resources that are present on this site (and off this site). So, without any further ado, if you want to know how to climb Mt. Whitney, here’s what you need to know!

Alpineglow, Trail Camp, Mt. Whitney, 2007

What Is the Mt. Whitney Trail?: Lucky for you, if you need to start at the very beginning as to what the trail is and where it takes you, I talk about that right here.

Permit Process: Yes, Mt. Whitney requires a permit for the peak season (from Memorial Day through October). If you’re looking for tips and tricks as to how to get a permit, get some great insight from me here as to how the permit process works, and how to get that elusive permit if you need it. And, if you’re interested, go straight to the source here, and see what the Forest Service has to say.

Gear Lists: In case you’re wondering what to take, check out my gear lists for a multi-day climb; or my gear list for a single day climb.

Trip Reports: Check out my trip reports from 2013, 2012, and 2010. And, if you are looking for current Trail Conditions, Whitneyzone always has great trip reports and is a great resource for the casual or serious climber year-round.

Trail Hazards: Yep, Mt. Whitney is the largest peak in the continental 48 states. While I can’t predict exactly what you will encounter on the mountain, you should be prepared and aware of the dangers of altitude sickness, untreated water, dehydration, heatstroke, and hypothermia. Placing all of those scary things to the side, you should also know how to protect your food and store your food both in the car and on the trail to avoid problems from hungry marmots and hungry bears.

Mt. Whitney, April 2013

Everything Else: Like most mountaineers, I have my thoughts about the sport, and how one should climb Mt. Whitney. While you can read it all here, what I think in short is that everyone needs to stay safe above all else, and enjoy what they are doing. Very zen indeed!

Finally, tune in tomorrow to In Ice Axe We Trust to hear more of my thoughts (if possible) on this subject at 8PM PST.

The Zen of Mountain Climbing

I’ve been heading up to Mt. Whitney on a yearly basis for a while now. I’m not quite sure when it started, because I have a love-hate relationship with the mountain. Every time I get there, I am amazed, awed, and thrilled to be there. Then, at some point on the climb, the positive emotions turn negative – I get tired, I posthole for a couple miles, or something minor happens and becomes frustrating. I then vow never to go back. After about six months pass I think to myself, “I should really go to Mt. Whitney”, and the cycle starts again.  This year, due to some external factors, I had to make my yearly trip earlier than usual (Last week, I talked current trail conditions here), and while I was climbing/mountaineering/hiking along, I realized that I had a tip to share about climbing Mt. Whitney. I’ve shared many tips, but the main tip, I realized as I sat under perfect blue skies at just above 12,000 feet on an icy slope, is that it is more than fine to turn around on Whitney, and in fact, turning around on Whitney, or any mountain, for that matter, can make your climb into a better experience – and not just for practical life-saving reasons.

Inyo National Forest, April 2013

Hear me out: I didn’t summit Whitney this year, and I don’t have a problem with admitting that, as it was one of my better climbs. I feel that this is what makes the difference between a veteran climber, and a novice climber. A novice climber feels the pressure of having to make the summit at all costs, and when they don’t, in my experience, they come up with the x, y, and z of excuses of why it didn’t happen. A veteran climber, on the other hand, simply states the obvious: that there were adverse factors, but admits that they personally didn’t get it done. To prove this theory, I need look no further than my last climb of Whitney. From two miles in, I had to find my own route; I was on ice; I was on snow; and there was a stiff, vigorous breeze that was pushing against me at around 25 mph; and in the chute, the sun partially melted the snow and slowed my progress to a crawl.

Mt. Whitney Trail, April 2013

Depending on how I tell the story; any one of those reasons could be used as an excuse as to why I didn’t make the summit. But here’s the deal: I got a late start. That was on me. I wasn’t moving as fast as I could. That was on me. I didn’t bring snowshoes. That was on me. Finally, perhaps my conditioning could have been a little better, because my conditioning could always be a little better. Those external factors? Well, it’s Mt. Whitney. In 2007, when I successfully climbed it with my group, I woke up in the middle of the night at Trail Camp, and headed outside. At that point, there were 35-45 mph wind gusts ripping down the mountain. The temperature? A balmy -1. The climb? Yeah, we made it up to the summit and back down the next day in those same winds. As for snow, I’ve seen more snow on the mountain in 2002, 2005, and 2010, just to name a few times.

