Mortero Palms to Goat Canyon Trail, CA :: Directions

[Jim]

The currently unwritten hike description for this hike, is more than just the hike to the palms. However, the hike has no directions. Anyone have some good directions to reach the palms, from I-8?

I doubt I'll do the full hike to the trestle, but I would like to go to the palms, and will probably do a write-up afterwards.

[rwstorm]

I was just snooping around over there yesterday on my way to Yuma after spending the previous night at Agua Caliente County Park. I can verify that the shortest and easiest way to reach the railroad at Dos Cabezas is from the Morteros turnoff just west of the border patrol checkpoint on S2. (Glad to see the beehive is gone from the information kiosk.) Like RedRoxx44 said, just one rough spot before the drop to the tracks (mellow if you are used to this stuff, but you don't want to be out on any roads in this area unless you have 4/AWD and the higher the clearance the better). I wanted to head over to the Mortero Palms area, so once I crossed the tracks at Dos Cabezas at the rough built up spot I followed a road that paralleled the tracks on the south side heading southeast. I then came to the junction with the road that heads to Mortero (that comes in from off S2 closer to Ocotillo by the wind farm). This is road EC109 and if you are driving in from I-8, this turnoff will be to your left a few miles west of Ocotillo at the wind farm area. A short ways in you will come to a road veering off to the left (EC156 I think). Don't go that way...stay right on EC109. If you make the right choices when you near the tracks, you won't have to cross them but one time (stay north of them on the road around the curve). The road will go away from the tracks again for awhile as you leave the wind farm area and drive in a wash until you reach the tracks again. Don't turn left and try to go up the steep sand-trapped climb out, but go right up climbing out of the wash and before you know it you come to a nice asphalt crossing of the tracks. Now you are headed for the Morteros (shortly passing the road on the right that I took to this point from Dos Cabezas. (I went back out this way, so I could learn more about the area and not have to go back to Dos Cabezas, etc.)

Bottom line, you can get to the Mortero Palms trail head on reasonably easy roads from off S2 with ONLY ONE railroad crossing (paved).

When I got to Ocotillo, I stopped in the Lazy Lizard Saloon (a nice place btw) for a cold one. Had a nice conversation with the locals about the area and roads, etc. They said all the main BLM roads that were there before the wind project are open.

[Grasshopper]

Bottom line, you can get to the Mortero Palms trail head on reasonably easy roads from off S2 with ONLY ONE railroad crossing (paved).

Nice detail Randy. I started working on two HAZ- Route Mgr Public Access "Driving GPS Routes" based on your driving routes details but I need more time to complete it as tomorrow is now here and is Income Tax Day for me .. unless you would like to proceed to complete it--> http://hikearizona.com/map.php?MY=6256&M=3 (easier to edit in Satellite View Map Overlay) for posting to the hike description for others to use as needed?

[rwstorm]

@Grasshopper
I don't know how to do this stuff, but you are on the right track. The road I drove around the bend in the tracks is not shown on maps.

[RedRoxx44]

They're are multiple ways to the TH and I have driven most of them, my favorite was by a pretty area of small sand dunes, and they had drifted up and over a section of the railroad tracks. It was a bit tough driving there even in the Jeep with the loose deep sand. No signs in those days; I never carried a map, just drove till I got there, which it seems I always did.

[Grasshopper]

@Grasshopper
... but you are on the right track. The road I drove around the bend in the tracks is not shown on maps.

I'm going to go ahead and issue the driving routes (2) in from S2 and will state as being "drawn and not field data". I suggest for next trip, turn-on your Oregon 450 when driving in off S2 so we will have a true and correct GPS Route posted for this popular ABDSP destination ;)

[rwstorm]

@Grasshopper
I'll likely be going back soon, so I'll do that. Lots of roads and places to get confused or stuck out there, and since I was alone I was seeking the path of least resistance.

[azbackpackr]

I've been by there three times in the past month, driving from Valley Center to Ocotillo and I-8 to go to Yuma (thus avoiding the San Diego mess). It's so incredibly sandy along the sides of S-2 that I can only imagine what the unpaved roads must be like. I don't own a 4WD, so I guess I am not going to Mortero Palms any time soon.

