TRIPS

SOUTH SAN PEDRO MARTIR WILDERNESS BACKPACK (Up via Canon Aqua Caliente, Down via Canon El Cajon)
BILL CLIFTON


March 22, Sat.
Because of heavy rains at San Diego we decided to head for San Felipe and the eastside of the Martir instead of going on south to join John Robinson and group.
March 23 (Sun)
After leaving gifts at Rancho Aqua Caliente (you park on their property), four of us started packing up the very gradual canon starting from an elevation of only 1800': at about one mile, the one inch pipe line ends in a small dam; at 2.5 miles the hot spring can be found flowing up from the ground in a grove of Mesquite trees on the right hand or north side. Just above the spring are two palm trees, one short and healthy, the other badly burnt, from here we followed the right fork or main canon (don't take the left fork) to a fresh water spring. The canon narrows to about 15' here. Since this small marshy area is the last sure water until Santa Eualia meadow (about 7 rough miles above) is reached, we all took on 3 quarts each. This spring is about 5 easy miles from the roadhead and is approx. 2500'. About 1/4 mi above the spring we left the main canon following a poor trail (at times).
In 1972 on our first backpack to Santa Eulalia, Chuck Vernon and I followed the main aqua Caliente canon to where it ends just below the eastern escarpement. We found this route slow and rough due to a series of vertical dry waterfalls from fifteen to twenty five feet in height. There is no advantage in going up the main canon to a point more than about 1/4 mile above the fresh water spring. After contouring up most of the afternoon we made a dry camp just below the first pinon pines (elevation 4000').
March 24 (Mon)
Getting an early start we soon intersected the best section of the remaining trail (the Santa Eulalia trail is now seldom used in favor of the Cajon trail 17 miles to the north) until it faded out just above a draw. Hiking mostly west we crossed the eastern escarpement (just rolly, brushy hill at 6100' in this area) and intersected a good trail which we followed south to Santa Eulalia. The south end of this meadow is an excellent campsite with year around running water, a few pools 3-4 feet deep for bathing and plenty of firewood. This area is also both the very south end of the high San Pedro Martir plateau and the Jeffery Pine forest. South of here the topography drops off rapidly with only two peaks of any significance, Serra Chato and Pico Matoni. Because everyone liked the campsite so much we made our 2nd nite camp here.
March 25 (Tues)
Following the main Santa Eulalia wash north we reached the next water in about 2.5 miles. There is a good casa and corral here. At about 5 miles we came to a campsite J.R. and I call Media (about 1/2 way between Santa Eulalia and Santo Tomas by trail). There is a nice fresh water spring flowing from some large willows east and above the stream bed. Two miles north of here Santa Eulalia wash branches out into a number of side draws because of a divide or ridge running west from the eastern excarpment. Since there is a trail in almost every draw it is difficult at the present time to know which to follow to pick up the main trail on north to Santo Tomas. Again picking the wrong one (we did this last year too) we soon lost the trail and had to hike up 300' cross country in a northerly direction to the top of the divide. We then dropped off thru heavy brush on the north side into the Jeffery Pines at Arroyo Flamosa. Because of a cold drizzle and heavy clouds we had to make camp short of our days objective, Santo Tomas only 2 miles away. We know now J.R. and group had reached there this same evening.
March 26 (Wed)
 
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