Carrizo Gorge/Mc Cain Valley trip photo's

Did this trip today mainly to explore but also did a little geocaching.
For those not familiar with the area is off of I8 at the Ocotllio exit and Mc Cain Valley is off I8 and the Boulevard exit.


Here’s our route:


Download the .kmz file to be used in Google Earth. It has coordinates:
Right Click and 'Save As' to your computer.

The rigs:


The first trestle we came to (labeled Carrizo3 Tracks on the map):



Coming up a small hill:


A neat looking rock we came across:


The trail to Tunnel 1:



Parked 100 yards from the tunnel:


Here’s the tunnel we made it to. The inside was partly reinforced with wood beams, the rest was bare rock. Coordinates: N32 45.739 W116 11.211





Posing by a rock:



To get to the tunnel we had to cross the tracks. Easy enough! Approx Coordinates: N32 45.454 W116 09.541



Here’s a view of the tracks near Carrizo3 Tracks (on the map). We suspect the shoe is a signal for illegals since there are many in this area:

 

After leaving the HOT (112 degrees) desert we headed up to the Mc Cain Valley area. Our first stop was at Sacatone Overlook. Coordinates: N32 42.826 W116 13.802
From here you can see the tracks going along the side of the mountain and the 2 black dots are the tunnels. The farthest tunnel in the photo is where we were earlier:



Zoomed in on the tunnels:


Another view showing a little more track:


Wider angle shot from Sacatone Overlook:


Parking:


Next we headed up McCain Valley road to Carrizio Corridor Overlook:



The view:


After this lookout we went to the end of McCain Valley road until it dead-ended. Lots of activity up there with the new power lines going in. We saw helicopters working all day delivering equipment and tower structures.

 

pretty cool is that glamis in background in the las pic??

 

Superstition I think.

 

Now THAT looks like a fun time.


I'd definitely like to make that run in the future.

 

looks like a great trip, despite the 110 degree weather.

 

That looks like a blast! Thanks for taking those pictures to share with us.

 

Been there done that! Looks like you guys had fun! Thanks for the pics! One of these days we will take you exploring more out there! Its our stomping grounds out there!

 

very cool trip.
I would like to get out there as well.

 

that looks way fun

 

Extremely cool post/ report... thank you for sharing! So, did you add any geocaches out there?

I haven't played geocaching since 2002, I think! I still have some active geocaches in Vista, Del Mar, Borrego and Baja from back then!

 

Nice post. A few years ago I backpacked into Carrizo gorge along the railroad tracks. Went as far as Goat Canyon to the trestle. Was there for two days. Neat place.

 

I have never placed a cache, just found. We did find a Travel Bug in one. It started life in Hawaii, the Canada, AZ, NV, and now CA. We will place it in the Hemet area next weekend.

We found a different travel bug a few years back in the high desert. It's now in Slovenia!

Would like to explore more of this area. Wish we could drive to the goat trestle. Was thinking we could use quads on the tracks from where the 1t tunnel

 

Nice... well just keep posting these great outdoor adventure photos... They sure prove that San Diego has a lot of outdoor variety (beach, valley, mountain, desert) and history!

 

That's a really cool-looking area. I saw a documentary about the area and train route history, and there is a huge model railroad layout of that route in Balboa Park (SD). I would love to take this trip, but I'm at the wrong end of the state...

This the the kind of offroading I like to do...exploration.

Thanks for sharing!

 

Just catching up on threads, nice pics Mike....!

 

Was a very cool area. I'd like to go back and maybe take the 'lil 3 wheelers and ride the tracks to the 2nd tunnel and Goat Trestle.

 

How far into Carrizo can you legally go anyway ??

 

Very cool Mike! Thanks for the pics/post

 

4WD-The way we went depends how you interpret signs