This week Larry, Mary Lou and RD Brian scouted out the first 15 miles of the Lost Boys 50 course. We had a great day weaving through the desert washes including the famous cross-country section and LB50 dry waterfalls.
See the Maps Page of the LB50 website for detailed turn-by-turn directions of this section.
Click here for a printable version of this post (I suggest you save this file to your cell phone).
Don’t forget we will be having a training run on Feb 28, 2015 to preview this section.
The LB50 start line is where Pinyon Wash meets Highway 78 (white hwy mile marker 81). Start by heading south on the dirt road inside Pinyon Wash. Stay on the main road for 5 miles until you reach the boulders at the dead-end.
Leave the boulders aid station by scrambling up and over the boulder field and stay along the canyon floor in the wash. About 0.80 miles past the aid station you will reach the mouth of the canyon (open desert directly in front of you). Stay to the right hugging the small hill on your right. Then head directly south targeting the mouth of the two hills in front of you.

The “target” has a red “X” in this photo. This is where you head south, aiming for the mouth where the tall hill on the right and the small hill on the left funnels into a mouth (I’m standing at approximately 6 miles into the race when I took this photo and the “X” is at approximately mile 7).
When you reach the mouth of the canyon you will come to a fence, go through the fence then take an immediate right and work your way up the wash for another 0.85 miles until you reach the dirt road. This stretch contains the classic dry waterfalls and the old broken down sheet-metal structure.

The fence at the mouth of the canyon, turn right immediately after you cross this fence and stay in the wash (mile 7.08 in the race).

RD Brian at one of the famous Lost Boys 50 dry waterfalls. The course goes up and over this and another series of short falls (mile 7.65 in the race).

Once you reach this old broken down sheet-metal structure on your right you know you are on the right track. The main dirt road will be coming up shortly (mile 7.75 in the race).
Once you jump onto the dirt road turn right and just stay on the main dirt road all the way through the Pinyon Mountain Aid Station (mile 12 in the race) and down to the junction of the marked California Riding And Hiking Trail (mile 15 in the race) where you will take a left onto this trail.
This remote area of Anza Borrego is cradled by the Pinyon Mountains Cattleman of yesteryear drove their herds down from the higher slopes of the Laguna’s and Cuyamaca’s to graze them on the sprouting desert grasses during winter and early spring.
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