[rwstorm]

@azbackpackr
The whole area is absolutely wonderful. I just love dropping down out of Julian on CA78 to Scissors Crossing, then following S2 to I-8 at Ocotillo. Real easy from where you are located. Since I didn't get to the Mortero Palms this trip, I will be back (not to mention Hank is tasking me to gps the drive in from S2 ). So you could drive over and camp with me either at Vallecito or Aqua Caliente, and we could go do the hike with your car safe at camp. I prefer Vallecito to Agua Caliente now that I have camped at both places, mainly because it is usually has fewer people and I am not into swimming or soaking. Don't get me wrong, I had a fun time at Agua Caliente a few days back and enjoyed the nice loop hike in Moonlight Canyon.

[azbackpackr]

Sounds fun! I'd consider it, although I haven't been doing much hiking lately due to my feet. I can hike about 5 miles, somewhat painfully, though. Next time I go out will switch to regular running shoes, see if those are better. I have tried a lot of things so far. I am going to start volunteering at Daley Ranch in Escondido, so I'll have to get out and hike 5 miles a week, anyway.

[Jim]

How much clearance and 4WD is needed? Would my Outback have made it? If not, that another check in the trade-in box.

[rwstorm]

@Jim_H
We nearly posted at the same time, but your Subaru would make it (assuming it is AWD; who in their right mind would opt for a 2WD in such a vehicle anyway?).

[azbackpackr]

@rwstormWhen are you planning to drive over this way? I'll be busy this coming weekend, and also the weekend of the 29th. I work M-F, but I get done with work at 11:30 on Fridays. I checked my "Afoot and Afield" guidebook and found out that the hike is only about 4 miles round trip to see the palms and get a view of the bridge. I can do that.

[rwstorm]

@azbackpackr
Yes, the hike to the palms and bridge view is not long or difficult; just slow going bouldering and route finding. I had planned to go to the palms Friday when I was there, but took the wrong route at the spring box and missed them. I didn't have a lot of time anyway, but wanted to get a feel for the hiking there and learn the access route(s) to the trailhead. Since you are pretty busy it might be hard to connect, but even though I prefer to do my trips on weekdays to avoid the weekend crowds, a weekend is okay, especially out there. I won't be going anywhere this weekend with the weather expected, but the weekend of March 8-9 would work, if the weather is to my liking (no storms, dry, not windy, and warm). Vallecito County Park is having their Vallecito Days event the weekend of March 15-16, so I wouldn't go there then. But you can free camp in the area anywhere. I did drive in to check out Bow Willow Campground and it would be a good choice, probably the best, since it is near several other palm groves that I visited in 2012. Camping at Vallecito is $22/night and Bow Willow is $15. I'll keep in touch with a PM.

Meanwhile, let's get a good rain this weekend to freshen up the desert (here and there)!

[azbackpackr]

I'll pencil it in and keep the weekend open. Will look for PMs.
Thanks much!

[Jim]

Well, I guess it is good to know my Subaru could make it, though ironically I am looking for more reasons to dump the Subaru an d go back to a Honda. Maybe an Accord, which could never make it all the way there. I wish they still made the Element. While not truly off road, that was probably what I was always looking to have.

[Jim]

http://hikearizona.com/gps=26011&SD=2

Mountain Palm Springs can be added to the mapped area for Palm Hikes. Also, how is the best way to access this map, or list? This is a feature I am not using often, so I got to it through the February Mortero Palm thread. Can a feature be added to the Palm description in Flora? I guess I can do that.


Added: Forty Nine Palms, up north in Joshua Tree, is another.

[joebartels]

added those two

mapped areas are available through search...
- orange ( title ) search: top of pages
- lavender ( title + content ) search: home page
- map (title ) search: top of map

Search on HAZ works on 1 letter min, 3 is better. It's a beginning of word search ( all words need spaces before them... Bruce, Hank...lol ) not a billion dollar enterprise like google where it knows what you are thinking based on lifetime clicks. For this I'd type nat pal.

Another way to access. If you can think of one of the hikes go to the description page. Mapped Areas are listed in the left column under photosets.

[chumley]

Also if you prefer a visual map search rather than a text search and have an idea of the area in question, you can zoom the map over that area, click the "Mapped Areas" tab, and then "find". Native Palms shows up somewhere near the Salton Sea because it is split between southern California and the Kofas, but clicking on it will populate all the routes on the map.

[joebartels]

ah yes
The "Mapped Areas" tab on the map pulls up all areas in view. Right clicking over the map you can drill down to specific "categories" such as just forest or HAZ areas.

Mapped Area icons at the bottom-right of the map pull entire categories. Handy to find all the special HAZ made areas.

The home page also has/HAZ an "Areas" button to the left of "Regions". Best for tight knit areas such as forest, national parks, etc. verse special made areas which may be sprawled out.