San Diego County Canyoneering

After some careful reading, heavy analysis of topo maps, looking at pictures and trip reports I planned a two day excursion out into the deserts of Northeastern San Diego County to scout for some local Canyoneering.  Everything in the Anza-Borrego desert East of Julian looked pretty intense and some of the canyons looked very tempting so I talked Joshua into jumping in the car with me and heading out for some exploring.

I'm not sure how many of you have been to this area but wow what a change  you see as you leave the forested mountain ecosystem of Julian  and descend into the desert of Anza-Borrego park.  It's a great drive on the 78 and I highly recommend it as a great 1 or 2 day get away from city life.  You immediate feel very desolate but at the same time you're surrounded by mountains, valleys cliffs and lots and lots of sand.  It's amazing that all of this used to be the ocean floor and if you look in the right areas you can even find seashells and some of the most preserved fossils in the world.

Elephants Knees

So after a short drive out of Julian we headed to our first site we wanted to scout out and were very impressed at what there is to offer.  What's a better way to start your day then a 150 foot rappel off a sandstone cliff?

After a couple mile drive up a very impressive wash where you're passing wind caves, hills and mud cliffs  you come to a canyon that was as awesome as we had hoped.  This unnamed canyon is going to offer us to build an incredible trip with several rappels down into it and a very exciting hike through and out the end.

This was just our first day and I was pretty excited about what this region has to offer.  We explored several more canyons on the second day and will be finalizing this trip by the end of this year.  Beginning in the Spring of 2011 TST will begin offering 1 and 2 day Canyoneering trips to Anza-Borrego Canyons.  We will also be offering an overnight backpacking trip that will start in the highlands near Julian and Lake Cuyamaca and descend into a stunning canyon on the backside of the desert. 

Stay tuned to the website for updates, the Canyoneering of San Diego County will be a great warm up trip for anyone wanting to explore the Grand Canyon with us.  Fun times ahead

-Andrew
andrew.roberts@thesouthernterrain.com
858.880.5220

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings"  John Muir