Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - Day 5 April 12th
Day 5: Friday 12th April Oriflame Canyon – Rodriguez Canyon
The route now left the shady woodland of the Laguna Mountains and entered the
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Early in the morning, the temperature was rising
rapidly despite the light northerly breeze and with very little shade from the chaparral I
anticipated a torrid day.
The trail passed through the waterless Pioneer Mail Picnic Area, where the first
trans-continental mail route from Texas to San Diego passed through here in 1857. It
was known as the “Jackass Mail Route” as the first men crossed the mountains on pack
animals. This part of the Colorado Desert was first traversed by Spanish forces in 1772
and explored by Juan Bautista de Anza, after whom the Park is named, in 1774.
At 10.30 I came across another water cache and refilled all my water containers. The
hot dusty trail snaked in and out of gullies before dropping steeply into Chariot
Canyon. The descent was steeper than normal on the PCT and I had to make a lot of
use of my walking poles to protect my aging knees. I used walking poles throughout the
walk and actually had more blister problems on my hands than my feet during the trip.
By early evening I had reached the sparsely vegetated Rodriguez Canyon and decided to
camp. It had been a long hot day and I was pleased with the way I was coping with the
conditions, probably because I was carrying so much water. I hadn’t seen anyone all day.
I later learnt that Mandy had been airlifted from Rodriguez Canyon by helicopter,
earlier in the day, suffering from heat exhaustion. It was unusually hot, even for
Southern California in mid April.
Day 5: 16.9 miles 6.42 hours Camp: Rodriguez Canyon
The route now left the shady woodland of the Laguna Mountains and entered the
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Early in the morning, the temperature was rising
rapidly despite the light northerly breeze and with very little shade from the chaparral I
anticipated a torrid day.
The trail passed through the waterless Pioneer Mail Picnic Area, where the first
trans-continental mail route from Texas to San Diego passed through here in 1857. It
was known as the “Jackass Mail Route” as the first men crossed the mountains on pack
animals. This part of the Colorado Desert was first traversed by Spanish forces in 1772
and explored by Juan Bautista de Anza, after whom the Park is named, in 1774.
At 10.30 I came across another water cache and refilled all my water containers. The
hot dusty trail snaked in and out of gullies before dropping steeply into Chariot
Canyon. The descent was steeper than normal on the PCT and I had to make a lot of
use of my walking poles to protect my aging knees. I used walking poles throughout the
walk and actually had more blister problems on my hands than my feet during the trip.
By early evening I had reached the sparsely vegetated Rodriguez Canyon and decided to
camp. It had been a long hot day and I was pleased with the way I was coping with the
conditions, probably because I was carrying so much water. I hadn’t seen anyone all day.
I later learnt that Mandy had been airlifted from Rodriguez Canyon by helicopter,
earlier in the day, suffering from heat exhaustion. It was unusually hot, even for
Southern California in mid April.
Day 5: 16.9 miles 6.42 hours Camp: Rodriguez Canyon
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Parry's Molina
Grandiorite blocks
Rodriguez Canyon