As for the chute, in 2010, we made good, but not great time on our ascent, and got trapped in the chute in that same molasses like snow and ice – but we still summited. To top that off, on that same climb, we had to hustle off the summit to avoid an unexpected thunderstorm. That storm also dumped snow on us during our descent. All of that happened on June 21st – the summer solstice! My point? On Whitney, like any big mountain, there’s always going to be problems. There’s just no two ways about it. This is a true story: every mountain, including Mt. Whitney is always going to throw everything it can at you. The weather is always going to be an issue. The altitude is going to always be an issue. No matter how good your conditioning is, your conditioning is also always going to be an issue. The reason these things are always going to be an issue is because mountaineering – the climbing of mountains - is challenging; namely because mountains themselves are large, immovable objects, and are inherently challenging. Mountaineering is meant to be a challenge. After all, it’s not sleeping. It’s meant to challenge every aspect of your being.

Mt. Whitney Trail, April 2013

This challenge is also what I’m talking about when I talk about the difference between novices and veterans. In my opinion, and not everyone may agree with it, a novice makes those excuses I talked about above, because they feel like they’ve failed the challenge of climbing the mountain. A veteran, on the other hand, understands this point: that the challenge is only failed if you endanger yourself; or other people. Whether you make the summit is immaterial. The challenge is how you respond to adversity – the mountain. Sure, the summit is the most tangible example of whether one completed – and rose to the smaller challenge; but the real example in my mind as a veteran climber of whether one has risen to the mountaineering challenge is whether one made it back down safely – irrespective of whether one has “bagged” the peak.

I turned around on Whitney this year, because I knew I didn’t have enough daylight left to summit and safely descend. Sure, I had the gear; and sure I had the skills. I also knew that I was the only one on the mountain that day. If something happened to me, and accidents do happen on Whitney, I would be on my own, in a bad way. I turned around because the challenge was to get down safely at that point, and come back another day. Sure, it was easy for me because I’ve been on the summit eight times. But, I’ll be honest: as a veteran, I would have turned around even with no summits under my belt, because the mountain is always going to be there.

That’s the awareness I’d like to leave novice climbers with: the mountain is always going to be there – but you won’t. If you’re in a spot where it’s “go” – or “don’t go”, give the “don’t go” serious consideration, because you can always come back. Sometimes, when you don’t go, as well, you not only place yourself in a better position in terms of surviving, you place yourself in a better position for appreciating what’s out there, and that’s what I’d like to leave you with. I don’t know how big the mountaineering community is world-wide, but I’d be willing to guess that even with the increase in popularity the last ten years, it’s still fairly small. We, as mountaineers are a minority of the populace. We are a community that will hike, climb, and yes, mountaineer into some of the remotest spots on the planet. These are spots that most people will likely never hear about; and may likely never see. These are spots that most people will likely never experience, even if they are popular spots like Mount Whitney. Irrespective of whether a far summit is achieved, we as mountaineers have a duty to appreciate what others cannot; and appreciate what beauty there is in the world.

So, if you are on Mount Whitney later this year, or on any other peak, and your trekking poles seem heavy, or your ice axe keeps sticking, stop, look around, appreciate the challenge, appreciate the environment, and appreciate the moment. Maybe you make it up; maybe you don’t, but the important thing is that you accept the challenge of returning, and the challenge of appreciating what you, and only you are seeing at that moment.

Current Conditions, Mt. Whitney Trail, April 8, 2013

First "serious" snow, near Lone Pine Lake, Mt. Whitney Trail, April 8, 2013

Every year, I like to take a trip up to Mt. Whitney, either to climb the mountain, or to hike around the general region, as it is stunning. This year, I had to make my trip a little earlier than usual due to a combination of factors; but also to get in some ice axe and crampon practice for my upcoming climb of Mt. Rainier, which my climbing and podcast partner, Matt Mills and I will be climbing the first week of May. If you’ve ever read my blog, you know that I always have additional commentary about things that I think about while hiking, which I’ll reserve for tomorrow; but for today, just the facts regarding trail conditions as of Sunday, April 8, 2013.

Trail Conditions: The road up to Whitney Portal is almost completely clear of all obstacles. There were some small rocks/boulders in the middle of the road; and there were some fresh rocks that fell onto the road during the day; but overall, the road is currently in excellent shape for this time of year. I didn’t get the early alpine start that I had originally planned, but I did get on the trail slightly before 6:00 a.m. At that point, it was around ~35 degrees at the portal, with intermittent wind gusts that were around 20-25mph.

