It’s been on my bucket list of MTB rides to do in San Diego for quite some time. So when an opportune Spring weather window opened and the invite went out, it seems a number of other folks also had Carrizo Gorge on their bucket list as well. Growing up the son of a train buff on the east coast, I’ve spent some time around railroads and riding trains. So this was really an extra special ride, bringing out some childhood memories. Dubbed the Impossible Railroad, this probably one of the most interesting sections of rail in the US with some 17 tunnels and 14 trestles through the 11 mile gorge. It stands as an engineering marvel completed in 1919 and still draws out people out to see the spectacle of the inhospitable canyon and railroad that cuts through it. And just to make this ride even more unique, I planned for some additional sightseeing that pre-dates the railroad.

As a note of warning, countless signs are posted along the rail line as constant reminders that you are trespassing.



The Carrizo Gorge Railway is still an active railway based out of Campo (although currently runs a short section for tourist use), has a dedicated railway police department and has been known to cite people. See http://www.cgrp.us/Trespassing.html. With that being said, a significant portion of Carrizo Gorge between I-8 outside of Jacumba and Dos Cabeza has been out of service for years due to rock slides and tunnel collapses. Work on the tunnels has been on again and off again in recent years and steel reinforcement materials can be seen sitting outside the tunnels in repair. The 2010 Easter earthquake also resulted in some additional rock fall in numerous places which has yet to be removed.

Passing by the sign for the nudist camp and not desiring to indelible images of old people seared into our minds, we cut over to the tracks prior to the entrance gate.



All aboard. Bike train is leaving the station.



The first two trestles are a bit of a challenge to ride as several ties are missing and/or decaying.



Rolling stock and passenger cars on Dubber Spur.



Soon the tunnels appear.



Interior timber beam construction



Timber spacing varies depending on the quality of rock





Thankfully the traditional trestle catwalks have been upgraded to wide steel grating, but are also wide enough for rail police ATVs.



Baja train coming through



Another siding is storing 3 commuter cars from Montreal





Now which train do I catch?



Caboose is from the Mexico Tierra Madra Railway.



Stang is comfy and is ready for this train to get rolling



Gman practices running atop cars for the next dire situation or stand-in stunt man opportunity.



Canyon carnage asada



A tunnel that was dug but never finished, presumably due to encountering poor rock. Quaestionis heads back to the first cave-in, only to find out later from one of the hikers that a mountain lion used to live in there.



With Tunnel 8 having been repaired, the singletrack bypass where the famous Miles Todd crash occurred is reclaimed by nature. But now there’s a Smart car size boulder that fell from the roof at the north end.



Something that most people don’t stop to consider is where the work crews stayed while building this rail line for 12 years. Keeping a watchful eye, you might find areas where encampments were staged. Retaining walls built to level a portion of ground on the canyon sides would have held canvas tents as seen in the center, left and bottom right.



Double vision





Getting tunnel vision



Light at the end of the tunnel



Seven sisters trestles comes into view



One more tunnel dumps you out at the Goat Canyon view.



The Goat Canyon Trestle is massive and historic land mark that folks from all over the world come to see.






Built in 1932 to replace the adjacent Tunnel 15 collapsed from an earthquake, it remains the highest curved wooden trestle in the World and longest in the US at 186’ high and 633’ long. It was designated a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1986.



Beyond this, Tunnel 8 still needs some work at both ends.



One of the bigger rock slides





Head’n for a train wreak



And of course our guys are all over this one



Looking back up Carrizo Gorge from the freight cars, Goat Canyon Trestle looks small on the left.



Bike train rolling again.





Want an oasis of palm trees in this ride?



Carrizo Palms checks that box.



But of course no good epic would be complete without some good old fashion hike-a-bike. And with only 182’ of climbing, it’s best to slog it out in a soft, sandy wash. 25 minutes later you arrive at a pile of boulders.



Numerous Indian mortero indentations can seen in several rock slabs.



But if you know where to look, the real prize is finding the Indian pictographs.





Did Native Americans know about mountain bikes?



Back down at the tracks, we head down to Dos Cabezas siding and water tank.



And manage to get some brief chunk on.



We continue heading down the line before picking up Dos Cabezas road.



Dos Cabezas road eventually makes a hard left which bypasses a large sand blow area of track. Some fast mileage is covered on the remaining descent, helped by the ever present westerly winds. Keeping on OHV signs marked 158 eventually leads you back to the tracks on the east side of Sugarloaf Mountain.



After riding the tracks briefly to get over two drainages, it’s just a matter of cutting over to County Hwy S80 before the I-8 bridge and a fast finish into Ocotillo.



With a full day of rails, trestles, tunnels, palms, and pictographs, the hand dipped ice cream and cold beers at the Old Highway Café was the perfect ending to this experience.



While this ride isn’t particularly strenuous, the heat exhaustion and running out of water is very easy to do anytime of the year. Riding on steel grated trestles with occasional wind gusts and lots of air between your tires and the ground is a bit unsettling but managed. The dark tunnels are no different than riding down unlit alleyways at night, but without the local fanfare. This day we saw 5 groups of hikers and two groups of bikers returning from an out and back. It’s what you experience during the ride that makes it on everyone’s bucket list. Definitely makes my Top 10 most memorable MTB rides.




Carrizo Gorge - Jacumba to Ocotillo
Type: Point-to-point
Distance: 30.0 miles w/ Pictograph side tour
Ascent: 1,024’
Descent: 3,044’

Fantastic TR! That place is fascinating and has been my list for 12 years now. When, oh when, am I going to get out there?

Beatiful closing pic too! Thanks.

_________________
"New York City is a mismanaged carnival of stupidity that is desperate for revenue and anxious to criminalize behavior once thought benign."
--Alex Baldwin, unknowingly describing his socialist utopia.

Just freakin' awesome TR !!

that was a fantastic TR thanks for sharing!

_________________
-Dustin

_________________
https://gabekeatingphotography.smugmug.com/
mind wide open

Great pics Sean. I kept expecting to run into you guys by Sycamore that morning, but I guess I would have had to travel a bit further East to do so.

SO bummed I had other plans I couldn't get out of!!

Great TR and that last shot might be the best MTB photo I've seen -- looks like he's riding through a cathedral.

_________________
A bicycle is a splendid thing.
~Ernest Hemingway

Very nice TR!

_________________
"We'll ride it until they pave it."

-Big Clyde

Definitely one of the most memorable and scenic rides you can do.

Done it twice, but never all he way to Ocotillo. Maybe next time.

_________________
http://paleovelo.com/

Nice, very nice

_________________
"Just stop this walking shit and let's get this done"
Avidtesty (Arch 2019)

Simply amazing! This is also on my bucket list, but couldn't make it out this time. After this are temps just too hot? When is the next time this ride can be done?

_________________
~I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
~Nothing from nothing is nothing.
~I'm allowed to be a pussy because I have one!

This has always been one of my favorite rides due to the remoteness, history and scenic views. Have to find the pictographs next time!
Thanks for the great TR!!

Jacumba is supposed to be partly cloudy & 70 on Sat., and 61 on Sun. with a chance of rain.

_________________
"Those skilled at the unorthodox are infinite as heaven and earth, inexhaustible as the great rivers."
— Tzun Tzu

Truly epic TR!