Anza Borrego

[balzaccom]

We spent the last week camping and hiking in Anza Borrego, and really enjoyed it. Cold at night, warm during the day, great dark skies, slot canyons, cool geology, and even some Native America artifacts.

It's a long drive from our home up in Napa, and we still prefer Death Valley, but the hikes were solid, the palm oases were great, and we discovered some wonderful places.



The whole report is here:

https://www.backpackthesierra.com/post/anza-borrego

Anza Borrego II

Day 5: After luxuriating in the Borrego Valley Inn (complete with breakfast in bed...which we ate out of bed) we decided to explore the farmer's market, where we bought dates and honey, and visited the Borrego Art Institute. They directed us to the mosaic mural in town, which was worth a quick...

www.backpackthesierra.com

And the whole photo log is here:

Anza-Botrego 2025

125 new items added to shared album

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[balzaccom]

More on Anna,the discouraging ranger:

When we first stopped in at the visitors center in Borrego Springs, a young ranger named Anna offered to help us plan out our visit. We were delighted. We shared with her that we had camped, hiked and backpacked extensively in Death Valley, and done some of the main hikes in Joshua Tree as well. What could we explore in her park?

She was not encouraging. She told us that most of the trails were quite challenging, and that almost all of them required a 4X4 vehicle to access. She warned us against tackling any of the other roads. Our only real option was the hike out of the campground, a 3 mile round trip in Borrego Palms Canyon. She discouraged us from taking any of the other trails.

Hmmm. That left us disconcerted. We'd scheduled five days of hiking here. And there was one tiny note in her recommendations--a comment about older people--that set off a small alarm bell. She told us she'd taken a group of people "like you" to one of the hiking areas, and they had found it very challeging. She was not sure we could do it on our own. We should definitely avoid one section of the trail, which was very steep, and another which would be impossible to follow.

Happily, over the following days, we talked to other rangers and volunteers who were more encouraging. The trail Anna had describe as steep wasn't steep. It was a bit exposed as you walked along the ridge, but nothing unreasonable. The trail that was impossible to follow was one that we followed happily to connect one set of palm groves to another in the Mountain Palm area. It was our favorite hike of the trip. And the only other people we saw on that hike were hiking in a group of about 10-12, all of them over the age of 70.

In the end, we did a series of hikes:

The Borrego Palm Canyon--one that Anna had suggested.

Hellhole Canyon--that Anna did not recommend, as it would be difficult. We did it before lunch.

Little Surprise Canyon--A short and easy hike that had cool geology

The Calcite Mine and Slot Canyon loop-that Anna thought would be too hard.

The Slot (different slot!) and Narrows. Anna thought we would not be able to drive to that one.

Mountain Palm Loop, which Anna said was very steep, and impossible to follow in sections.


Yeah, I know Anna meant well. But she needs to get out more, and meet more hikers on the trail. She'll find that a lot of those "older people" can probably leave her behind on the trail, and give her some good advice while they do it.

Here's another link to our photos from all the hikes: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MJP6cXZd9gMXVSYg8

 

[Bob]

Most rangers assume you as the public knows nothing about hiking or the area. They want to discourage those that are really nevs or unprepared. Got that all the time in yelliwstone

 

[balzaccom]

Right. But we very clearly told her we'd done extensive hiking and backpacking in Death Valley. The other ranger and volunteers we spoke to weren't nearly so negative.

 

[OldBill]

Had a similar conversation with a ranger in Big Bend asking about water sources along the route to the East Rim. Wound up carrying 3L more than needed as a spring was in fine shape.

Anza Borrego is well worth a long visit. Famous for the cactus bloom. We only had a few days after Joshua Tree but I wanted to hike part of the PCT, check out Palm Canyon and pay my respects to Peg Leg Smith on the way.

 

[balzaccom]

Nice!

We didn't find his gold mine, either. Sigh.

 

[ramblinman]

Awesome trip report! Anza Borrego is a beautiful desert. There's tons to explore there, especially in the backcountry.