Martinez Canyon

[KathyW]

I finally hiked up Martinez Canyon to the Jack Miller Cabin. A really nice hike for a cool and dry winter day - about 16 miles round trip with just 2100' elevation gain. No problems with access - the gate is unlocked at 68th and Van Buren. They are redeveloping one of the quarter-quarter sections of farmland between 66th and Van Buren and the gate; so you have to cross over on the farm roads at least once to get to the gate, but the farm roads are in good shape. I parked at the end of the road where the wilderness boundary sign is, but I think the wilderness might actually begin just a little past that point based on the maps. You do need a higher clearance vehicle to get to the end of the road and there are some sandy section; so if you don't have 4WD you won't want to slow down through those sections. I doubt I'd drive down the road without 4WD, but I'm a bit of a Nervous Nelly.

Some photos and my maps: https://kathywing.smugmug.com/Californi ... ck-Miller/

[Myth]

What a nice trip report! I especially like getting clear directions on what to expect when I drive up to something.

Nice pictures, too - crisp, clear light. Do you have a wide-angle lens on a DSLR body?

[KathyW]

Thanks Myth

I was shooting with a micro 4/3 camera and a wide-angle lens. The camera is an Olympus OM-D EM1 and the lens is the new Olympus M.Zuiko ED 7-14mm f2.8 PRO lens (14-28 equivalent). The only problem with the lens is that you can't put a protective filter on it; so I have to be extra careful with it. This is my second OM-D camera having started with the EM5 (which I still use sometimes as it is a bit more portable and I have the 9-18mm lens (18-36 equivalent) that is really compact; so I can still shoot wide angle even with a more compact setup. I think I'll probably continue to use the 12-40mm f.28 PRO lens the most, but that 7-14mm sure is nice. I think it will work out great if we get some wildflower fields this spring.

[The Ghost]

Great trip report Kathy!

3 questions...

1. Any water flowing in the creek downstream from the Reed "Jungle"?

2. Was the path thru the "Jungle" pretty easy to find? In years past it was impossible to go thru that stretch of the Canyon and you had to divert up and over the ridge to the South. Hope to take a small group up to Jack's in the next month and any info is appreciated.

3.Very many vistors to the Cabin in the last couple of years?

Thanks again for the report and the pictures.

[KathyW]

1. Any water flowing in the creek downstream from the Reed "Jungle"?

I didn't see any actual water flowing in the jungle, but the ground was damp and I generally followed an easy path along the side of the jungle; so I wasn't in the middle where water would be flowing.


2. Was the path thru the "Jungle" pretty easy to find? In years past it was impossible to go thru that stretch of the Canyon and you had to divert up and over the ridge to the South. Hope to take a small group up to Jack's in the next month and any info is appreciated.

I stayed on the north side of the reeds (right side on the way up) and it was pretty easy to go through through the area. I thought I'd have problems when I first entered the section, but it was fairly easy to get through - wear pants and long sleeves. Either animals, floods, or humans seem to have created an path where there is minimal resistance from the reeds.


3.Very many visitors to the Cabin in the last couple of years?

I did not spend much time in the cabin due to the high volume of rodent fecal droppings on everything. I picked up the book and opened it up and tried to sign in, but the pen and pencils that i could reach did not work. The book is water damaged, and the last sign in was in late November 2015 - I didn't look at any of the older entries.

I'm not a very fast hiker; so it took me 8.5 hours to do the hike. With a start at around 8:15 am, that left me very little time to spend at the cabin site and get back before dark to drive out while there was still daylight. If I did it again, I would start around 7 am.

Maybe the track will help: http://caltopo.com/m/JGC9

[KathyW]

One other comment - there are a lot of ducks out there that need to be ignored. Some are along the easiest route and others are not. It could be that the easiest route changes with each flash flood that goes through the canyon; so it's not going to be the same over time. There was one large duck that marked a canyon not too far from where you would either continue on the Cactus Spring route or take take the canyon to the cabin. It might have been marking a route up a side canyon to a spring that is shown on the map, but it did not mark the route to the cabin or the Cactus Spring Route; so I knocked it down to avoid anyone thinking they needed to turn off into that canyon. Just follow the clearest path and not the ducks - finding the remnants of the old road was helpful in couple places where it had not been completely washed out, but the wash would have been okay to stay in through those sections.

[halhiker]

Thanks for the nice report and for knocking over those unnecessary ducks. Hopefully, I can get out there this spring and if I do I'll bring a broom (and a mask). A little spring cleaning seems in order.