Exploring Anza Borrego (my first back country drive journy)

[SGTTOM]

Hello,

My name is Tom and I wanted to share some pictures and experiences from my trip this last weekend to Anza Borrego. I am new to the community and this is my first vehicle based journey into the back country. I'll start by saying thank you to this forum and website. As I was planning my trip I received so much information from users on this forum, on everything from gear to routes. All of it was extremely useful and reliable, and I plan on using this resource to help plan my next adventure. I credit this forum with making my trip fun, successful, and safe.
I took lots of pictures and unfortunately I didn't charge my camera (mote for next trip), so most of these pictures were taken through my iPhone. This doesn't help the fact that I am a poor photographer, so bear with me.

I had already been planning on doing a trip for some time with my original goal being the Bradshaw trail (also in So-Cal). After seeing forecasted temps reaching well over a hundred for that weekend my wife and I had decided to head to the mountains instead. Again after much flip-flopping we finally the day before decided for destination would be Anza Borrego State Park. The allure and mystery of this very beautiful desert park was just too great to turn down, and we knew this could be our last chance until next year to visit it. We had been there before, but only to one area and knew there was much to explore. I did some research on the internet (mostly asking around on this forum) and picked out some possible areas to check out. I printed out some materials and a map and packed the truck for the adventure to come.

Day 1-

Not having any solid plans we decided to enter the park through Hwy S22 and head in to the town of Borrego Springs, which is an unincorporated community of San Diego County, and is surrounded entirely by Anza Borrego State Park. The drive from the Salton Sea to Borrego Springs starts off as a not so scenic drive, but that quickly changes as you pass through Ocotillo Wells OHV recreation area. As you drive toward town you enter the park through the Ocotillo Bad Lands, a unique and mesmerizing canyon system with hundreds of washes and muti-colored mineral deposits striping the landscape. The highway takes you on top of these canyons and as we drove we could look down and see the occasional jeep way down below exploring the maze of sand and narrow slots.
Once we got to Borrego Springs we stopped by the Park Headquarters Visitor Center in order to gain some better materials and knowledge. Here I acquired a through guide book and detailed map which proved to be a priceless asset on our journey just hours later.
We then took off continuing up Hwy S22 and climbed up into the higher elevations of the North Western portion of the park, the terrain changing from desert flora and cacti to yuccas, manzzinitas, and oaks. It wasn't long before we reached our first dirt road. Tires on dirt and aired down we excitedly started our adventure on Old Culp Valley Road. This road was hard packed and very easy to navigate in my full-size Silverado. There were some loose rocks here and there and I could see the road becoming muddy in the rain, but in the condition it was in that day four wheel drive wasn't required until later. Old Culp Valley Road was a relaxing drive that offered to great vistas where on a clear day you can see all the way down to the Salton Sea. On this road we took a side road up to a place called The Slab where we stopped for a picnic in a beautiful spot where the landscape was dotted with massive boulder out crops.



After lunch we made our way down to Jasper Trail, which is classified as a jeep trail. The trail seemed to be holding as a beautiful easy drive so we decided to keep following it down in to a canyon where we would link up with another dirt road. Well, the easy didn't last long as we made a somewhat steep assent and came round a corner to what seemed like a narrow road with a dirt and rock wall on one side and a steep drop on the other. In a jeep this may not seem so narrow but in my full-size truck I felt my heart begin to beat as I asked my wife to poke her head out the window to make sure we weren't going to drive off the mountain. We successfully rounded this hairy corner to a steep bumpy decent, which we navigated through without any problem. Once we made it to the bottom we took a breather and decided no more jeep trails unless it is a wash. We continued down Jasper Trail and encountered some more rocky but not too crazy of areas, but tons of bushes which reached out to crissen my truck a trail truck (lots of scratches). After about half-an hour we finally reached the dirt road that would put us back out on Hwy S22. All of this drive was beautiful and fun, even with the hairy parts. This trail would be much more enjoyable with a more nimble vehicle. My truck made it but as a new driver it made me nervous, if you want to take your full-size on Jasper Trail are prepared for bush wackin, and narrow roads. I would not take a truck with a widened wheel base on this trail. I must say that it was a confidence booster and made me feel that was driving a solid rig. It is definitely a jeep trail!
After we followed the dirt road (which actually connects Hwy S22 and Hwy 78) we arrived back to the pavement on Hwy S22.
(Ingnore the thumbnails I couldn't get them to go away, all pics are down below now. Thanks)

 

[SGTTOM]

