Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Gold Country Crossing


The wildly varied Lockwood terra, a land of unending mystery. Of serpentine watercourses twisting in dizzy and disorienting turns. Of stark, vivid bands of sandy cliffs dotted with juniper and jeffrey pine. Of green, grassy meadows, dusted purple and gold with late flowering blooms. Of towering sandstone bluffs framed by old growth cedar forests. Of forgotten creeks, hidden springs, and lost mines.

I teamed with Jeff Roth of Tajunga, taking his suggestion for this backwoods circuit. The man knows  his way around. Much of the morning was spent climbing into or out of various arroyos and gullies, steep little climbs followed by steep little slides. We tip-toed across knife edged ridges, dodged brush and trees, and in mid-morning we caught sight of a large bear in a grassy meadow. The bear didn't register us at first, but when he did we got to watch him bound across the field at an alarmingly fast clip before he disappeared into a wash. We explored a region of rocky foothills, finding evidence of an ancient campsite, an old #9 gauge telephone line, two pretty springs and a steep waterfall. We took pleasant breaks in shaded vales, drank from clear streams, shared old recollections of places seen and yet to see, and worried not a bit about any clock. Without a stated destination there wasn't any place to be, a refreshing change of pace on my end. Despite the lackadaisical approach to the day we covered a lot of ground. It had been far too long since I'd dosed up on pine tree therapy, and speaking for myself, I was just a happy guy all the day long. 

How better to top such a day than over a mountain of health food, courtesy of Toni & Ali at the

Cracked earth, a sign of the times.
Abandoned ore buckets.

High potreros.

Jeff & Ginny






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3 comments:

  1. Hey you are finding all "my" secret spots! You're posting photo's of things and places that very few people have seen...great blog.
    Mike B.

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  2. Mike, Don't blame me for trespassing on "your" patch. I had to be dragged kicking and screaming to this horrible place. I just hated every darn minute of it and wouldn't ever ever consider returning to explore more forested rock formations or grassy potreros or twisting creeks. What a yucky piece of godforsaken earth! -DS

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  3. Based on your great photos, it doesn't look too horrible. Of course, that's pretty easy for me to say, while I'm sitting on my couch.

    ReplyDelete