Gecko Gateway to Harper Flat Traditional Geocache
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-Gecko Dad
Gecko Gateway to Harper Flat
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Harper Flat is one of Anza Borrego’s special hidden places. This surprisingly large valley just east of the Pinyon Mountains is typically reached via 4WD routes, typically from the Pinyon Mountain Road through The Squeeze and down Heart Attack Hill or by way of Split Mountain and Fish Creek. The far northern end, although seldom visited, is easily accessed on foot from upper Pinyon Wash.
Your hike starts at the south end of the Pinyon Wash Road, 5 miles up the Mescal Bajada from State Route 78. Although 4WD is not required, you are advised to have a vehicle with good clearance and capable of short sandy stretches. Of course, walking or mountain biking to the trailhead are reasonable alternatives. From the parking area, one-way distance to the cache is approximately 0.9 miles to a site on a low bluff overlooking Harper Flat.
In 1918, Julius Harper “discovered” this gently sloping valley and figured it would be perfect for wintering the Harper family’s cattle. The main Harper property was a ranch in Rattlesnake Valley in the Cuyamacas. The Harpers (Julius, brother Eli “Amby” Harper, Jr. and their father, Eli Harper Sr.) also filed a water claim for a well they dug in a canyon between Palm Spring and Carrizo, possibly Arroyo Tapiado or Arroyo Seco Diablo. After deciding Harper Flat would provide better winter grazing opportunities, they constructed two concrete and rock dams for water storage in a small side canyon as well as a one room cabin 15’ by 12’ a couple of hundred yards below the lower dam. Unfortunately, the project failed a few years later when heavy runoff filled the dams with sand and an anthrax outbreak killed their cattle. Julius had a son, also named Eli A. Harper, who attempted mining feldspar in Harper Flat some time after his father died in 1924. Eli Harper last visited Harper Flat in 1936, shortly before moving his family to Escondido.
The above information is for historical background only. The Harper’s two dams and their cabin site are NOT in the vicinity of the cache coordinates.
Turnoff from the highway is N37 07.925, W116 18.689, a few yards beyond an emergency call box. The main Pinyon Wash road passes a turnoff to Nolina Wash at N33 06.709, W116 18.928. Keep to the left here. Parking and primitive camping is available at N33 04.693, W116 17.276.
The container is a bright red Christmas. Initial contents include:
WJTB Harlak
Watch/stopwatch carabiner
Rainbow beanie lizard
Large glow-in-the-dark lizard
Selection of small lizards
Sobe lizard tattoos
Logbook
Ballpoint pens
Please be prepared with plenty of water and sunscreen and be watchful of snakes. There are a few small dry falls to navigate around but overall this is a very easy desert hike with minimal elevation gain between the parking area and the cache site.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqre ynetr ebpx. Ybpngvba fubhyq or boivbhf.