Photos from a hike along the SD&A tracks

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks Mike! My 4Runner is a '16 Trail too. The front bumper is from MetalTech. I have King coil overs and stronger springs, with a modest lift (about 1.5") Also RCI skids, and of course the Gobi rack and ladder. 

[rs2mike]

Out of all your pics i am digging the ones with your 4runner. Nice truck man. What bumper are you running on that sweet ride?  Are you running any lift?  

 

Sorry to hijack the thread. I own a 16 trail. 

 

Nice insparation for the railroad your building!  

[BigDaddy]

Ray Dunakin

Oddly enough, of all the times I've hiked in the gorge I've never encountered any snakes.

Yes you did, they just didn't tell you about it.

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks! Oddly enough, of all the times I've hiked in the gorge I've never encountered any snakes. But they are definitely out there! 

 

 

[Bis]

I have really enjoyed your movies. Keep up the good work. That's a lot of hiking , how many snakes did you run across?

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks guys.

 

Henry, we started from the very end of the Dos Cabesas road (really more of a trail). From there to the "big trestle" it was about 5 miles. Hiking was slow going -- if you're on the tracks, the ties are never spaced right for your stride. And off the tracks, the path tends to be rough and rocky. Then there's the hike around Tunnel 16. 

 

If you're traveling light it's not bad though. I was hauling all my drone and camera gear -- AND I've got a heel spur that makes walking a chore. So the round trip took me 9 hours the first time, and 11 hours the second time.

[mbinsewi]

Great video Ray, I've been following along.

What amazed me was the amount of videos out there on the SD&A, with the trestle, even cab rides in a F7.

It really was the "Impossible railroad".

Mike.

[BigDaddy]

How long a hike is that in terms of miles and time?

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Carrizo Gorge Part 3: The Goat Canyon Trestle

  

 

https://youtu.be/HWA-VKzt8wg

 

 This is the third in a short series of documentary videos on the historic, scenic Carrizo Gorge and the San Diego & Arizona Railway line that runs through it. This video explores the area between tunnels #15 and #17, including the famous Goat Canyon Trestle.

 

 Music for this video provided by:

 

 "Sunrise" by Eric Matyas, courtesy of SoundImage.org

http://soundimage.org/

 

"Inspirational Uplifting Americana" by codemusic

Licensed through AudioJungle

https://audiojungle.net/item/inspirational-uplifting-americana/19950398

 

If you missed it, be sure to watch parts one and two of this series: 

 

https://youtu.be/H3HnK2Z32hQ

 

https://youtu.be/ArmWEp68Fss

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks! I too think it would make a great tourist route. Unfortunately it doesn't seem likely to ever happen. Insurance would probably be a killer.

[BigDaddy]

Quite a hike.  I am looking forward to pt. 3

 

[doctorwayne]

Very nicely-done, Ray!

Wayne

[cedarwoodron]

Fascinating visual work- you say you used a drone in the process of making these videos? The arid vistas remind me of my Navy days in SDIEGO when my roommate and I would drive to Anza Borrego and hike around the old calcite mines on the weekends. I realize the rail line is not operational but it would make for a great tourist rail route. Just yo think of all the work done over a century ago to build that rail line in the midst of such scenic beauty. Great job sir!

Cedarwoodron

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks guys!

Brent, the only way into the gorge is on foot or by rail. I got as close as I could by driving all the way to the end of Dos Cabezas Road, which is really more of trail than a road. 

[BATMAN]

A real treat Ray, thanks so much. 

Is it possible to drive the route you took or get to some of those access roads by driving? I have driven a lot of the Kettle Valley rail bed up in B.C. I am past long hikes and I have done some doozies but exploring by truck is still happening.

 

[Lone Wolf and Santa Fe]

I must say, your videos are very well done. Nice job.

[Ray Dunakin]

I just finished part two!

 

 

 

This is the second in a short series of documentary videos on the historic, scenic Carrizo Gorge and the San Diego & Arizona Railway line that runs through it. This video explores the area between tunnels #17 and #19, including the group of hillside trestles known as the Seven Sisters.

 

Music for this video provided by:

 

"Sunrise" by Eric Matyas, courtesy of SoundImage.org

http://soundimage.org/

 

"Forever" by Gentle Jammers

Licensed through AudioJungle

https://audiojungle.net/item/forever/21236639

 

Coming soon: 

"Carrizo Gorge Part 3: The Goat Canyon Trestle"

 

.

 

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks guys!

[Lone Wolf and Santa Fe]

I enjoyed your video and also the pictures. I plan on checking out the area in person sometime. I never knew about it before. Thanks for sharing.

