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We weren't quite sure, starting out, how fast we could
cover ground. Day 1 was slow going, so we were glad that there were three days in
our plan instead of Schad's recommended two day journey itinerary. From Schad's
description and on inspection of the topo map, we figured that forward progress would be
faster and easier the deeper we got into the Gorge... and we were right! Oh, there
was still the odd obstacle to be overcome and the resistance presented by thick brush, not
to mention time spent figuring out how to crisscross the deepening creek, but Day 2 was
definitely easier than Day 1. In fact, we were comfortably able to make double the
miles on this segment given about the same number of hiking hours. By all measures, Day
2 also held the most interest for all of us. There was discovery in several
abandoned railroad construction camps. We could only guess at the use for most of
the artifacts we found, despite the fact that most of us are engineers... but not the RR
kind. And there was adventure in exploring a half mile long RR tunnel opening onto a
200ft tall, 700ft long, curved RR trestle.
On Day 2 we took off from camp 2 (~waypoint CG3 = 3mi mark) and went two mile down the
Gorge. At approximately CG6 (6mi mark) we climbed steeply out of the canyon, some
800 vertical feet to the RR track, which is located on the right bank of Carrizo Gorge.
We chose this particular spot to climb out because it presented a less severe
ascent and because it put us at the entrance to the longest RR tunnel along our hike plan. |
| From this long tunnel (0.5mi), we immediately went into a
second short tunnel. The short tunnel emptied onto Goat Canyon Trestle, the highest
and longest curved wooden trestle in the US. The view from the trestle, down Goat
Canyon toward Carrizo Gorge was spectacular as you will see from the photos. Most of
our crew had explored the trestle before but from the Mortero Palms trailhead. If
you're looking for a great day-hike, the 3.5mi trek from Mortero Palms to Goat Canyon
Trestle is highly recommended. After exploring the trestle, abandoned rail cars, and
other turn-of-the-century RR paraphernalia, we made our way north along the rail line for
about 1/3mi, at which point (CG7) we descended into Carrizo Gorge again. We made
camp about 1.7mi's from the point of descent (CG9) on a welcomed sand bar. |
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