Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

he desert is a secre t pl ace. Look a t it from a distance a n d it see ms tim el ess, h a rsh a n d un ch an gin g. T ak e th e t im e to exp lore it a nd yo u' ll find co nsta n t cha nge to a sensi tive face that o n ly reveal s thi s to th ose wh o have been bef o re , a n d co me agai n, to be astonished. So ut he rn Cal if orn ia 's Coyo te Canyon is home to Coyote Creek, th e larg est yea r- rou n d fl owin g strea m in Sa n Diego a nd Ri verside co u nt ies, co m bined . It's not a lar ge s trea m , n or eve n a s tea dy o ne. So metimes, the amou n t of surface wat er isa su rp rise, wh ile around th e next bend, it d isa ppears in to th e desert sa nds. Ca m p al ong th e cree k, a nd yo u will find it recedes up to several mil es in th e co u rse o f a day. as th e dem an ds o f pl ant life tap into it. Earl y th e next morning, it will be as befor e. As I near ed th e low er Willows o f CO YOl(~ Can yon , I rea lized it had been six years since my last visit, a n d th ey T JVhere 'to ride SoCal's Coyote Canyon By Bob Anderson ... ~ Southern California's Coyote C anyon is a showcase for the constantly changing nature of the desert. Its harsh, rugged appearance masks a beauty that is more than skilHleep. built, to a llow the Lo wer Willo ws sta rt th eir slow regrowth, free o f veh icles th at m ight tra m p le tender life. Li fe will co me bac k, but th e qu est ion is, within m y r id i ng lifet im e? Other cha nges ha ve tak en p lace in th ose '25 year s. Coyote Canyon was on ly part iall y within th e boundari es o f Anza Borrego DesertStat e Park, 25 years ago . Since th en , th e Park h a s ex pa n de d it s bound a ri es to include nearl y all of th e ca nyo n, Iive mil es up into Riv er sid e Co u nty. In 1983, m y last tri p u p a nd down the canyon, ATVs were legal in .AnzaBorrego , with a licen sed ad u lt rid ing. Afte r 1986 , o n ly "stree t leg al , ' l ice n sed ve h icles", wi th ad u l t, licen sed operators, were legal , withi n th e Park. to . . had blocked off th e old jeep trail. Acro ss th e creek , to th e west, a new trai l wound up a sm all ca nyo n , th en clawed it 's wa y up rocky steps , hol es du g o u t between , by 4x4s, gras p ing for tract ion. T he su re-foo ted Kaw asaki KLR 650 thumped it s way to th e top of a roc k-bo rde red pass, and th en we eased o u t mto th e ex pa nse o f Collins Vall ey. I h a ve been vi s it in g Coyo te Ca nyon fo r 25 years, no w, a nd have seldom fou nd it th e same. Proba bl y th e most as tou ndi ng cha nge I ever saw was a fter m y first trip in 1964. [ went back th rough in 1965, a nd whe re the bed of th e trail had been th e year before, was now 10 feet above m y head ! T his year though, saw a new, unexplained road, until I topped a rise a nd saw wh at had happened. Envisio n, if yo u can, a seem ingly d ry dese rt, with . . . n ot a n oasis .. . bu t a n entire thick jungl e of willo ws, .so thick that yo u can' t see 50 feet through it. A secre tive pl ace with th e a ctual jeep trail having to run right up th e creek bed in p laces, as if through a green tunnel. Then imagine the jungle gone, its remains a bleak, residue of ash , with blacken ed tree skeletons, gr asping at th e sky. That's what I looked o u t over , this winter da y. As it turns out, th e Lower Willows of Co yot e Canyon were burned out in ea rl y Ma y o f 1988, the 'suspected result o f an ill egal ali en cam p fire. Afterwards, th e new by-pass ro ad wa s - • This is good news, sti ll, fo r th ose of us with street-legal d ua l-purpose bikes. My fi rs t tri ps th rou gh Coyote Canyon were with a n o ld Puch 250 street bike. T he n o thers. T he n the " En d uro " bi kes ca me a nd I went in o n them. After that, I was tak in g the fami ly th rough by 4x4, th en th e ATVs ca rne, a nd th e 4x4 was so ld . for a fleet o f ATVs. Alo n g th is time spa n, th e Park co nsi dered th e need s of its namesake th e Borrego (desert big h orn s hee p) a n d se t as ide Coyo te Ca nyon fro m June 15th through September 15th, for no vehicle access, so th e Borreg o co u ld find hot weather wat er acces s. T h is rul e still h olds . tru e toda y . .. th en aga in .. . I su re wouldn't want to be down in the canyon betw een th ose dat es, due to h eat. Nove m ber th rough Ap ril are th e best months to be in Coyote. As a n exam p le, l ance visit ed th er e in m id-Oc to ber, a nd o u t o f curios ity had pa rked th e dua l-s port b ik e a nd was h ik in g .th e foo t tra il into the Lower Willo ws, to see wha t th ey reall y looked like. T he temperature a t 97°. The walk was a n easy h alf hour in, an d one o f mixed emo tio ns. Some of th e hiking trail followed th e o ld jeep ro ad , n ow bein g reclaimed by th e desert in pl aces. The burn-out, while ex tensive, had mi ssed a few of . th e larger willows near Santa Cata rin a Sprin g . Amo ng the burned willow skeleto ns, new growths of T amar isk h ad co me back, a lo ng th e thickets o f Ca rsclaw, and th e ever p resent willow sa p lings a nd ca tta ils grew th ick in th e marsh y areas a lo n g th e creek. Walking back o ut to th e bike, it was a stra nge sensation to listen to th e br eeze an d realize th e different so u n d it made in a dead forest. The whisper o f leaves a nd creak of bark, were rep laced by soft wh istles a n d sq ueaks, m ad e by bar e, dr y wood, devoid o f life. T he n ew ro ad arou nd th e Lower Willows event ua lly intersects with what used to be a side ro ad , in Collins . Vall ey, to th e Santa Ca ta rina Monument. The Monumen t is a short di stance to th e ri ght a t a turn-around loop. From this eleva ted location , a good view may be had o f Collins Vall ey. T o p roceed up Coyote Canyon, th e ro ad is fo llo wed to th e left , which twi sts a nd di ps aroun d wh at used to be several ro u tes throu gh Collins Valley. T wenty-five years ago, th e o ld jeep trail mainl y fo llo wed th e cree k, with Coll in s Valley being a side detour. T hese days, th e Sta te W ildern ess b ounda r y h a s b een moved west, to in clude parts of the cree k, lea ving veh icular traffi c to use m ore defin ed ro u tes to th e west. It a lso hel ps to understand th at Coyo te Canyon is no t j us t o ne, lon g " ind ivid ua l gorge, b u t ra ther, a wa ter ro u te that a lter na tes betwee n being squeezed th rough ca nyon n arro ws a n d opening u p into severa l vall eys. Typicall y, wh ere it is co nfi ned, th e .wat er su rfaces a nd th e jeep tra il have no other ro u te to tak e. From th e Monument area, it is a 3.2-m ile ride to cros s Co ll ins Valley to th e Sa lvador Canyon junction. H ere , th e trail h ook s to th e eas t, a n d a gain , pi cks up Co yot e Cr eek. For th e first-time visitor, this is wh er e th in g s reall y sta rt to g et interesting , for over th e n ext 3 4 miles, th e ca nyon closes down. The trail is eithe r in the cree k, or close al ong sid e it, a nd th e tra veler passes through th e Middl e Will ow s. While n ot as ex tens ive, or lar ge, as th e Lower Willow s used to be, th is is now th e m ost ru gged'stre tch to travel through , in th e ca nyon. Wat er, mud, rocks an d sli me, test ski ll. . Coyote Canyon bridges AIIZa Borrego Desert State Park, adjoining Riverside and San Diego Counties. Street-legal dual-sport bikes are theticket for exploring the area. '

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