Uphill section near/at treeline, slightly above Mirror Lake, April 8, 2013

As I headed up, I noticed that the trail is clear from the Portal to just before Lone Pine Lake. While there are drifts of snow in places before that point, the trail is exposed, and easy to follow. Both the creek crossings – Carillon Creek and the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek are flowing; but are not flowing high at this point, and are very easy to cross. Based on my observations and my altimeter, I’d say that what snow there is at the lower elevations is patchy coverage that starts around 8,800 feet, and it is melting fast during the day, and re-freezing at night. Other than a few drifts here and a few drifts there, there’s not really much for me to say about these lower sections, as they are in good shape.

Just past the trail junction for Lone Pine Lake, the snow goes from patchy coverage to what I would call 75%-100% coverage. From the junction, there is a snowfield that is present heading up the slope toward Outpost Camp. Enough people have passed through this area that the trail is readily apparent; although there are some “false” trails that head off to other areas at this point. However, once you enter the meadow that Outpost Camp is located in, the coverage drops substantially and there are plenty of spots to camp. It was at this point that I encountered the only two people I would see all day, who were just waking up. I spoke to them for about five minutes; but unfortunately didn’t get any great information out of them, other than that they had tried the Mountaineers Route the day before, and said that it was “too sketchy”. Unfortunately, they were very reticent to share any other details than that with me about the route, including the particulars of why it was “sketchy”, so rather than risk unknown problems, I elected to keep heading up the main trail.

Snow Coverage, Mt. Whitney Trail, April 8, 2013

Looking back down toward the Trailside Meadows drainage, Mt. Whitney Trail, April 8, 2013

From Outpost Camp, the switchbacks heading up to Mirror Lake are partially covered with snow, but the trail is mostly exposed. Again, enough people have headed up through this area that the trail is readily apparent. At the base of Mirror Lake, the trail is completely obscured, but there is a clear path through the snow past the lake. When I passed through, the lake was completely frozen; but in the afternoon, it had partially unfrozen. From Mirror Lake, the trail is harder to find; and I basically blazed my own way up toward the top of the granite block. As far as I could see, this seemed to be the stopping point for 99% of most day hikers, and a good portion of climbers not familiar with the area. From the granite block/treeline area toward Trailside Meadows, there was near total coverage of solid snow/ice. So, for anyone keeping track at home, I would say that if you are wondering where the real snow/ice is an obstacle, I would say exactly at treeline – between 9,500 – 9,600 feet. While there was snow before that as I noted, it was nothing that really slowed or hindered my progress. From this point, to Trailside Meadows, I was able to follow the “trail” based on a couple of markers; and my knowledge of the area. While there were not too many tracks, I left a clear set heading up.

Frozen Consultation Lake, Mt. Whitney Trail, April 8, 2013

At Trailside Meadows, I elected to head pretty much directly up the drainage toward Trail Camp; and while I did follow some of the trail, overall it was more expedient for me just to head over the snow/ice in this area as it was very solid in the early morning. It is worth noting that I wished that I had brought snowshoes, which I did not have, as they would have definitely helped my pace in the early going, and been a huge asset on my descent in the afternoon. Atop the drainage, I was able to pick up the trail heading into Trail Camp; and had some great views of the fully frozen Consultation Lake. As far as I could tell, there were no tracks heading through Trail Camp, so, unless it snowed Sunday night, mine are basically the sole set heading up toward the switchbacks. While there are some spots that a tent could be pitched in Trail Camp, overall, the snow coverage was pretty good.

Mt. Whitney Ridgeline, April 8, 2013

Heading up the chute, April 8, 2013, Mt. Whitney

Once past Trail Camp, I could see that while portions of the switchbacks are slightly exposed, the overall trail is still impassable due to the snow and ice that remains. Based on this, I elected to head up the chute next to the switchbacks, which I have done many times before. Slightly past Trail Camp, I put on my crampons, and was using my ice axe, which I would say are absolute necessities if you are attempting this traverse within the next six weeks. It was at this point, when I was heading up the chute that the lack of an alpine start came back to bite me in the butt. Despite the intermittent 25-35mph wind gusts coming from the West, the direct mid-morning sun on the chute made it an absolutely brutal slog. I made it approximately 75% of the way up the chute; and I imagine that had I not had to make it back to the Portal by a certain time, I could have made it to Trail Crest; but, I would strongly suggest that if you are attempting to summit via this route anytime soon, that you get an alpine start to avoid this problem.

At that point, due to my time constraints, I elected to turn back around, and was able to glissade part of the way back down the chute in uneven snow conditions; some slushy; some solid. I made good time back to Trail Camp; but from Trail Camp to about Lone Pine Lake, I was stuck in bad snow conditions, where I was postholing step after step. Again, this is where a pair of snowshoes would have really helped me out. Due to the soft snow, and frequent postholing, it took me a fair amount of time to cover this short distance that is not technically challenging or dangerous. While this portion of the climb was a little frustrating, it was a great hike/climb under mostly perfect conditions for this time of year. I was surprised to see so few people on the mountain; but this is something that I am sure will change quickly.

