This magnificent piece of history has existed in the desert for 60+ years, and as someone on a blog put it, “This isn’t the kind of place you want all of Southern California to go to!” (Please leave it the way you found it.)[1]
For years the exact location of Carey’s Castle was considered a secret and it’s existence was not acknowledged by the National Park Service. Today, anyone with some time on their hands and a computer can find its location. I first learned about Carey’s Castle 18 months ago. Since that time, I have planned and cancelled 4 hikes to it. High winds, rain, warmer-than-normal temps and/or laziness have always managed to derail my plans. This past week we decided to give it a go in spite of the predicted 30+ mph wind gusts and 80° temperatures.
The Plan:
Here is a compilation of the stats and information I had going into the hike, pulled from several sources:
Distance: 9 miles RT || Elevation Change: ±1400’ || Duration: 6-8 hrs* || Difficulty: Strenuous
I expected the hike to be strenuous, due to the hike being in the desert (walking on sand), the rock scrambles along the way, and possibility of high winds and flying sand. Based on a friend’s trip and what I had read online, I expected the hike to take us around 8 hours, including a long break at the castle. I was hoping to see some wildflowers, but was not overly optimistic due to the very dry weather we’ve had over the last year.
My friend gave me a gpx file of his recent hike, which I loaded onto my GPS. I also brought along a crude map that I had printed out last year (the first time I planned the trip), in the event my GPS didn’t work.
The Outcome:
We arrived at the parking lot around 7 am and by 7:15, we were headed up Red Butte Wash. I immediately began questioning my decision to attempt this hike.The wind was probably blowing at a constant 20+ mph with a few large gusts here and there. Thankfully once we made our way into the canyon the most of the wind seemed to be blowing over the top of us and it wasn’t bad at all. With the temperature quickly rising, I figured we may thankful for the wind on our journey back.
I was surprised at the number of footprints leading up the wash and very surprised at all of the footprints headed in the wrong direction at forks along the way. I can see how someone could easily get lost. I personally would not attempt this hike without my GPS and a map as a backup. Being afraid of heights, I was a little nervous about the rock scrambles, but these were easily passable. After hiking for 2.5 hours without really taking any breaks, we reached the castle. We spend about 30 mins eating, exploring the castle and visiting the mine, then head back to the car. The trip back took 90 mins.
I really enjoyed this hike. The scenery was well worth dealing with the wind and walking for 9 miles in the sand. We only saw a few wildflowers, but the the cholla and barrel cacti looked amazing. I am hoping to go back again in a few weeks, and will look for ‘Carey’s Cave Cache,’ which I did not learn about until after our hike.
I would personally rate the hike as ‘easy to moderate,’ but if done at a hotter time of year, it could easily become more difficult. While the hike is ‘only’ 9 miles without a bunch of elevation gain, my legs felt like I had done a longer hike due to the sand.
Geek Stats:
Here are the photos:
