Anza Borrego - Sat Jan 2, 2010 - The Slot, Buttes Pass

Heather and I joined another Xterra owner and his wife for a day of exploring in Anza Borrego on Saturday. We started out on Buttes Pass from Hwy 78, then turned into dead-end Hawk Canyon and followed that to the end, where we took a little hike. After that we continued on Buttes Pass to San Felipe Wash, and followed that west to Borrego Mountain Wash, where we turned south. Borrego Mountain Wash starts out wide and sandy but eventually gets narrow and a bit rocky in spots.

After a while the trail forks, with one fork eventually getting too narrow to drive and the other ending at the base of a drop-off that is designated as one-way, the other way. After checking out the drop-off we went back to the fork and continued up the wash and canyon until the trail became too narrow to drive in. From there we walked through a sandstone canyon known as The Slot.  

We stopped in a shady spot for lunch, then started walking. The trail starts out easily enough, but then gets narrow.

Here's Heather squeezing through a particularly narrow passage in the sandstone.

Here's a relatively wide spot.

It was pretty nice out there on Saturday. The high was about 75F, and there was almost no wind.


Click here for more images from our day in the desert.