3-18-21
The drive into Anza Borrego State Park itself is beautiful.
This is one of the most popular hikes in the Anza Borrego Desert. The hike takes you uphill to a scenic desert ridge, with views out across the Salton Sea, before heading down to The Slot, within a desert wash.
The parking area sit’s just above The Slot. I hiked the loop hike, but if your just looking to see The Slot, this hike is easily accessible right from the the trailhead.
This is the twisting and winding desert wash I would find myself in at the end of the hike.
Anza Borrego is best visited in the winter months, when temperatures are cool and mild. It was in the 60’s on this particular day.
The trail is relatively flat at first, and easy to follow. As I hiked on, multiple social trails, would make finding the actual trail more challenging. I had alltrails, and it was helpful in finding the way.
The ocotillo were just beginning to bloom red. They only bloom after a rain, and there was only minimal rain in California this year, as we were nearing a drought.
I was headed for this ridge, and was not sure exactly what these wind caves looked like.
Similar to Fonts Point, this area has some epic desert views.
As I neared the ridge the terrain was much more strewn with rock, and the trail became more difficult to discern. I lose my way, and used alltrails to find my way back to the trail again.
It was nearing sunset, and I began to realize this hike was taking far longer than anticipated.But I decided to press on anyway.
The scene looking out towards the Salton Sea of all this emptiness, made me feel blessed to be able to find peace and quiet in our bustling world. The people who think the earth is running out of room are mistaken. Plenty of room out here in the desert at least. Negative population growth is the trend too. This means more empty trails, which is a good thing for me at least.
The quartz seemed to be flecked in a volcanic rock. Perhaps its tourmaline, or even obsidian.
Looking out across the valley towards Borrego Springs. On the other side of this valley, is another scenic overlook, Font’s Point.
I began my descent into a desert wash, down a steep, crumbly path, which involves a bit of class 2 and 3 scrambling.
The light was fading, as I hiked reached the canyon. I started to doubt my decision to continue the entire 4.3 mile loop. I had no headlamp, and my phone was low on power. Without navigation, I could get lost here. To make matters worse, even my alltrails pro downloaded map, was having trouble tracing my location. This definitely was a problem.
You live and you learn. I just continued on, having faith that my miscalculation would end well, despite poor planning.
The beautiful sandstone cliff walls, glowed golden in the afternoon sun. I tried to up my pace, and just finish the loop. But desert washes are full of deep sand, which slows your pace. Another thing, it was getting chilly. I was definitely unprepared today, since I brought no other layers.
The light turned the cliffs shades of red, pink, and purple. Sunset in the desert is always a beautiful time.
There was a bit more scrambling down a dry waterfall of sorts.
The tire marks in the wash at this point gave me hope, that at very least, people off road here. If I was to get lost, I could always follow the tire marks. But that would be a last resort, and I would try to follow foot prints instead.
I passed by plenty of interesting desert cottonwood trees, creosote, and other desert shrubs, as throughout this wash. These skeletons of trees were somewhat foreboding, as I was about to hike in the dark, alone.
There were some caves carved from the sandstone cliffs, eroded by wind, hence the name of this hike, The Wind Caves. But I never actually saw any large caves. Maybe I missed them somehow?
The Slot
Eventually I would reach a narrow trail referred to as the The Slot, where I squeezed between the towering cliff walls, eventually completing the loop, arriving back at my car well past dark.
I had to conserve my phone power, and pictures were no longer really an option, since it was dark, so I never got a good photo there. I did however experience it, in the most spooky way possible, alone, in the dark, with just my phone’s flashlight to guide me, at only 15% power.
Next time I decide to take a hike like this, or any hike near dusk, I will not only try to start earlier, I will bring a backup battery, an extra shirt, and definitely a headlamp.
I will not repeat this hike in this manner. Lesson learned.
Conclusions
This hike took much longer than I expected, since traveling in a wash, requires more exertion than flat, hard packed trails.
It can be a bit confusing in the wash. Another thing to note, is even with downloaded maps, alltrails had trouble working in here, so I did not always know my location here.
Off -road vehicles also have access to parts of the wash, evidenced by tire tracks there, though I did not see any on this particular hike.
If you have never been in a slot canyon, and just want to see that part, the hike is relatively easy to access from the parking area. So need to hike the whole loop, just to see “The Slot.”
I hope you enjoyed reading this, and it is helpful in knowing what to expect, should you decide to visit here.
About me
I’m Serafina! I’m a writer and California girl who loves to go exploring. Hope you will get outside today, breathe some fresh air, and be happy!
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Disclaimer: The work on this blog is my opinion and my opinion alone and I am not responsible for the outcome if someone were to apply these thoughts to their own life. All text and photography copyright 2021 by Serafina, all rights reserved. Information and opinions provided are kept current to the best of the author’s ability. All readers’ usage of the ideas and opinions presented in the blog, are at their own risk. Be aware of the possible dangers of hiking, surfing, walking, cooking, and other activities, which may take place indoors or outdoors. By reading this, you agree not to hold the author or publisher of the content on this web site responsible for any injuries or inconveniences that may result from reading the blog, or partaking in any activity mentioned in the blog. Read the blog, and use its ideas, if you so desire, at your own risk.
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