This weekend the Scouts went out to Anza Borrego to explore slot canyons, mud caves, swim and launch rockets. We met Saturday morning at the usual spot and headed out. Some went out the 8 and others went through Julian and down the Banner grade. As usual the trip through Julian was a few minutes faster, including a rest stop for those that got a queasy stomach from all the bumps and bends in the road.
We met at mile marker 43 on the S2. There is a dirt road that leads out Vallecito Creek toward the mud caves. We drove another 2 miles past the Hollywood and Vine sign before taking the turn to caves right around mile 4. We reset our odometers since we had a map of the caves, which called out distances from the bend.
We headed into Arroyo Tapido and made our first stop at Bat Canyon. We were looking for Bat Cave (not the Bat Cave) and Cool cave. We thought that with our detailed map finding them would not be too hard since they gave GPS coordinates. Turns out that the coordinates were not so accurate and the descriptions for these cases were kind of general.
One of the most reliable caves for finding bats. – After passing narrows and bridge sections in, you’ll find that the canyon opens up a bit. Continue up the main canyon, being careful to avoid a side tributary on the left. Just stay to the right to remain in the main canyon. The canyon runs right into the entrance to this cave, 400-500 feet from where the canyon began to widen. There are lots of spots in Bat Canyon were it opens up a bit and quite a few narrow and bridge sections.
We never did find Bat Cave for sure, but did find a few spots with Bat Droppings.
On the way back we found a entrance to a pit high up on the canyon wall that dropped down 40 or 50 feet where it looked like the opening to what we thought might be Cool Cave had been covered by a slide quite some ago. After that we put the directions away and went to the caves we knew about for sure.
From Bat Canyon, we headed out to Cary’s Big Mud Cave, which is the largest cave in the Arroyo, with rooms that have 80 foot ceilings. The entrance is obscured by a mud berm and thick brush, so it can not be seen at all from road. It has two entrances, one that requires you to crawl in and the other is a scramble down a narrow foot path. Either way is kind of tricky, but all the boys made it and so did the adults that decided to go. The cave is pretty long and takes at least a half hour just to walk through. It is pitch black and headlamps are must.
When we got to the end, most of the boys scrambled up and out and found another cave that lead back to the cave they just left. The opening from the second cave back to the first was so tight only the boys could make it through. Mr. Stachwick thought about trying to squeeze through, but decided against it, not wanting to miss out on the dinner that Dr. Laura and Mr. Zimmer had planned.
After spending a half hour or so in the Big Mud cave most decided to head back for a swim. Mr Stachwick and Dr Laura spent a few more minutes looking for Hidden Cave, which was about a quarter mile up from Chasm Cave and just before Plunge Pool cave that most had been to before in previous years. Kyle F’s sharp eyes noticed the cave on the way back. It looked like a very small hole from the road, but opened up quite a bit was we approached. We went in an explored this cave for a few minutes. It was very tall, but very narrow. Most of the time it was no more than a foot or so wide and we had to side slide most of the way. Every few feet it would curve to the left then back to the right. It was kind of creepy, because it’s clear from the lack of foot prints, it’s just too narrow for most people’s taste.
After that we headed back to camp where everyone was getting set up. Soon after the last tent was up, Scouts and adults headed up to the pool for a swim. A couple of adults stayed at camp for a few minutes of quiet time.
Soon after dinner was cleaned up, a fire was started and each patrol did their yell, came up with a skit and did a song. It had been a full day and it was staring to show, the campfire was over quickly and everyone hit the sack even before quiet hours took effect.
The next day we all got up around 7:00 and had breakfast and were on the road by 9:00. Since most wanted to go back on the 8, we decided to launch at Plaster City. It’s not close to camp but it is on the way. We found a spot just west of the Plaster City plant and set up our launch site. Most everyone brought a rocket and those that didn’t there were plenty to spare. There were only a few mishaps, Mr. Stachwick mounted one of the motors on backwards so the 3 stage rocket, did not work properly and lawn darted back to Earth. The body tube was severely crushed, but was fixed at home later that day.
Some of the Scouts did drag races and others did individual launches. The winds were light and no one had to walk very far to get their rocket back. One of the highlights was when Shane S, launched his homemade rocket called “The Big One”. It’s over 5 feet tall and it was launched on F42 motor. It went up about 400 feet or so and deployed its parachute perfectly. Next time he plans to launch it using an even bigger motor. It was all pretty impressive, we even had some of the dirt bikers stop by and check us out.
It seems like everyone had a good time and most expressed interest in coming out to the desert again.
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