David K
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That old adobe and giant cardón, and hot spring near Guadalupe Valley/ L.A. Cetto
https://youtu.be/8G0BcmvbIBw
[Edited on 11-11-2022 by David K]
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geoffff
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It's on my to-do list. Anyone been there?
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David K
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BAJACAT has, and another Nomad or two. Serach for 'federico' (the old man in the video at the ranch) as his name was mentioned by Nomads. 'L.A.
Cetto', 'Russian Valley Hot Springs', and other searches, too.
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TMW
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It looked to me like Mission Santa Maria.
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Maderita
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The waterfall is beautiful when flowing in the wet months. I went a few times in the late 1980s - early 90s. Looking at potential for new climbing
routes. I did manage to put up a route and rappel anchors above the falls. The rock was uniquely hard to drill. Also rappelled into a rather pristine
cave, with exquisite stalactites and stalagmites.
Lots of changes to the area since then. Guides are taking groups of paying clients, nearly every weekend, to rappel the cliff at the waterfalls.
Pretty canyon. The waterfall area is about 20-30 minutes walk upstream. The hot springs are upstream from that.
Definitely worth making a 1/2 to 3/4 day visit. Suggested best time is in the late winter or early spring, after some rainy period.
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bajaric
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Great video of the old adobe and the lower hot springs. There are some other YouTubes of the waterfall, mostly in Spanish, like this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXxE283dw2o
that shows the dry waterfalls and the upper hot springs
I think overnight camping may be permitted but not sure. Rancho Sordo Mundo just a few miles away has camping but have not heard any recent reports
if they are open or not.
[Edited on 11-14-2022 by bajaric]
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C205Driver
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David, you didn’t post a map with the location!
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David K
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Good point... maybe because I have not been there (yet)?
There have been good posts with photos here on Nomad, many years ago. Not sure if one of the Nomad site reboots lost the photos? It was a m/c rider
going the back-way to Ojos Negros from Guadalupe Valley, as I recall.
BAJACAT had more recent photos.
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bajaric
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Looking at Google Earth, it appears the adobe ruins are on the old wagon road that went up to Real del Castillo, a mining boom town established in
1871. This road, that started at Rancho Tia Juana on the border, went east to Valle las Palmas then south to today's Valle Seco before arriving at
the location of the adobe next to Arroyo Agua Caliente. The wagon road then skirted the northern rim of Canon Hondo before arriving at Real del
Castillo. The route was abandoned around 1890 when a new wagon road was built east of Ensenada to Ojos Negros, following the approximate route of
Hwy. 3.
I have a question for DK the mission guy. I believe I read somewhere that the Dominicans grazed cattle in Valle San Rafael (today called Valle Ojos
Negros) during the late missionary period in the 1840's. Is that true? and if so, what mission was associated with the cattle and how did they get
them up there? It is possible that the missionaries used the same route along the northern rim of Canon Hondo, coming from Mission Guadalupe (del
Norte) and the miners just improved it to allow for wagons to use it.
[Edited on 11-16-2022 by bajaric]
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Don Jorge
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Nice place, very crowded on weekends nowadays with the locals Ensenada folks camping on weekends. Camping allowed, pay Fredrico at gate. Drive in to
first oak grove where most camp.
Hot springs are crowded so choose a weekday if possible. Cardon so far north in chaparral not desert is interesting. Fredrico is a trip. First met him
40 years ago when he was shacked up there with his younger girlfriend. literally.
 
�And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry
years. It was always that way.�― John Steinbeck
"All models are wrong, but some are useful." George E.P. Box
"Nature bats last." Doug "Hayduke" Peac-ck
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David K
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Great contribution from Don Jorge!
bajaric, sadly the letters from Dominicans are not as common as from Jesuits or Franciscans. I will see what I can find...
What we do know is that both the nearby missions of Guadalupe and Santa Catalina were attacked and destroyed by unhappy Natives, primarleily those who
had issues with one Dominican, Padre Felix Caballero. This was in 1839-1840, when both those missions were abandoned.
Caballero had previously abandoned the missions of San Miguel and El Descanso, in 1834, with his development of Guadalupe for a new mission. He had
forced baptisms upon the Native women and that angered their chief, a man who had helped Caballero build the missions of Descanso and Guadalupe.
Caballero fled south to Mission San Ignacio in 1840, where he was soon to die a mysterious death after drinking his morning cup of chocolate. In the
north, only one mission remained open, Santo Tomás (until 1849).
See my book for more details!
[Edited on 11-16-2022 by David K]
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bajaric
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Great pics Don Jorge!
I am pretty sure that I read something, somewhere, that Dominicans grazed cattle in Valle San Rafael (today called Valle Ojos Negros) when Mission
Guadalupe (del Norte) was in operation, prior to the hasty departure of Caballero. Perhaps the trail continued south, to mission Santa Catarina, and
cattle were herded along the trail
[Edited on 11-25-2022 by bajaric]
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