Followup to Search for Henderson's Rock-Pile

For the few of you that are interested here are the Google earth tracks of my recent search for Walter Henderson's Rock pile.

I hiked a little over 32 miles in the week I was there and came across two windbreaks for sleeping, a well made fire pit, a rams head, a small trash pile from the 1960's or 1970's, an old door panel off a 1930's or 1940's car, an old can and 5 or 6 Mylar balloons mostly wishing people Happy Birthday or to get well soon.

I also saw some wildlife including a fox and a couple of bighorn sheep.

For some pictures and a short trip report go here: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=86277#pid1075...

On the first day I drove down from 29 Palms, crossed at Calexico, exchanged some money, had my vehicle briefly searched at the military checkpoint at the junction of Highways 3 and 5. From there I headed east towards Ensenada before turning off a few miles west of El Arrajal into a large wash.

Hikes are shown in RED except the estimated hike 5 and a future suggested hike which is in YELLOW, and the drives from camp to camp are shown in BLACK while the drive in to camp one is in BLUE

DRIVE IN TO CAMP 1

That evening after setting up camp I hiked the surrounding hills. It was a 2.4 mile hike along the ridge.

Not far from camp I found a rock pile that looked like it was made as a windbreak to sleep behind. There was also several other areas there that looked as if they had been cleared of rocks.

The next morning, loaded down with a lot of water and minimal camping supplies I headed out. This hike was 7.5 miles long and in one of the washes heading down the other side of the ridge I came across a well made fire pit.

A little ways downstream from the fire pit was a small cave/overhang that looked as if someone had piled rocks up at the entrance.

Then in a different wash I came across another sleeping windbreak rock pile.

I set up camp in the desert and went to sleep hoping that no coyotes would attack me.

The next morning I hiked back to my jeep, this hike was 3.7 miles long and involved some scrambling and sliding a loose, rocky, and steep draw to get off the ridge line.

Once back in camp I planned on spending the night there before driving to my next campsite but the wind was blowing so hard I packed up that afternoon and drove to camp two.

The road was in pretty bad shape due to the races and was slow going. I made it two my second camp in time to setup before the sun set.

The next morning my goal was to hike up to where I could see where I hike the day before to have as much coverage as possible.

The first hike that day was 2.2 miles and was my fourth hike of the trip. I found several pieces of tourmaline and some of it was rutilated in quartz.

After hike 4 I relaxed in camp until the worst of the days heat passed and headed out on another short hike.

My GPS track of this hike is corrupted so this is an estimate of where I hiked that day.

The YELLOW track is my estimated hike, the RED line was the earlier hike and the BLACK line was the drive in.

I returned to camp after dark glad that I had a flashlight with me.

The following morning I drove to camp 3.

I first went up Arroyo Arrajal before turning around and going up an unnamed wash that had no tire marks to follow.

It took me several tries before I found a way through. On the way out I found it was much more open and easier to drive on the northern edge.

The next morning I hiked up the wash and into a large valley. On this hike I came across the old door panel, a small pile of trash and tire marks. This hike was 4.3 miles long.

The pile of trash consisted of some bottles including a milk of magnesium, Hires root beer and several aspirin or medicine bottles along with some bicycle parts, plates and cups, and old cans. The bottles appear to be 1960's to perhaps early 1970's era.

From there I saw some old tire tracks with bushes growing in the tracks indicating a fair amount of time has passed since this was used last.

My final hike was 10.8 miles long and seemed most encouraging for a way to reach Arroyo Grande.

Along this hike I was watched by a fox, saw several bighorn sheep, came across a nice ram's head, and found an old tin can.

Once back to camp I packed up and headed out.

On the drive out I passed a telephone/graph pole that was perhaps part of the Pole Line rd and also found a working fire extinguisher.

I had to camp out one more night before finally hitting the pavement and heading back to my sisters in 29 Palms.

Quote: Originally posted by Fatboy

I returned to camp after dark glad that I had a flashlight with me. The following morning I drove to camp 3. I first went up Arroyo Arrajal before turning around and going up an unnamed wash that had no tire marks to follow. It took me several tries before I found a way through. On the way out I found it was much more open and easier to drive on the northern edge.

Quote: Originally posted by TMW

Quote: Originally posted by Fatboy   I returned to camp after dark glad that I had a flashlight with me. The following morning I drove to camp 3. I first went up Arroyo Arrajal before turning around and going up an unnamed wash that had no tire marks to follow. It took me several tries before I found a way through. On the way out I found it was much more open and easier to drive on the northern edge. This route is the usual SCORE race course the top end is Arroyo Grande, the wells are to the north.

Which route? The wash I went up showed little to no sign of use. It was almost like a lost valley.

Or are you referring to the route I took in to my first camp and the route out to pavement that I followed?

Sometimes this is all so confusing via the web.

The pics below show roads near where Fatboy did his hikes
I have captured all Fatboy’s pics and his details for use for my search next winter.

Legend for PaulW’s pics:
X =do not drive
R =race road
M = mine road, note the X

A G =Arroyo Grande
Plr =Pole line road
PP =Pinta Pass
PP/E=Pinta Pass East
4 =Four corners @31 30.007 -115 10.405
W PL= Wood Power line race road
A = Arroyo Arrajal
Green X in the mountain area next to Cerro Arrajal is the slate mine
Cerro Arrajal is the white circle.
2P = Two Poles @ Km 163
3P is three poles @ Km142
KM 133.8 or nearby is known as Chinero
Dots on the highway are KM markers

Quote: Originally posted by Fatboy

[/rquote] This route is the usual SCORE race course the top end is Arroyo Grande, the wells are to the north.[/rquote] Which route? The wash I went up showed little to no sign of use. It was almost like a lost valley. Or are you referring to the route I took in to my first camp and the route out to pavement that I followed? Sometimes this is all so confusing via the web.

This is the image you posted for the drive from camp 3 to 4.


This is the SCORE race course from Arroyo Grande to Hwy 3

Thanks, Fatboy, Paul, and Tom.

The weather is cooling back down which opens up possible explorations into the Sierra Pinta once again.

Fatboy, can you tell me why (on the lower black line) you turned around there? Is it possible to drive further west (and northwest) from the end of the lower (south) black line?

Thank you for sharing your search for Henderson's Rockpile and/or the Lost Grave of a Spanish Explorer, Captain Melchior Diaz, 1541... the first European to enter California using land routes rather than ships.

If it is possible to drive further in from the southern black line... then that would be the best guess (I have) for Walter Henderson's hike to Arroyo Grande.

Remember (per his letter to Choral Pepper) he hiked down into Arroyo Grande using a west flowing arroyo, down the mountain. He camped in Arroyo Grande, then returned to the Model A near the base of Borrego Mountain.

Walter found the rockpile alongside the arroyo he hiked down to Arroyo Grande in... on a ledge in the arroyo canyon, 1/4 to 1/3 down to Arroyo Grande from the ridgeline.




On this version of your GPS track map, I added blue arrows of possible Walter routes to the ridgeline... For the sake of time, the closer we can drive (4x4 trucks) to the ridgeline, the more opportunity to hike.

Thank you for being a big part of this search for history!

Quote: Originally posted by PaulW

David, I drove Arrajal last spring (west to east) and I am definitely going to try your blue lines. That opening in the ridge line looks drive-able. I will report if it is a go for driving. As you know from our previous discussions getting as far as the drainage divide is unlikely. Time will tell. Do't hold your breath because I have lots of trips on my agenda. Anybody is welcome to join me. We just need to get the trip planned. I will be using my hard core Jeep and will invite local SF jeepers along. [Edited on 10-8-2017 by PaulW]