Whitewater Canyon Exploration

On Saturday, April 4, 2009, fourteen intrepid adventurers gathered at Whitewater Preserve Visitor Center to explore a section of the Pacific Crest Trail, then venture off along the Whitewater River to see if we could find Stills Landing and the remains of the East Branch Millard Canyon Trail on the edge of the San Gorgonio Wilderness.  It was a beautiful day, sunny but not hot, with an occasional cold breath of wind to refresh us. After some minor misadventures, we achieved these goals.

We proceeded slowly at first.  The PCT is lined with wildflowers, and although they appeared to be past their peak,  they were still very pretty.  The shutterbugs and the botanists stopped often to check things out.  Once we reached a formation called Red Dome (an intrusion of red basalt), we stopped and took a break  This spot is a worthwhile destination for an easy hike.  There's a bit of shade, rocks for sitting, and the view of the canyon and the peaks to the west is breathtaking.  We decided to stay on the PCT until we reached the river, then turn west to follow its course.  One can stay near the canyon walls, but the ground is a treacherous and exhausting combination of sand and river stones.  The river level varies a lot, and hiking near where it occasionally floods gave us firmer ground to walk on.  We still had to watch out for the rocks and driftwood from the forests in front of us.

We stopped for lunch about  mile shy of our turnaround point, where the canyon narrows.  20/20 hindsight: A little past this point is a small grove of cottonwood trees that offer more shade for picnicking.  I could see the ridge that marked the mouth of Boundary Canyon, and after the break I made a beeline for the end of it.  The problem with that is the tributary stream that flows out of the side canyon.  It's lined with a beautiful hedgerow of trees that grow right up against the end of the ridge.  I got up to it, but I couldn't see any way through it.  We ended up thrashing round in the thickets for half an hour, finally backtracking and crossing back out to the main river.  I could see some pine trees that might have been imported and nurtured by a past resident (purely wild speculation on my part).  A this point one participant signed out.  She felt she didn't have enough water or food to stay out much longer, and in truth, we were at our turnaround time.  But we were too close to give up, and eventually we did hike far enough upriver to see the way into Boundary Canyon.  We stopped here and dropped our packs for a break and a quick investigation of the area.

 

I did locate Stills Landing, which was right where the map showed it.  We were probably less than 100 feet from it when we hit the dead end at the end of the ridge.  The key is to keep the alder thickets on your left and the river on your right until you reach the pine trees.  Then you can turn south into Boundary Canyon and spot the remains of the East Branch Millard Canyon Trail.  The ruins are well hidden, and not impressive.  They consist of a pile of stones buried under dead grape vines, a small concrete footing of some sort, and a rusty old differential, probably from a Jeep. We did find a surprise: a waterfall pouring out of Grape Canyon!  We didn't have time to check it out up close, though.  Another day, for sure!  Sherry and I are determined to come back and find the way to Kitching Peak. We gathered up the group, and Sherry led us out at a spanking pace.  We reached the cars at about 6:30 p.m.

The on-site ranger was hovering when we reached the parking lot.  It seems they like to lock the gate at 5 p.m. but if you let them know you'll be later than that, they can accommodate you. Totally my bad: I was so wrapped up in trailhead business that I didn't check in and let them know we'd be late.  Quite a few of us gathered at Tortillas Restaurant in Banning for dinner and a celebration of the day before making the drive back to Long Beach.

I was too focused on route finding to take pictures, but participant Jim took enough for everyone.  Check it out!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimbresnen/sets/72157616474200838/show/