Goat Canyon Trestle on Carrizo Gorge railway via mountain bike, December 7, 2015
=> click on the thumbnail image to see the original larger image <=

Tony crossing a small trestle bridge
on our way into Carrizo Gorge

the gaps between the bridge ties can be rather wide,
so keep the speed up and ride straight

"Danger" is my middle name...

Tony Taylor photograph

abandoned railcars
on a siding

another view
of the railcars

I'm approaching the first tunnel

Tony Taylor photograph

entering Tule Canyon,
one sees the first substantial trestle

I'm crossing that first large trestle

concentrate on riding straight
while looking down through the trestle tie gaps
Tony Taylor photograph

riding along the railway,
with a tunnel ahead

there's the bike track along the other side of these tracks,
so it isn't healthy to bobble your line while riding along

I'm exiting a dark tunnel

Tony Taylor photograph

more abandoned railcars
along a siding

quite colorful

these railcars
were from Montreal

Tony at entrance to what turned out to be a half mile long tunnel !

three tunnels were so long that we couldn't see after quite a distance into the tunnel, so we dismounted and walked between the rails in pitch darkness, keeping the small distant light of the far tunnel opening in the middle. Some stumbling was involved, but you wheel the bike ahead to feel what's coming, plus feel the rails with your feet to stay centered. The longest tunnel was this one at a half mile long,.. which was a heck of a long walk in total darkness. As I wandered along in absolute pitch dark, to reassure myself, I wondered if animals lived in these manmade caves. Next time... lights!

Carrizo Gorge view
along the railway

the views down into the gorge were great!

I'm that little figure up there,
approaching a tunnel

Tony Taylor photograph

tunnel framed within a tunnel

there were a lot of tunnels !
I didn't keep track of the number of tunnels... maybe ten or so.

we popped out of a tunnel
and there it was,... the Goat Canyon trestle

Tony riding across the Goat Canyon Trestle, which my GPS said was 8.0 miles from our start at the Hwy 8 Jacumba exit. The Goat Canyon trestle is 186 feet tall and 630 feet long, and was the tallest wooden structure in daily use. It's a designated Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

the Goat Canyon Trestle
from the other side

We turned around one tunnel further on, after we met three hikers who came in from the other end. They told us what was ahead for us, and we decided to head back. Tony is the white spec riding across the trestle

we exited a tunnel
and saw five bighorn sheep
on the slope above

They're in the upper middle below that pointed red rock on the ridge.
I shot a few 'safety' shots with the wide lens already on the camera,
and then changed lenses.

bighorn sheep watching us

After moving along the slope,
the bighorn sheep stopped and watched.
I had plenty of time to change lenses.

the bighorn sheep left us
after a long while

Time now for us
to ride back out...