Guadalupe to Sugarloaf Cafe

[Ellen]

Howdy All

I joined the San Jacinto hiking club yesterday to celebrate the anniversary of their first hike. Carpooled with Cindy, met everyone at the Cactus Springs TH and then drove down to the La Quinta Cove with Marilyn and Perry.

When we were donning our packs, someone pointed out that the rear seam of my pants were split -- my Patagonia underwear were quite visible Indie Jack provided Tenacious Tape and then delivered the best line of the day: "Do you want to do her in the car?"

We left a bit before 7 AM and made our way up to Boo Hoff. The temperature felt more like late summer than late autumn. By the time we reached the Guadalupe, I was sweating profusely. Navigation on the Gaudalupe is always a challenge for me -- one of the aspects that makes it a fun hike.

Before long, we were pulling Cholla balls off of our boots and pants. Numerous other types of pointy vegetation drew blood on both my arms and bare legs -- I'd be looking down on the ground for Cholla and get stabbed in the arm by a dead bush with stickers.

We finally dropped down into Cowboy camp and stopped for lunch. Due to overgrown brush, we had to climb out of the canyon and traverse a bit before dropping back in. From there, we gradually descended down a sandy wash to the Cactus Springs trail junction. Continued to drop gradualy and then came my favorite part -- climbing and descending to Horsethief creek and the roller coaster of the canyon lands. The falls colors were gorgeous.

We finally reached the Cactus Springs TH, packed up and headed over to the Sugarloaf Cafe. This was my first visit. I had an excellent patti melt, onion rings, and Hanger IPA beer

Thanks so much to Cindy for driving and the great group of folks in my hiking group -- Cindy, Marilyn, Hengst Joe, Howard and Go-sha.

I arrived home to find that my Sheltie had too much time on her paws -- my kitchen floor was littered with trash, including numerous cans of cat food that had been licked completely clean An idle Sheltie is the devil's workshop

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[bluerail]

Nice that place opened back up....fun at the end of that hike, also a good place to try and catch a ride back down to palm desert.

[JackP]

Ellen, it was great hiking with you yesterday. Just to add a few specs to our route, per my GPS:
+ 5,800' Total Elevation Gain, including 1,900' of descent primarily in the canyons;
+ 14.5 miles with the following waypoints:
- 1.7 miles Cove trailhead to start of Boo Hoff @ 750';
- 1.5 miles to intersection with Guadalupe Route (note Guadalupe is not a "trail" but is rather a "route" and is not shown on the USGS Topos we sought prior to the hike - so it is much like Skyline - a well known route but rarely used...)
- 1.6 miles to Darien Gap #1
- 0.5 miles to Darien Gap #2
- 1.5 miles to Cowboy Camp @ 4,550'
- 2.1 miles to Cactus Springs junction
- 1.7 miles to descent in to canyons
- 0.4 miles to Horse Thief Creek crossing @ 3,450'
- 2.3 miles to parking lot
- Total Distance 14.5 miles

What a great hike with so much variation, especially the Autumn Colors in Horse Thief Creek.

PS - found a camera tripod along the trail and carried it out. Please notify me if you can identify.

[JackP]

Also, thank you, thank you to Bluerail for his work in adding more cairns to the route. It sure helped our navigation along Guadalupe! Thanks!

[Ulysses]

Thanks for sharing your trip report. Can either of you say how much (if any) water is flowing in Horsethief Creek these days?

[JackP]

There is a solid, gentle flow of water in the creek and lots of beautiful yellow foliage. Great place to stop for a rest along the route.

[Hikin_Jim]

I can think of no better endorsement of Tenacious Tape than Ellen's posterior.

Before long, we were pulling Cholla balls off

That just sounds wrong.

HJ

[arocknoid]

Before long, we were pulling Cholla balls off
Whoa! Shocked And how did the men in the Cholla clan feel about this?

Barely enough time to learn new parts for the Holiday Chorale Fest--perhaps an encore of the Oratorio Emasculatum (apologies to Handel; and SFW)

http://youtu.be/Qtq3fK6NTKQ

All kidding aside, nice weather and timing for a hike off the beaten path, STS. Glad you all were relatively unscathed.

kind regards,
arocknoid

PS: That's one smart Sheltie, able to open cans of cat food; even if they have a pull-top--yikes![/quote]

[HH8]

http://youtu.be/Qtq3fK6NTKQ

separating the parts that way sure helps prepare for speedier rehearsals

[Hikin_Jim]

So, all poking fun an Ellen's (ahem) "patch job" aside, where exactly is this trail? I kind of have a vague idea of where the Sugarloaf Cafe is (on Hwy 74 near Mountain Center), but where is the other trailhead?

Am I even close with what I've plotted on this Acme Mapper link?

I see a Guadalupe Canyon, but there's no indication of a trail. Is this the route?

Either way, they look LONG.

HJ