Summary of Conditions: patchy snow from 8800 feet on up; mostly total coverage from 9600 feet on up. Snow is solid in most places during the early morning, turning into soft/slushy bad conditions in the mid to late afternoon. I expect there will probably be one late season storm that rolls through, but overall, the melting season has begun, and the trail is starting to clear for what will no doubt be another busy summer!

Looking up toward Trail Crest, April 8, 2013, Mt. Whitney

In Ice Axe We Trust, March 2013 Recap

Humphreys Peak, Arizona

Ahoy-hoy listeners and readers! If you’re not listening to In Ice Axe We Trust (“IIAWT”), you are missing out! March was a great month of podcasts for IIAWT, and we had three fantastic guests, @jesthecc (Her website here), @jenniferwoods (Her website here), and Jonathan House (his website here). We discussed two big peaks - Mt. Humphreys and Mt. Hood; and had some fun debates along the way, including to trekking pole, or not to trekking pole - a timeless and eternal question.

March 13, Episode 5: Humphreys Peak, Arizona.: the IIAWT How-to climb guide. I previewed this episode here a couple weeks ago, but on it, we had two great guests, Jes and Jen, and we discussed all things Arizona, including its highest point. Catch it here, or on iTunes. (Update! Read to the bottom to learn how to make your own homemade Larabars, courtesy of Jen!!)

Mt. Hood, Oregon

March 27, 2013, Episode 6: Mount Hood, Oregon: the IIAWT How-to climb guide. We were lucky to have a great guest, Jonathan House, who shared his story of how he climbed Hood just last year; and in case you missed it, you can listen here, while viewing his fantastic photos here. This show had a great discussion of the considerations that go into roping up, and more importantly, which Oregon team you should root for in collegiate sporting events. Don’t believe it? Listen HERE, or on iTunes.

Coming Shows: We will be back on the air on 04/10/13 with another mystery guest or two, and we will be discussing thepeakseeker's climb of Mt. Hood, my time on Mt. Whitney, and our upcoming climb of Mt. Rainier. Stay tuned to us on Twitter to find out who or whom!

Giveaways/Sponsors: On March 27, 2013, we had a winner in our COLD giveaway, and it was WalkSimply, with her great story about encountering a snake on Sitton Peak. While we're not sure what our next giveaway will be, you can be certain that it will be interesting! If you’re interested in entering any contests or sponsoring the show, contact myself, or thepeakseeker, and be sure to tune in!

Recipe for Homemade Larabars:

Homemade Lärabars: Mango Lassi Bars

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unsalted almond or almond pieces (raw or toasted/roasted)

1 cup medjool dates

3/4 cup dried mango

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut (shredded or curls)

1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder (use up to 1/2 teaspoon if you love cardamom)

pinch sea salt

Line an 8x8 square baking dish with parchment or waxed paper.  First, pulse the almonds in a food processor (or a blender should work) until they are finely chopped (but not so much that you’ve created a nut butter).

Pour nuts into a bowl.

In the food processor (you don’t have to clean it out) add the remaining ingredients and process until you’ve created a uniform paste.  If you need to add tiny splashes of warm water to get it to come together, feel free to do so.  If your mixture has turned into a ball, turn the machine off and use a spoon to push the mixture back down into the blades.  

Add back the nuts and then process until it’s a uniform consistency again.

Press the mixture into your baking pan so that it’s even.  Dipping your hands into a bowl of water helps tremendously here.  Place the pan into the refrigerator for at least a half an hour to make it firm up enough to easily cut into bars.

Wrap in a cloth, or squares of parchment or waxed paper and take with you for your adventure on the trail.

Botanical Trail, Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve

Crossing Escondido Creek, Elfin Forest

On many shorter trails, I hear various derogatory comments from my fellow hikers, such as “This isn’t a hike, it’s a stroll” or my favorite, “You call this a hike”. Whenever I hear these comments, I always am tempted to pull these people to the side and ask, “So, you were with Edmund Hillary when he summited Everest then?” or utter any number of other pithy comments regarding their negativity. Sure, shorter trails may be easier, but they serve a great purpose: they allow you to enjoy being in nature. That for me – being in nature – is what hiking is about. Sure, there may be theoretical distinctions between strolling, walking, and hiking, but really, who needs to have these academic discussions when outside. Even more importantly, these trails provide a great introduction to the wilderness to innumerable people – young, old, and everyone in between. In my experience, I find that people ultimately enjoy the wilderness more – and appreciate it more when they are introduced to it slowly, versus throwing them into the fire on a fifteen mile uphill trek. A perfect example of an introductory trail is the Botanical Trail in the Elfin Forest, it is simple; but it has something for every level of hiker.

