Hiked: 4/23/2023
Distance: 9 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 2390' (at Chiquito Falls)
Elevation Gain: 1550'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.2
Round trip time: 3 hours 15 minutes
Recommended water: 72 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Moderate
Almost 8 years ago to the day was my first trip to Chiquito Falls. I've visited a few times since then and it's always been dry. With the heavy rain this year, it was surely flowing, so Leisa and I set out to take a look. We followed the same route, starting at the San Juan loop trailhead off Ortega Highway, then taking the Chiquito Trail. This time, there were several other parties coming and going. The north half of the San Juan loop goes by a different waterfall, San Juan Falls. It was flowing strongly, but I expected it to be raging. The stream crossing at the start of the Chiquito Trail was wide. Helpful step stones were in place to get us to the other side. The rest of the hike was a series of switchbacks up and over a ridge, then a descent into Lion Canyon where Chiquito Falls falls. Four other people were at the falls, splashing and exploring. We parked ourselves on a perch above it to rest and refuel. After so many dry visits, it was nice to see it flowing in person. Just before we left, one of the ladies splashing around above the falls lost one of her shoes and we watched it flow over. Fortunately for her, it was relatively easy to retrieve and didn't make it far downstream.
Hiked: 4/21/2023
Distance: 7 miles round trip on dirt road and cross country
Summit Elevation: 3289'
Elevation Gain: 2443'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.9
Round trip time: 6 hours 50 minutes
Recommended water: 120 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Hayfield Road
Difficulty: Strenuous (exposed scramble, route finding)
I was looking for challenge. Anschutz Benchmark fit the bill, tucked into the southeast corner of Joshua Tree, far from any public access road. To reach my starting point, I drove I-10 East to Eagle Mountain Road. I took a side dirt road to a T-intersection, then turned left on Hayfield Road. These were the smoothest dirt roads I've ever driven. I was doing 30-35 mph without a problem, so any car could make the drive. I planned to ascend the aptly named "Difficult Canyon", no really, that's the name on the topo. I planned to exit down Dragon Wash, so I parked in between the two canyons. I hiked about half a mile down the road to get to the entrance to Difficult Canyon. Pretty quickly, I ran into the crux section where giant boulders blocked progress. The boulders were solid. There were multiple class 3 obstacles and catclaw eager to rip my clothes and flesh. There was quite a bit of backtracking as I hit dead ends. I made a couple of scary moves, not always on the cleanest route. As I got deeper into the canyon, I was motivated to get through, knowing I didn't want to come back this way. After scrambling and crawling through several tunnels, the canyon opened up for a quarter mile, then came the second scramble section, with new problems and more course corrections. Past that, the canyon got easier. I walked up on a beautiful king snake basking in the sun. He had no interest in me and let me get quite close. I wound around the canyon to the ascent gully on the south face of Anschutz.
Entering Difficult Canyon
Cali king snake
The gully was class 2 with crummy, loose rock, gaining 1500' in the final mile. I slid around and slowly picked my way up. By the time I reached the middle of the south face, it had warmed up and I had to take short, frequent breaks. I could not see the saddle at the top, but GPS gave me some encouragement. For a fleeting second, I considered abandoning the summit and just completing the canyon loop, but I was too close, and vowed to continue the fight. From the saddle, it was a short walk over two small bumps to the summit. I found a reference mark but not the station mark, and a register placed in 1981. The last visitors to sign in before me were Bob Burd, Patrick O'Neill and Karl Fieberling seven years ago. Definitely a seldom visited summit. I took a longer than usual break on top to rest, finish my Flame Broiler bowl, and enjoy the view. The return trip down the loose gully was a slow and painful knee buster. I tried to stay on what little solid rock was available. With great relief, I reached the bottom of the gully and started down the mellow Dragon Wash. I had a second snake encounter there, a huge red racer, 5-6' long and larger than the king snake. Unlike the king snake, she was skittish and disappeared in the rocks before I could snap a photo. Shortly after, I was back at the truck. Anschutz was exactly what I needed, a strong test and serious fun. For an easier day, go up and down Dragon Wash and avoid Difficult Canyon.
Gully to Anschutz
Exiting via Dragon Wash
Joshua Tree boundry sign
Super smooth Hayfield Road
Souvenir. I remember bumping into a boulder, but the leg was working. Ain't got time to bleed.
Hiked: 4/8/2023
Distance: 7.2 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 2200'
Prominence: 590'
Elevation Gain: 2102'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.7
Round trip time: 3 hours 45 minutes
Recommended water: 48 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Bogert Trailhead
Difficulty: Moderate
Murray Hill was not our planned hike. Our intent was to hike in the canyons of the Agua Caliante reservation, an area with an entrance fee. We discovered in the car that the canyons were closed for a week, not sure why. Murray was our backup option and we drove to the Bogert Trailhead. Other trails also lead to Murray Hill with a similar experience. We were one of three cars at the trailhead, but first on the trail. Blooms and pollen were out in force, fruit from the protracted rain. The first two miles had some ups and downs, climbing to unnamed peak 1770. A couple was resting there before continuing. It leveled out for the next mile, then made the final push on the Clara Burgess trail. We met a few mountain bikers along the way, and a large group was lunching at one of two picnic tables on the summit. The true summit was a pile of class 1 boulders with no marks and no register. Most people didn't seem interested in the actual high point, content to lounge at a table or rock on the flat part of the summit. Even with other people nearby, I dedided to get some quick aerial shots and no one seemed to mind, or at least no one said anything. On the way back, we ran into two desert iguanas either fighting or doing a mating dance. When we saw that one had a broken leg from the other biting it, we agreed it was a fight. "Boys will be boys" is one of Leisa's most reviled phrases, but apropos. Murray Hill won't wow anyone, but we worked up a lather, and that will do.