After we got on the highway(just east of a one horse town called Ranchita) we drove around to Blair Valley where were got back on the dirt. We drove just a little ways down the road until we found a place to make camp. This road is very easy, although I did find a mud puddle to slpash in! I have seen cars drive this road. You can follow the road and signs back to a hike where you will find some pictographs and a incredible view from a place called Smugglers Canyon. I high suggest a visit to this place, we went on a previous trip and it truely is a fantastic little hike.
It was at our camp in Blair Valley (overlooking the valley and tucked away) where we ended our first day. That evening was great, very quiet. Unfortunately later that night after dark we ended up having a nieghbor move in not too far away from us. My guess is they were out exploring late and picked the first place they could find to bed down. Also, late that night my wife took the dog to go potty and was startled by some killer attack sheep. It was neat having big horns wander right through our camp.

 

[SGTTOM]

Day 2-

We woke up early; well, we really didn't sleep much. We had decided to sleep in the bed of the truck under the stars, which would have been great except the dog was too nervous at the sounds and smells that come with being outside. Since she didn't sleep neither could we. It was a beautiful morning with clear sunny skies, and every so often some red and white fighter jet would buzz low over the valley. We sat drinking coffee and enjoying the view for a while. Later after a hardy breakfast of bacon and eggs we loaded up and headed out.

Once we were back on the pavement we made a 24 mile round trip detour to Julian a tiny town just west of the park and up in the mountains. The reason for this detour was for the amazing world class pie and cinnamon ice cream from the Julian Pie Company. Anyone who has had fresh pie in Julian would likely agree that it is well worth the out of the way detour.
After some pie, a stop by the gas station, and water top off we headed back to Anza Borrego. We drove down Hwy 78 back into the lower elevations of the park and back into the desert scene. This is where we got pack on the dirt again, we took a wash that doubled back along the highway for a about a mile before connecting to a dirt road. On this dirt road we drove through an incredible scene that could best be described as an ocotillo forest. We stayed on this rocky but easy road travelling east down into some more barren scenery. This road eventually put us back out on to the 78 which we stayed on going east for a few miles until we reached Kern Springs Rd.
Kern springs road drives through what seems like a less lively version of the ocotillo forest from the last road. The drive on this road is very bumpy with lots of rocks, requiring you to mind your tire placement in order to avoid potential damage. The road was still easy and I just took it slower and made sure my tires were aired down; it was nothing like the day before on Jasper Trail. We stayed on this road for a while and took a right turn on to Buttes Pass. Shortly after turning on this road we passed an equestrian camp and some private properties before crossing back over the 78 and headed into Hawk Canyon.
One of these properties was really interesting; it was a home that appeared to be being built to look like a hill. It reminded me of some of the ordinance storage bunkers I had seen in the Marines. They also had a gate with several chains and locks. Cool place, but I think someone maybe a bit of a paranoid type or could just want a cool house.
After crossing the highway we drove down Buttes Pass Rd and entered Hawk Canyon off to the left. Hawk Canyon is a beautiful and sheltered place where we decided to seek refuge from the wind. We drove as far as we could in to the canyon and made a nice little camp in a tucked away cove. The only issue was the bees, which soon left with the sun. That night we truly spent alone and far away from others. It was wonderful! The canyon driving was easy just very sandy as is typical in desert washes.

