Painted Canyon Trail Log

Painted Canyon

Mecca City, Mecca Hills, Riverside County, California

Chef Emile's Painted Canyon and the Ladders Trail Hike Log (part deaux)

December 30, 2006

Painted Canyon, Ladders Trail Mecca, Salton Sea I MADE IT!!!

I have looked and can't find a name for this peak anywhere. BUT, this is the highest point leading out of the Ladders Trail. This pic is looking South towards Mecca and the Salton Sea (the light blue area in the lower "v" of the pic).

We saw several groups of people in "The Slot Canyon" and up the ridge of Painted Canyon. At the peak there are two trails; one that leads left, Northwest to another peak with microwave towers. The another, East (or right) towards the northern ridge of Painted Canyon. You can clearly see the trail that follows the ridge, east and down hill.

OK, so we took this one back towards what we thought would lead downward and back into the Painted Canyon.

There were several rock piles that were constructed in lines across the path. We followed this pathway for almost a quarter mile, and it abruptly comes to a point that was way TOOOO steep to go down (at least for us!!). NOW, I know why the rock piles were in a line across the path. DON'T GO THIS WAY!!!!! We had to double back all the way to the peak!! My legs were dead tired!

Marc took this pic with my Treo 700p, NO, he is not taller than me, I think I am actually a inch taller than him!! He was standing on a rock! AND trying to show the drop off in the ravine below, believe me, it is a big drop off! NOTE, I am now carrying the back pack!! MULE MAN!

We looked north towards the microwave towers peak and thought that was the long way at best, and maybe even the wrong way. SOOOOO, we decided to go back down the way we came, there is another path that leads down the ridge that we had followed up. We followed this other path downward for what I would guess was a 1/3 of mile or so. I recognized this cactus, I had taken this earlier when I had taken the left fork in the "Y". NOW, we knew where we were!

BTW, this is a great cactus, I think it is called a Candlewood. This one was at least 15 feet tall, beautiful green color, with spikes at least 3 inches long! It was on a ledge above me, and looked menacing!

So we hooked up with the Ladders Trail at the "Y" and took it back to the Painted Canyon. AND believe me, it was a lot easier to go down the trail, then to go up!!

Once back into the Painted Canyon, I was able to get the last shots of boulders that have fallen from the walls. I looked up and saw this above me!! OK, cool so it is up there and not gonna fall when I walk past, even if the San Andreaus Fault is just outside, OK, Cool so look at the base!! I walked up to it, took my walking stick, shoved it in the crack and said the last two words of a redneck, "Watch This!!! They were NOT impressed!!

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Chef Emile L. Stieffel, Aurora Catering, Inc. email address: ChefEmile@CustomCatering.net
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