[middleman]

Thanks for the tour and history,Ray. Very nicely done. 'Looking forward to the next installment.

Mike

[Ray Dunakin]

Here’s my newest video! I really put a lot of work into this one…

 

 

 

 

This is the first in a short series of documentary videos on the historic, scenic Carrizo Gorge and the San Diego & Arizona Railway line that runs through it. This video explores the northern end of the gorge route. 

 

Coming soon: 

"Carrizo Gorge Part 2: The Seven Sisters Trestles"

"Carrizo Gorge Part 3: The Goat Canyon Trestle"

 

Music for this video provided by:

 

"Sunrise" by Eric Matyas, courtesy of SoundImage.org

http://soundimage.org/

 

"Inspiring & Uplifting Acoustic" by Den Bass

Licensed through AudioJungle

https://audiojungle.net/item/inspiring-uplifting-acoustic/19383890

 

.

[gmpullman]

Beautiful Scenery, Beautiful Photos!

It just happens that two recent photos of SD&A equipment were posted on the Barriger AC&F Album:

SD&A tank car lot 5601   002 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr

This sure looks like one of the tank cars in your photo.

SD&A caboose lot 5618   003 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr

If that's not coincidence enough, the Goat Canyon bridge was just featured on the Wikipedia main page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat_Canyon_Trestle

Thanks for posting these terriffic photos.

Regards, Ed

[BigDaddy]

Sounds like a fun hike.  Thanks for posting.

[mbinsewi]

Excellent Ray!  Thanks!

Mike.

[Ray Dunakin]

Last week I took another trip out to the Carrizo Gorge. This time my brother-in-law Matt was with me, which was great. We've wanted to do a trip together for years, but he lives in CO so it's never worked out until now. Anyway, we spent the night at the end of the trail, got up just before sunrise, and started hiking at 6:45 a.m.

 

 

 

Here's a shot of Matt hiking the tracks:

 

 

 

I had more camera gear I wanted to bring this time, so I bought a luggage cart and hauled some of it on that:

 

 

 

This worked ok, but the tiny wheels were far from ideal and made for slow going. The round trip to the big trestle and back took eleven hours -- two hours longer than on my previous trip.

 

 

The weather was perfect, both for hiking and for flying/photography. It was warm but not overly hot, with winds variable from zero to five mph. During much of the day there was a thin, hazy overcast that not only kept the heat down, but also provided a fantastic diffused light for shooting photos and video. 

 

 

 

Here are just a few stills from the many videos I shot:

 

 

 

 

 

I have so much video that it's going to take me a while to get it edited into something I can upload. Once I do, you can be sure I'll post it here.

 

 

 

.

[Ray Dunakin]

Here are a few photos from my early trips into the Gorge, back in the late '70s...

 

This photo was from my very first visit in 1977. It shows the Goat Canyon Trestle, the two firefighting tank cars, and an orange crane. This was the only time I ever saw the crane there:

 

 

 

 

Here's a shot of the water tank on the hillside:

 

 

 

 

These shots of the tank cars were taken sometime around 1979 or possibly 1980:

 

 

 

 

 

 

This track speeder was later dumped off the cliff by vandals:

 

 

 

 

This photo was taken sometime around 1978 or '79, at the site of one of the construction camps. It shows the ruins of a small cabin that was made from empty blasting powder cans:

 

 

 

.

 

[Lonehawk]

Amazing pictures.  Especially the night sky pics.  I'd love to take a crack at those skies with my 4" reflector. 

[Ray Dunakin]

The hopper next to the big trestle is a ballast car that was left there by the last failed operator of the line, the short-lived Carrizo Gorge Railroad. Here are a couple detail shots of the ballast car:

 

 

 

 

 On the hillside above the hopper is an old tank from a tank car, which used to hold water from a spring somewhere up the canyon. It was connected by pipes to outlets on the trestle, for use in case of fire

 

 

The first time I hiked into the Gorge was in early 1977, just a few months after the line had been severely damaged by the remnants of Hurricane Kathleen. The Southern Pacific owned it and had filed for abandonment due to the extent of the damage. At that time, there were two tank cars equipped for firefighting. These were parked where the hopper is now, and remained there for many years later. 

 

 

At that time there was also a small building on the flat area near the trestle, next to a semaphore signal. Vandals totally destroyed that building within a couple years. The semaphore still stands, however all the glass has been shot out, the wiring ripped out, and the whole thing covered with graffiti.     :(

 

 

Here are a couple photos of the semaphore. The tunnel in the background is blocked at the far end:

 

 

 

 

[rrinker]

  I have some very similar pictures - my best friend and his former boss used to mountain bike out along the railroad when he used to work in San Diego.

                            --Randy