Passing through the Coastal Oak Grove, Elfin Forest

Directions: The Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve is located in Escondido, California. The reserve does a great job of providing interactive directions HERE, so there is no need for me to recreate the wheel. The trail leaves directly from the parking area; and returns to the parking area, as it is a loop trail. However, do note that the Elfin Forest is a popular destination for San Diegans, and the parking area is somewhat small. If you are visiting the Elfin Forest on the weekend, there may not be parking available in the lot; but do note that there may be available street parking along Harmony Grove Road.

From the trailhead, the trail winds along the Escondido Creek, and there is a small area near the beginning that has great views of the creek. At this point, it is definitely worth noting that this trail is interactive – the reserve has placed markers along the trail that can be followed in one of two ways – by the paper trail guide that is present at the location, or online via this link HERE. This is a great way to learn about Southern Californian plants, and the local ecosystem of the reserve, and personally for me, I think that it’s great that this can be accessed on your smartphone while hiking – it’s a great way to be outside and learning all at the same time. After a short distance, the trail crosses over Escondido Creek, which, depending on the season, may be flowing high or low. Once you are across the creek, the trail passes through a grove of Coastal Live Oak, before heading uphill. While this section of uphill is not as steep as the nearby “Way Up Trail”, it will definitely get the blood pumping.

Once past the uphill portion, the trail intersects with the “Way Up Trail”, and heads back down to cross Escondido Creek over the reserve bridge. Total, the loop runs for 1.1 miles, and is easy to moderate, depending on your skill level; and as I noted above, is a great way to learn about Southern Californian plants.

Tips: The Reserve has a great, new, high-tech Visitor Center that is also located in the Parking Area; and this is a must-visit if it is your first time to the Reserve. Finally, if you know me, you know that I like the weird and strange rumors about places, and Elfin Forest is a place that has plenty of rumors – read more about that HERE.

Spring Flowers, Botanical Trail, Elfin Forest, 2013

Lawrence Welk Caves a/k/a the "Hidden Meadows Caves"

"Trail" to the Lawrence Welk Caves

If you’ve ever read this blog, or stumbled across this blog, you know that I’m always up for an adventure and always up to explore something new. This last weekend, one of my alert followers asked me if I’d ever heard of the “Lawrence Welk Cave”. I was initially skeptical, because my memories of Lawrence Welk and the terrain surrounding the Lawrence Welk village were something like this; and while that is wholesome and fun for 1960, it doesn’t exactly scream adventure, unless we’re talking one of those creepy adventures where everything appears normal, but actually isn’t. Nevertheless, I’m always willing to admit that I’m wrong, and after a little internet research, it did appear that I was really wrong, and that there were some awesome caves there.

In fact, after reading the three trip reports (here, here, and here), I wondered why I had never heard of these caves, well, ever; especially as I have been exploring San Diego County for over twenty years. Even though I thought it was a little strange that I had never heard of them, I decided to head out to check it out. From the moment I arrived on site, and followed the directions listed, I realized why I hadn’t heard of it. As things turned out, I hadn’t heard of it for two reasons: 1) the caves were actually on private land; and 2) the caves weren’t that awesome (anymore).

"Trail" to Lawrence Welk Caves

This brings me to the main point of this blog: take everything you read on the internet (yes, even me), with a grain of skepticism, because at the end of the day, it’s the internet, and the information could just be wrong. Case in point: all of those “trail reports” above? They all repeat some variant of, “the caves are on public land”; “there’s an easement”; “it’s a nature reserve, totally ok to be there”. That is just wrong. How do I know it is wrong? I met the landowner, Mark, while I was passing across the route that was supposedly “public”. He specifically flagged me down to tell me it was his land. Now, while Mark turned out to be a very nice guy, and let me pass through his land (as I did not possess cans of spray paint), he had no obligation to do so – it is, and always has been his land. While you may read this and go, “hey, no big deal, why even highlight this as you got to go”, this is a big deal. While Mark was easygoing, take it from me, the LA, that most landowners –especially in rural areas – are not so sanguine about trespassers. More importantly, even though Mark was a good guy, that doesn’t give you or me the absolute right to go on his land – it’s his land. He has the right to regulate who uses it, and as I’ll detail in a second, his land has suffered due to the anything goes attitude of people getting information on the internet.

