Indian Hill 08-2011 - ABDSP

Indian Hill is an amazing place, not just because of the cool rock art in the Blue Sun rock shelter but also because of the natural rock formations and history of the area. It really is an amazing beautiful place to explore. Here are some pictures from several visits during August 2011.

View of Indian Hill from the Railway Camp


Yoni Rock Art


Somebody had a big imagination


Old Railway Camp Relics still out there





Carrizo Gorge Railway section


Huhhh?..a pile of coconuts out in the desert??


No..silly..that is just a pile of bighorn scat..


Cool rock formations from the wind and water


The Blue Sun Cave in all it's glory



Some of the faded areas of the cave brought to life via Dstretch



Another rock shelter nearby with some rock art still in tact


Old artifacts in the area, please do not take home!


The massive amounts of scat in the area gave me pause to continue exploring


Wow..lots of free time I guess...

Sunrise in Mortero Wash - ABDSP

Cool Canyon / Rainbow Canyon - ABDSP

Two of the lesser known and least visited canyons in Anza Borrego Desert State Park are Cool Canyon and Rainbow Canyon. This last weekend I visited both. These canyons are semi slot canyons and reminded me a lot of canyons in Death Valley in that they narrow up and have lots of marbled, swirled types of rock. You can use Cool Canyon as a starting point to climb Granite Mountain, I made a last minute decision to try and get to the top but I stopped at Peak 4624, I just wasn't prepared to go another 1,000' that day.

Rainbow Canyon is another great little canyon that is only a mile or so long and great for a quick hike or family exploration opportunity. If you are camping in Blair Valley and have someone who can drop you off at the canyon mouth you can hike in and over to Blair Valley for about a 5 mile easy going but fun hike.

You can see all of the pictures from Cool Cool Canyon here and Rainbow Canyon here

Here is the entrance to Cool Canyon


Morteros nearby indicate past Indian occupation in the area



Some quality scat entering the canyon


This appears to be a Hawk Massacre


One of many dry falls in the canyon


Another larger dry fall


Some Honeycomb up in the rocks, this was a great find


My lunch on Peak 4624, you can see Whale Peak straight ahead in the distance


Looking back at Peak 4624 as I descended


After Cool Canyon I headed over to Rainbow Canyon for a quick couple of hours

Here is the entrance to Rainbow Canyon


You will almost immediately see the first dry fall, there are many and they are all fun to climb and easy to get over unless you decide to wear Stilettos on your desert hike...


Lots of marbled rock in this canyon


Approaching another dry fall


Looking up thru a section of the canyon


Kitty Kat scat


Looking east towards Blair Valley at the saddle area


Here is a narrow section of the canyon


This is looking down probably the largest dry fall, it is actually a "double" dry fall


Download a panorama of Earthquake Valley from Peak 4624 here



Both of the canyons are great for a quick 2 mile hike and are family and kid friendly

Wildlife of the week

These photos are all from Cuyamaca Rancho State Park near the Dead Horse Trail

Red Tail Hawk


Immature Turkey Vulture showing off the classic vulture "V" wing shape


Immature Turkey Vulture soaring over an open field while hunting for food. The immature vultures have the grey/black color on the head while adults have a red colored head


Some kind of scary looking fly

Wildlife of the week

Anza Borrego Desert State Park area, spotted this Bobcat watching me while I was eating some lunch during a hike out in a remote canyon


Male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park near the Sweetwater River