EISPIRATEN

The San Sevaine Rd recently opened so I decided to take a ride up on the KTM350. Lots of water in the nearby springs and lots of big Oaks bursting with still green acorns. There was a decent amount of Deer and Bear sign in the area as well as a couple hunters scouting for the deer season opener. A visit to one of my very favorite places was in order to check on possible vandalism, maybe pick up a Mylar balloon. Thankfully there are no initials carved in Alders or paintball marks on the rocks in this entire area. Not a remote place but still visited infrequently at best. There are fields of ferns in the area as well, more than anywhere else that I have seen anyway. Most visitors to this area go right on by and hike around the "Flats" or go to the Big Joe Elliot campsites never seeing this Ancient food processing and Hunting camp that has obviously been here for many many generations. Theses bedrock mortars are not close to one another but are scattered around an area at least a football field or two in size. I swear I can almost hear the kids playing around the ladies processing acorns, or the men returning from the hunt with maybe a harvested buck. There was of course ancient trail leading up to this area, I'm guessing it started in the Lytle creek or Etiwanda area, but I would like to find it if possible. Moto boot for scale. This one is deepAn even deeper perfect circle and a smaller starter hole right next to the F on the FOX helmet.Same two mortars up on a large boulder.A field of ferns.Had to clear some dirt out to get to the perfectly smooth bottom.
In the past the level of dirt was well below where it is in the picture.
This one is close to the double Mortar.This one is large and right next to the road but easily missed by 99% of folks coming through.Mortars on top of the boulders, hidden and tucked away.

Nice find. How far in were those mortar rocks?

Don't know if you're familiar with the story of San Sevaine Flats. It was the location where the murderous Mason Henry Gang kept their stolen horses in the 1860s. The name of that road is a misspelling of Pierre Sainsevain, who owned a vineyard in Cucamonga. They used to have an old stone house in Hawker Canyon about four miles east of Etiwanda.

I did not know the history of the Flats - good stuff!
The mortars are beyond the Grapevine spring but before the fork in the road leading to the communication towers at around 4800 - 5000 foot level. There are Mortars on both sides of the road one is literally 10 ft. from the road, but still easy to miss, the rest need to be sniffed out as they cover a decent size area. There are probably more Mortars in the area undiscovered, some are covered in thick brush. I found a new starter hole about a year ago only a couple inches deep but paper smooth, I'm still looking for more.

Thanks for the info. I noticed that they have a large one in front of the Ranger Station, but I think that one came from the North Fork. Supposedly the Indians in that area were a Serrano band (related to the Morongo tribe).

Very cool find Tom.

This is most interesting...thanks for posting.

If you find that old trail please let me know! This is the coolest find! I’m interested in any history for this area, it’s seems so hard to find much written information. I found some info in John Robinson’s book, The San Gabriels, but not so much detail. I heard conflicting reports about who Joe Elliot is. One Ranger told me he was a Rancher who lived up at San Sevaine Flats. Another person online said he was employed by the forest service. I’ve heard about the history of Sain Sevaine, the natives living up there during the summer, and the issue with horse thieves and ranchers. I would love to know more of the stories. I love this area so much and explore it a lot but never saw your finds. I’ve seen a well marked on the map and still want to find Dustin Springs. I’ve also been working on the Big Tree Trail from Joe Elliot, you can follow my progress on Instagram @Rockhoundhiker