Some of the graffiti around the Lawrence Welk Caves 

His land has suffered because the internet is right about one thing: there are caves there. And, as I suspect, they might have been pretty awesome at one point. They are talus caves, like the Balconies Cave or Bear Gulch Cave in Pinnacles. However, unlike Pinnacles, they are on Mark’s land. Mark is one guy – he is not a private entity; he is not the state park system; and he is not the National Park System. He has not been able to protect the land from the depredations of hordes of people. People have come onto the land, into the caves, and have destroyed the area. There is no ifs ands or buts about it. The “trail”? That’s a foot trail that visitors have made. I’m sure Mark would be fine with that, if that was the extent of the damage. But it’s not. All along the “trail” is trash – mostly empty bottles, and I’d be willing to bet Mark would be fine with that too, if that was it. But then there’s the fact that from a quarter mile in, pretty much every rock has been defaced with some sort of tag – images, words, and more.

Unfortunately, it’s not just the rocks that have been tagged; it’s the trees too in a number of spots. Even worse, there was a specific area that had Kumeyaay Petroglyphs on it as well. That area? Gone. You guessed it, as it has been tagged over as well. I don’t know what to say about all this. Well, actually, I do. I feel bad for Mark – it’s his land, and no one deserves to have this happen to them. For all you people that say, “well, if he built a bigger fence, blah blah blah”, I have this to say: it’s his land. He shouldn’t have to take extreme measures to keep people off of it. That’s not his job. More importantly, I feel bad for the land. I feel bad for nature.

More of the graffiti at the Lawrence Welk Caves

You know why? This is a beautiful area: a canyon tailing down a hill; a creek; plenty of old growth oak and native chaparral. The rocks that make up the cave? They’re thousands of years old. The caves themselves? Something that’s formed over centuries. All of this? Trashed. That’s what I don’t really get – what inspires people to just flat out ruin a beautiful area, just because they can. It’s disgusting; but on the positive side, it makes me glad there’s National Parks and State Parks out there to protect things, because clearly, things need protecting.

As for the caves, here’s what I have to say: I debated giving directions, because of the massive problem of traffic and trash that previous blogs have created. Then I realized the obvious: whether I give directions or not, it’s not going to matter, because those posts are still out there. So what I will say is this: yes, there are caves. You want to explore them? Follow those directions in those posts; you can’t miss the caves, assuming Mark lets you cross his land. You can’t miss them mostly because there’s freaking arrows painted onto rocks leading you there. You need a map? Use this map HERE to navigate the caves. As always, be cautious when you’re exploring caves, because caves are dangerous.

But you know what? You want to be extreme? You want to do something really freaking extreme? Here’s a hint: it’s not this here. Something extreme would be to carry out trash from Mark’s land. Really. Something extreme would be to stop others from littering if you see them doing so, or defacing more rocks or trees. Now that would be extreme. Sure, nothing’s going to bring back the petroglyphs, and those rocks that were defaced? Probably ruined for a long, long time. But it would be nice, if instead of ruining this site further, the hiking community came together to help fix it. Now that would be extreme, and that would make this a bona fide secret that was worth keeping in the County.

Mortero Palms to the Goat Canyon Trestle

Picture 1, Heading up the wash near the "trailhead"

Yesterday, I built up the Goat Canyon Trestle as the best hike in San Diego County, and provided you with all of the relevant background information about why I thought it was, and all of the warnings about the hike. If you need a recap, click HERE for that recap. If not, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty about the hike: 1) Driving Directions; 2) The “route”; 3) My trip report and 7 tips about the route.

Driving Directions: If you are doing this hike, you are most likely coming from San Diego; and the best set of driving directions I’ve found from San Diego is HERE at this website. If you are unfamiliar with the area, the easiest way to find the turnoff to Mortero Wash is to take the first marked dirt road on the left immediately after the Border Patrol Checkpoint that has been set up on the S-2 North of Ocotillo. Alternatively, you can set your odometer to zero when you exit the I-8 at Ocotillo, and when you reach 9.1 miles North on the S-2, you will also be at Mortero Wash.

