Marshal South, Ghost Mountain, and Environs

Seventy-five years ago, Marshal South and his family began a journey to reconnect with the earth and prove that life did not have to be constrained by society’s conventions and harried routines. Their experiment in primitive living was chronicled in monthly articles written for Desert Magazine over a nine year period. His articles were the most popular feature of the magazine and the nearest thing to today’s reality shows. The wisdom and spirit reflected in those articles continue to inspire. The experiment ended abruptly in the fall of 1946, but the controversy surrounding South and his experiment continues today.

 

This field trip will delve into some of the controversy while we explore the ruins of Yaquitepec on Ghost Mountain and an area in Blair Valley that South wrote about in one of his articles. During the Blair Valley hike we will also view the ruins of an F-8 Crusader crash site. For additional information about Marshal South and his 17 years on Ghost Mountain, visit www.marshalsouth.com.

 

Bonus Addition:  Diana Lindsay will be giving a talk about Marshal South in nearby Shelter Valley at 3:00 pm, and trip participants are invited to stop on the way home.  It's a chance to get even more information about the South family's life at Yaquitepec, and refreshments will be served at no additional cost!  This presentation will be in the Shelter Valley Kids Club building, behind the Shelter Valley community Center on Highway S-2.

 

Physical difficulty: Level 3; total mileage: 4 miles (2 miles cross-country and 2 miles up and down the steep Ghost Mountain trail)

Meet: At the entrance to Blair Valley off Hwy S-2, 5.7 miles south of Scissors Crossing, at 9:00 a.m. We will car pool the 3 miles to the Ghost Mountain trailhead.

Bring: Lunch, knapsack, water, hat, sunscreen, and a camera.

Limit: 20

 

Diana Lindsay, author, historian, desert naturalist, is the co-author of the area guidebook, Anza-Borrego Desert Region, the author of Anza-Borrego A to Z,