ANZA BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK
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Surprisingly, Anza Borrego Desert State Park is not well known although it is
the biggest state park in the USA. Located south of Palm Springs, it reaches
almost all the way to the Mexican border. The hottest point of the United States
is found here, and visiting is not recommended in summer. Following the winter
rains, a multitude of flowers pops out of the otherwise stark landscape and
converts the dusty surroundings into a colorful carpet. This year's unusually
heavy precipitation covered large areas of this desert in silky green grass.
Those who are familiar with Anza Borrego treasure the scenery and hundreds of miles of 4x4 trails some of which are quite challenging. We had been to this park several times before and twice drove the Pinyon Mountain Road, a four-wheel trail considered a one-way because of the steep decline called the Pinyon Drop-Off. Supposedly this rough obstacle has rarely been mastered uphill. This time three Jeeps wanted to prove this claim wrong...
At the end of Fish Creek we aired
down, disconnected the sway bars and followed the wash. We stopped at the Wind
Caves and hiked a mile to the rock formations with their wind-carved holes.
From here, we enjoyed the view of the surrounding mountains and a handful of
washes snaking in between.
Our next destination was the Diablo Drop-Off, a small 4x4 play area. Since our
last visit to this tricky incline, nature had modified the terrain and made
this obstacle less challenging. So we moved on to Sandstone Canyon, a narrow
slot framed by colorful walls. We followed the sandy wash into the canyon and
conquered various rocky sections some of which required quite some manouvering.
Especially Joe with his heavily modified CJ7 was able to prove the capability
of his rig on the tougher spots.
After the return to Fish Creek we continued towards the Pinyon Drop-Off. We
snaked along the wide, sandy wash until the trail became a one-lane dirt road
and started to climb into the mountains. The terrain slowly became rougher and
challenges appeared in front of us more frequently. A good hour before sunset
we finally reached the infamous Pinyon Drop-Off. This rocky incline covered
with just enough sand to reduce traction hadn't changed much. We walked uphill
and considered our options. We could choose between two lines both of which
had their drawbacks.
Action time: We started the engines and crawled up the bumpy hill. It didn't
turn out to be quite the challenge we expected but nevertheless was intimitating.
After this success we continued just a little bit further until we set up camp.
The next morning it was just a few hundred yards to The Squeeze - no problem
for the CJ but very tight for the two Cherokees - tires hugging the rock walls
on both sides and mirrors scratching. From there it was a pretty easy run back
to the highway. We pushed on north to Borrego Springs to get some gas before
heading to Coyote Canyon. This valley used to be a common route into the park
for four-wheelers arriving from Highway 371 in the north. For the last few years
however, a part of the trail had been closed for environmental reasons. These
days, it is open again during the winter months. We decided to exit the park
this way. We had been partly into Coyote Canyon before, and this time we were
suprised to find the conditions quite different. The latest rainfalls had changed
the landscape drastically. The dirt road was gone in places and the river crossings
were in different locations.
Along a rocky incline we came across
some people from Land Rover who filmed a capability-video for LR3 owners. Soon
after we stopped for lunch and were surprised to see a full-size Dodge from
the Border Patrol drive by. We continued and moved slowly along the creek bed
searching for the right way. The trail had been washed away by the recent downpours;
had it not been for the occasional orange ribbons left behind by previous explorers,
we would have doubted its existence. As we were driving in the creek, we finally
came to a very tight turn between two rocks. Around the turn we stood in front
of a four-foot waterfall. My attempt to climb it was killed by sinking half
my front tires in quicksand. I could free myself but we decided to continue
on foot for a while to check if it was worth to challenge this major obstacle.
Through the vegetation we hiked just about a quarter mile to find that nature
had taken over completely. There was no way to get through the dense bushes
- not even on foot. Unfortunately, the adventure was stopped short. We had to
turn around and go back to Borrego Springs to leave the park via paved roads.
Nevertheless we enjoyed the exploration of the canyon which hadn't been traveled
for years and showed us its cold shoulder.
It was a fun-filled weekend where we enjoyed some surprises in good company
- just the perfect combination for a successful four-wheel trip. The next desert
journey is already in the planning...