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| Feb. 25th & 26th, 2006.Carrizo Gorge, located in Eastern San Diego County, near Jacumba was a great way to get out in the local area to hone my map and compass skills. We started out early, and Steven was running late as usual... All that aside, we parked our cars at the De Anza Springs resort (actually, a clothing optional trailer park) and we hiked out into the surrounding wilderness from there. We first carried our full packs to the campsite, and took about an hour setting up our tents before venturing out a little further into the area. After a nice lunch (where I lost my compass), we trekked deeper into the gorge, saw the remnants (only a chimney) of an old cabin, and then found our way to some falls that actually had water running in this very dry year. After a route find over the railroad tunnel, we spend a good part of the day boulder scrambling back up a wash so that we could eventually find our way back to camp. After an appetitizer potluck, and a bit of wine, we fixed dinner, and mingled for most of the evening. It wasn't as chilly a night as I expected, so I quite pleased. Come morning, I tried to cook the usual breakfast of coffee, bacon and pancakes for Steven and myself, but his new, 'nonstick' cookware was anything but! So, we ended up eating mutilated pancakes, but it tastes the same as perfect ones, and is still better than eating dirt. After breakfast we broke camp and packed our packs but left them behind as we ventured out for a long day hike. We mostly practiced our land navigation skills, but managed to see an old native American gathering spot and an abandoned gold mine, though the mine was quite disappointing to some on the trip who had grander expectations. Fortunately, my GPS batteries managed to hold out long enough to participate in the GPS demonstration. After that, it was a hike back to our packs, then back to the cars. All-in-all, it was another great group to camp with, and we all had a great time! |
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