Picture 2, Midway up the first slope, looking back toward the Mortero Palms Trailhead

The Route from Mortero Palms Trailhead to the Goat Canyon Trestle: As I said yesterday, there is no “trail” that leaves the Mortero Palms Trailhead and takes you directly to the trestle. The best description (other than one’s found online) that I’ve ever read is in Jerry Schad’s Afoot and Afield, which as I’ve said before, is the bible of San Diego County Hiking. This is the route that I followed; and the route that I’m going to describe here in the next several paragraphs and pictures. As there is no “set” route, keep in mind that my directions here should be not taken as the gospel truth and that if you go, you should take a GPS and or map and compass in order not to get lost. Finally, in case you want more information (which is good); check out these trip reports here, here, here and here. I always say that more information is better, especially for a hike like this where there is no trail. And with that in mind, here we go!

The route leaves directly from the Mortero Palms Trailhead parking. From this point, you are going to want to head up the Mortero Wash to the North-Northwest. While the first .25 miles of the hike are flat (See Picture 1); the route immediately ascends up a boulder-covered slope that gains a decent amount of elevation quickly (See Picture 2).

Picture 3, that infamous "mid-route" area - can you see the foot trail from here?

Once you reach the ridgeline of the boulder covered slope, you will be atop a saddle that leads back up and over into a wash. In this area, you will want to bear almost directly west, where a nearly imperceptible foot trail leads up out of the Mortero Wash to a flat area. Good news: in this zone, there is a worn foot trail that you can follow for about .5 miles that will take you toward Goat Canyon. Bad news: even though there is a worn foot trail that takes you toward Goat Canyon, it does require some routefinding (See Picture 3). During this stretch of trail, you will head through the remainder of Mortero Wash, and then up and over a “pass” that will leave you in a desert alpine area, with great views of the surrounding area of the Anza-Borrego Desert for about .25 miles, before you will descend into Goat Canyon.

Once you enter Goat Canyon, you are only a mile from the actual trestle. This, however, is another good news/bad news type of situation. Goat Canyon is rugged terrain, and you will be traversing over rocks or brush for almost the entire mile to the trestle (See Picture 4). Once you are approximately .25 miles from the trestle, you will see two things: 1) the trestle itself for the first time; and 2) a large steep dry waterfall.

Picture 4, Some of the terrain in Goat Canyon

With respect to the first thing, enjoy the view, as it gives you a great perspective of the engineering skill it took to build the trestle. As for the second, you will know you are at the dryfall because you will be standing on it, and it is a steep steep drop that you cannot downclimb without a rope (See Picture 5, looking up at the dryfall).

At this point, you will want to detour slightly south along the dryfall, before downclimbing a fairly steep talus/dirt slope. While you don’t need a rope for this portion of the hike, you will want to be fairly careful about your footing. (See Picture 6 – great shot showing the perspective/size of the climb & people). Once you are at the base of the dryfall, where you are going is obvious: follow the remaining talus slope down to the trestle. This section is also fairly steep, and covered with loose rock, so again, watch your footing. (See Picture 7, looking up into Goat Canyon from the trestle to the dryfall). At the base of the canyon, you’ll have a great view of the entrance to the prior Goat Canyon tunnel that collapsed (See yesterday’s post); and can then cross the trestle if you want (See Picture 8).If you are an in-and-out hiker, you will probably check out the trestle and then head back for a strenuous four (4) mile roundtrip hike. If you’re like me, you’re going to want to explore around.

Picture 5, Looking back up at the dryfall, Goat Canyon

Last Adventurer’s Trail Report and Tips: I did this hike with my good friend Jaime Hernandez of off-road.com (check out some of his work here and here) and his always reliable Land Cruiser. In terms of exploring the desert, I knew Jaime would be a more than reliable partner as we’ve had a number of adventures together from climbing San Jacinto, Rogers Peak, Mt. Whitney, and finding the Blue Sun Cave. We got an early start one Sunday in March, and headed out to the Mortero Wash, as described above. While the wash is rated as a 4WD/AWD trail, I would say that 90% of it is passable by a standard drive car, mostly due to the heavy off-road traffic that the wash experiences that packs the wash into a fairly solid dirt “road”. However, there are two exceptions that require AWD/4WD: first, when crossing the tracks at the old abandoned Dos Cabezas Railway; and at a mile past that crossing.

With respect to the first obstacle at the railstation, the crossing is a man-made ramp of old railroad ties over the tracks. While a workaround probably could be found; the second obstacle a mile later, of several boulders, does not have a workaround. I seriously doubt that anyone in a standard drive car could make it over the obstacle without suffering catastrophic vehicle damage. This is only my opinion, so if you want to try it, be my guest, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. As we were in Jaime’s Land Cruiser, we had no problems at all traversing either obstacle.

