Organizer
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Jeff Guckenberger
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Phone
541-954-1531 -
Email
jguck61@gmail.com -
Jeff and his wife have been visitors to the desert for the last 30 years and more recently wintered in Palm Desert for the last seven years. Our summer home is in Eugene, Oregon. Jeff has been mountain biking the Western states for 30 years, backpacking the John Muir Trail and sections of the Pacific Crest Trail more recently. You will find me hiking the Coachella Valley on a weekly basis during the winter months. Jeff prefers more strenuous and challenging hikes with the hope of seeing wildlife and marveling at the incredible beauty of the Coachella Valley.
RAINBOW ROCKS VIA CANYON VIEW TRAIL AND PCT, WHITEWATER PRESERVE
The hike begins at the Canyon View trailhead, near the Whitewater Preserve entry, and rapidly ascends up Canyon View Trail to eventually intersect with the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). We soon get great views of the entire Whitewater wash and surrounding hills and should see a fair amount of desert flowers in bloom at the upper elevations. We continue northbound, down the PCT, back to the valley floor where we take a lesser-used trail up to Rainbow Rocks, after a short break here, we will continue up the great Valley Trail to a small waterfall. This will be our turnaround point. This area of the trail is very different from most of the other desert trails as it’s filled with large deciduous trees, deep canyons, creating a lot of shade and the ground in many places is covered with Grapevine. From here, we head back down the trail, then northbound on the PCT for a short distance. We return, passing the Whitewater Preserve ranger station and walk the wash to our cars.
The hike starting point, the Canyon View trailhead, is just before the Whitewater wash concrete crossing, a bridge-like structure before the Whitewater Preserve entry gates, 9160 Whitewater Canyon Rd, Whitewater. Hikers can park cars on the side of the road at the Canyon View trailhead (GPS coordinates 33.98060° N, 116.65384° W). If you drive through the Whitewater Preserve entry gates, you’ve gone too far.
Distance: 10 miles
Pace: Fast
PLEASE EMAIL JEFF TO REQUEST PARTICIPATION IN THIS HIKE AND INCLUDE YOUR PHONE NUMBER. Please don’t hesitate to contact Jeff with any questions.
Note: You must be a current CVHC member to hike with the club! Join Now!
