South Of Sheep Canyon

Wednesday, I had a few hours between dropping off my son at school and having to pick him up so I decided to go for a little adventure south of Sheep Canyon.  If you are unfamiliar with Sheep Canyon I am not surprised.  It's a small canyon south of Martinez Canyon in the Santa Rosa Mountains.  Not many people go there.  Access is difficult and if you ask me how I got there I would not be able to tell you.  I just drove down some dirt roads until I got to where I wanted to be.

The reason I wanted to visit this little side canyon is because the last time I was in the vicinity I thought I saw some palm trees in the distance.  If there are Palm Trees that means there's water.  Where there's water there were probably Indians and in places the Indians visited there are probably trails.  I love finding new trails.

This is Sheep Canyon.  Once I drop down into it I will take an old Indian trail into the canyon I want to explore today.

As you get back into the canyon the walls become tall and vertical.  I can only imagine the amount of water that was required to cut these walls so cleanly.  In places the walls are almost 40 feet high.

As the canyon narrows, I take off on the Indian trail on the left side.  I know you can't see it but trust me, it's there.

The trail is never very distinct but it is at least visible enough to follow.

As I drop down into the canyon I came to explore I can see the effects of the rain we got last month.  The Ocotillo are full of leaves and soon flowers will be blooming all around the desert.

This is the canyon I came to explore.  No evidence of a trail down here.

But there is evidence of how remarkable the desert is.

After navigating a canyon filled with sand and rocks, it becomes chocked with brush and my legs are not happy.  Note to self: next time up here, wear long pants.

It turns out that those Palms I saw were, in fact, Cottonwood trees.  They are dead from winter but their green leaves are what caused me to think Palms were up here.  It really doesn't matter because Cottonwoods also require constant water so the possibility that Indians were here and trails exist is still valid.

But I run out of time and easy passage.

Looking further up the canyon I see a Palm Tree but oddly it's not a native but a Date Palm.  Intriguing.  There's no way I can get to it without long pants, a machete and more time.  But I'll be back because this canyon holds possibilities.

Lots of possibilities.

West of the Martinez Landslide

Went out to do a bit more exploring in the area of the Martinez Landslide.  This area is very interesting to me for several reasons.  One, it's fairly close to my house, only about a fifteen minute drive.  Two, it's very seldom visited.  While other hiking areas in the desert are like a parade of people, I never see anyone else in this area and seldom even see human footprints.  And lastly, there's an incredible potential for discovery in this area.  The Torrez Martinez Indian Reservation is near here and the Desert Cahuilla have lived in this area for hundreds of years.  I have already found four trails out here and there are sure to be more.  My time is limited to a couple hours so I won't be able to get far but hopefully I'll be able to find something interesting.

I start hiking southeast from my parking area on an old Indian trail that I discovered last year.

It's obvious that people have been here before but this is not the type of discovery that I'm hoping to make.

Ocotillo are blooming and beautiful.

I'm heading up toward this canyon which is west of the Martinez Landslide.

To drop into the canyon which I hope to go up is steep, loose and rocky. I have to be extremely cautious going down this stuff.

I successful negotiate the hillside of death and make it into the canyon.  It's pretty easy going now.

Unlike any of the canyons in more accessible areas this canyon is devoid of any footprints.

There's a section of rock that is calcified so that indicates that water frequently comes through here although none is flowing today.

This is very exciting to me!  It's a mesquite.  That means two things.  One, there's water beneath the surface because mesquite needs a steady supply of water to survive.  Two, it means the Indians probably came here.  Mesquite was a major food source for the Cahuilla.

The canyon is quite chocked with brush and I find a little trail that leaves the canyon and skirts this mess of skin flaying vegetation.

I also find what looks like a sleeping circle on the side of the canyon.  In  a very short time I've discovered  some interesting things that make me want to return when I have more time.

Just as I'm about to turn back I find something else interesting, a date palm.  I had hoped to find a native Palm Oasis but this is a positive sign.  It means there's enough water in the canyon to support a palm and there may be native palms further up the canyon.

On my hike back I see some pottery sherds along the trail.

Another positive sign that I'm in a place with a wealth of fascinating finds yet to be discovered.