Picture 6; looking down Goat Canyon toward the Goat Canyon Trestle; the descent is steep. Shot by Jaime Hernandez

As for the hike we had a great time, and it took us most of a day, and here are my tips. Number One: enjoy the flat stretches. No, really. The first section of the hike up the wash? Enjoy it. This, along with the section of trail in between Mortero Wash and Goat Canyon, when you are crossing a meadow, are the only stretches that your legs can relax during, as you will not be either: a) bouldering up; or b) bouldering down. Number Two: when you park at the trailhead, there is a wash right in front of you, tailing off to the North/Northeast. This is the Mortero Wash. To the South-Southwest, there is part of the range of mountains, and a slot canyon. Toward the West there is a low cluster of hills that heads up into the mountains. From the parking area, you want to head down the wash to the North, before following it up into the mountains. You do not want to follow the slot canyon that heads to the South-Southwest. We received this tip from some departing hikers, and it was a great tip, so that is why I am passing it along to you.

Picture 7, the route up Goat Canyon from the Goat Canyon Trestle

Number Three: know how to use a map and compass or GPS. Really. I know I keep hitting this in both posts, but it’s important. There is no maintained trail. The route finding, even with all of these descriptions, online and off, is tricky. While someone has flagged out portions of the route, you cannot count on relying on these flags, as they are sporadically placed, and may not be there when you are there. You also cannot count on relying on directions from any blog, even mine, as if and when you get lost, your “guide” – the blogger – will not be there! I’m also hitting the map/GPS point hard, because even I got slightly lost on the return back to the car.

While we weren’t lost, we were off-route. You can call this Tip Three – A, if you want, but while finding the route toward Goat Canyon across the meadow is easy, finding the route back toward the trailhead is a little tougher. At one point, I led Jaime and I off-route. It’s important to note that since we were still headed in the right direction, it was just a side-adventure, and not use being really lost. Even more importantly, though, during this time we whipped out the GPS to check where we were; and where we were going. I don’t get lost often, so this story is fairly telling: be sure to have a route-finding device that is not just your eyes. Also, Jaime, thanks for being a saint for those fifteen minutes.

Picture 8, the Goat Canyon Trestle

Number Four: enjoy your time in Goat Canyon. Really. While the route overall is rugged; Goat Canyon is particularly rugged. Don’t let that ruin your trip. Enjoy it! There are some very interesting rock features within the canyon that you should appreciate, rather than worrying about your ankles and knees as you hop from boulder to boulder. Number Five: watch for snakes in Goat Canyon. This is self-explanatory: you will be traversing an area with no trail and lots of rocks and brush in the desert. Keep one eye on your footing; and one eye out for snakes! Number Six: this is a strenuous hike – be prepared for it. On the surface, four miles sounds like an easy hike. But think about this for a moment: you’re traveling up and down some serious slopes all day in the desert, and there is no trail. All of these factors make the route/trail challenging. You will be hopping from rocks. You will go through some brush. You will be navigating. This is rugged country; and even though I don’t usually use the term, I will use it here, this is a strenuous hike. Four miles may take you four hours; or in the case of Jaime and I who explored, seven miles may take you six hours. Be ready for the challenge, and have lots of water.

Picture 9, Crossing the Goat Canyon Trestle

Number Seven: this tip is the most important, which is why I saved it for last – be sure to explore. Sure, the hike is strenuous. Sure, it’s rugged. But save the energy – and time to explore. As I talked about yesterday, this is an area with great history, and lots of interesting things to see and do. Jaime and I hiked most of the way out to the derailed train cars, passing through a number of rail tunnels; and saw a few of the spots where the workers “camped” while constructing the tracks. We also headed back over the trestle, and saw the “old” tunnel that collapsed. The interesting thing about this tunnel is that the Western side is somewhat intact; allowing you to enter and see the state of the tunnel – including the beams that the earthquake split! As yesterday’s and today’s pictures show, there’s plenty of things to see out there, so definitely take that time to explore.

Final Tips: The trestle itself is an active railroad, even though trains are not moving on the tracks currently (as of March, 2013). Be sure to take proper train safety precautions. Also, it is technically, “illegal” to be on the tracks/trestle as it is railroad property – Goat Canyon and everything else is part of the State Park. While I think the odds of you getting caught and or receiving a ticket are remote, don’t come crying to me if you do as I’ve now warned you. Finally, the Goat Canyon Trestle is old; and there are some parts where the railing needs repair. Proceed cautiously if you do elect to cross; and above all else, have fun, and explore!

Goat Canyon Trestle

Entrance to collapsed Goat Canyon Tunnel

Broken beams, collapsed Goat Canyon Tunnel. Feel the power of mother nature!