Day 3-

We awoke the next morning to beautiful weather and tons of bees buzzing around our water jugs and shiny pick-up. My poor dog was being swarmed while trying to drink her water. So, we decided to break camp early and head elsewhere to make breakfast. We left Hawk Canyon and back tracked up to the top of a hill where Buttes Pass intersected Goat Trail and Borrego Mountain Wash (a one way jeep trail). We ate breakfast and drank coffee while enjoying a spectacular desert view over the Big Wash, and valley.
After breakfast I called the visitor center to confirm that my route would be safe for my truck (Not another Jasper Trail). I told them my plan was to take Buttes Pass to Borrego Sink Wash and to a dirt road that would take us back to Hwy S22. I was told that my route should be safe and we loaded up for the drive.
The drive was beautiful and fun; we made great time through the sandy wash, and decided to take a side trip down Rainbow Wash. This was a great trail, we drove into the most specular eroded hills, that looked like multi-colored striped mud mounds and canyons. We stopped before the trail reached its end point due to the fact that the trail became too technical for our truck. It look liked it would be a blast for Jeep drivers. We took a short hike down the trail and saw really sparkly stripes in the hills where quarts veins had eroded causing the quartz (or at least what I thought to be quartz) to crumble. We found dinner plate size pieces of this stuff, it was quite fun. After our walk-about we got back in the truck and made our way back to Borrego Sink Wash.
Once we reached Borrego Sink took a right and went on our way. We quickly came to a fork that was not on the map and had no signs posted to indicate which way to go. This was the first time I ran into anything that wasn't indicated on my map and well-marked with signs. So I decided to go with the road that appeared to be the most used. This was the wrong choice, and the trail quickly narrowed and became rather technical. I ended up maneuvering with some effort and turning around. The sand during the all of our third day's drive was pretty deep in most places. Once we made it back to the fork we went the other way, which led us to the San Gregorio Memorial marking the Anza Expedition of 1774 and 1775. This was an indicator that we were on the right track.
Again shortly after being relieved to be going on the right trail we came to another unmarked fork. This time I called the visitor center to see which way was the right way. They told me they hadn't been that way in a while, so after some deductive reasoning we ended up picking the fork that led to the right. This led us down a very sandy and bumpy road that got hairy at points. If you find yourself on this trail keep going and don't stop, you need momentum to get up the sandy hills without spinning tires (at-least for heavier vehicles). We kept pushing and we kept finding more roads not on the map, but with Borrego Springs in sight off in the distance we just picked a direction that seemed to go where we wanted to be. I took this road fairly quickly and it was actually a lot of fun and exciting. Lots of bumps and steepish angles to drive over and around. I must have been determined because I kept picking a direction(that felt good enough) without too much thought at every fork until we finally put rubber on asphalt right where I had originally been intending to. We came out right by the local landfill on Hwy S22. After airing back up we head over the visitor center to find a shady place to eat lunch, and let them know we found our way out after we called them.
Our bellies full of lunch, our dog full of water, and our minds full of satisfaction from the successful completion of our first vehicle based exploration we stopped to grab a milk shake for the road and headed home. As we drove home my wife and dog fell fast asleep now that they weren't being rattled around by the trail, and I thought about how excited I am for the next adventure. I have now been bitten by a bug that calls me to find more dirt roads that lead off into the wilderness and follow them where ever they go.

I really enjoyed the wilderness of Anza Borrego and I hope to return next year to explore the vast desert park some more. We saw many different types of terrain and wildlife in just three days, experiencing some excitement on jeep trails in the mountains, to relaxing easy drives through sandy desert washes. Anza Borrego is truly a place where you can find it all, and someday I hope to. I also hope to drive the Bradshaw trail next spring. Until then I plan on finding some cooler mountain roads to explore in the near future. I know this was a lengthy post for a single trip done by a new inexperienced driver, and I'm not much of a writer, but I hope if you plan on going to the desert you find this somewhat entertaining. Thanks for reading!

 

[SGTTOM]

Sorry the pictures make no sense I messed them up trying to change the file types. So here they all are, thank you!

 

[SGTTOM]

 

[SGTTOM]

Like I said great trip, as you can see my all-terrain truck, and all-terrain dog are back home safely ready for the next trip!

 

[james727]

Very nice write up on your trip. Looks like you guys had fun, and that is what it is all about.

 

[taugust]

Nice writeup Tom. Well done. It looks like you had a great first adventure. Here's to many more.

 

[SGTTOM]

We had a great time. It was an experience, like I said I scratched up the truck, and got it dirty; never thought I would be excited about that!

 

[BorregoWrangler]

Congrats on your first back country adventure! Anza-Borrego is a great place to start. Southern California has so many fantastic areas to explore. Thanks for the great write up!

 

[Borrego60]

Awsome report I felt like I was there with you. On your next trip ya gotta check out Fonts point!!

 

[topofpalomar]

Tom,

Glad you chose Borrego. Sounds like you guys did just fine for your first real run. I agree with Borrego60; check out Fonts Point when you can. Especially during the sweet light of early morning or evening. And scratches on the truck are good!

Cliff

 

[SGTTOM]

Ha ha, thanks guys. I just want to share and hopefully give other ideas like you all have done for me. I deffinately want to make Font's Point, it's one of my highlighted places to go. There is so much to see in that one park it's crazy. I can't help but feel good about the success of the trip, we saw so much and overcame a few challenges a long the way. Great confidence booster. I would really like to get on a trip with a group some time. I will likely be busy for a few months but come next year I plan on getting out on the trail as much as I can. Thanks again for the kind words and help!

 

[BobA]

Looks like a fun trip,Thanks for sharing

 

[SGTTOM]

Time to plan the next trip! Any ideas for a good So-Cal mountain trail. I'm aiming at the San Bernardino National Forrest. Also, may be doing a three week trip up to WA and back, looking for trails in some of the National Forrest along the way, or any where. Thanks. I will likely strart a thread for this once the planning gets more serious.