Miller Cabin

[Andy]

Ghost,
last year I dug around a bit for some info on Jack Miller cabin. Didn't find much other than he
- Lived in the area roughly between 1920 and 1950
- He herded goats in upper Tahquitz Canyon
- He later moved to Temecula

Anyone know if it is possible to hike upstream from the cabin, north towards cactus spring?

[The Ghost]

Thanks Andy.

Fills in a few blanks as we wondered why the irrigation system he built was so extensive.

You could probably get to Agua Alta and Catcus Spring by going up canyon but that would be some pretty rough hiking. Lots of loose rock in that area. Easier to backtrack to the Agua Alta trail and then go up in my opinion.

If it's true that Jack built a road all the way to his cabin that was one hell of a feat. Especially in the 20's and 30's.

[msugarpants]

Spencer is the site steward for the canyon and checks up on the area a few times per year. He can offer more info on the history of Miller and you can find him on the forums...possibly on the thread below this one since I just responded to a random old post of his. He answered the same question for me a while back, but I cannot locate his response. There is also another cabin of his that was washed out in the flood of 76. That location doesnt hold anything more than some barbed wire from what Hal and I found. It is located after the big patch of green (a fairly large spring) on the left about 4 miles up canyon....just after all the thick reeds.
Beyond the Miller cabin one could follow the 'Old Toro' trail all the way to the Alta Seca Bench on Toro peak, then down to the Old Santa Rosa Indian Village. Although I have done a lot of research on that trail and area I have yet to do that exact route, but have done similar. Those trail descriptions are available in an old issue of Desert Magazine (shumway's "burrowing in the santa rosas") and the old Smeaton Chase book (or something like that)
You also probably would be best to backtrack from the cabin to get back to cactus spring trail and go up from there rather then that canyon to the spring. Looked crazy steep on google earth
. I think the Cactus Spring trail continues up a Taquitz canyon, not Agua Alta canyon, but I could be wrong.

Florian, thanks for the info on the Elephant trees! I have looked for them before, but to no avail. Next time, I know what to look for and where.

[bluerail]

as for getting to Cactus Springs from the cabin..Mikes suggestion, I think, would be the smart one, unless youre looking for entertainment...or something else? Which is also always fun.

[Andy]

...oh entertainment for sure! No, i've hiked the main trail (if you want to call it that) that runs up the ridge and across by Pinyon Alta and I've also looked around the upper reaches of Horsetheif, I just figured Martinez is so nice in that area with all the rocks, water etc...it might be ...hold on.......FUN? Hey cant be too much worse that the man-eating bamboo thickets down stream.