Sierra Club Sierra Talks
August 2: Hiking the tracks to the Goat Canyon Trestle – Legally! Local hikers know of the landmark Goat Canyon Trestle (GCT) hidden away in the Anza-Borrego desert’s remote Carrizo Gorge. It’s a strenuous cross-country boulder-scrambling cholla-infested ordeal just to get a glimpse of it from a distance, and getting there by bush-whacking along the bottom of the gorge is a long steep battle against thorns and dense vegetation. Some hike along the railroad tracks, but it is a federal crime of trespass to do so. Reena Deutsch will describe her prolonged but eventually successful attempts to obtain permission from the railroad owners to lead organized hikes along the tracks. She will share four hikes through 16 tunnels and over numerous small trestles. See the ancient, unstable, breathtaking terrain of Carrizo Gorge and the awesome, but intimidating 185’ tall, 633’ long, curved wooden GCT. Reena started researching our local San Diego & Arizona Railway’s history after her first view of its GCT. She has lectured on the SD&A since the 1990s and authored the book “San Diego & Arizona Railway – The Impossible Railroad”. She took the sweeping Goat Canyon Trestle photo.