Show me that map again! - Slot Canyon Hike

This morning we drove into Borrego Springs, we wanted to stop at the Visitor Center for Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to get a trail map. The Visitor Center was very busy and the car park was full so people were parking in the RV parking area. We went inside and a gentleman recommended the Borrego Palm Canyon Nature Trail, their most popular trail, a 3 mile loop to see the desert blooms; it would cost $8.00 to get to the parking lot unless you walked from the visitor center which would make it a six mile walk (this was the only trail in this huge park that charged a fee because the parking area was in a campground).

We decided to skip the $8.00 hike as someone at Leapin’ Lizard who hikes daily had recommended a trail near Leapin’ Lizard to see the blooms; we read the trail descriptions and thought we would hike the Pictograph Trail in the Blair Valley area. Now the maps in their book were not the best, there were two maps to look at but they each showed different reference points so by the time we figured out where we were, we had already made a wrong turn that was taking us back toward Ocotillo Wells. Upon further review we decided to try the Slot Trail that was on our way home to the Leapin’ Lizard campground.

We found Buttes Pass Road which is not paved and tried to follow the directions to the parking area which was described as “approx. 1.8 miles to  “T” in the road “. Now we didn’t get an accurate odometer reading but we came to a “Y” in the road before 2 miles and stayed on Buttes Pass Road until we were past the two mile mark and the road was getting rougher; we turned around and parked at the “Y” where Buttes Pass intersected with Borrego Mountain Wash Road.  We set off into the desert to find the slot canyon, we walked to the top of the nearest hill (as described in the directions), but did not see a slot canyon. We walked out to a point and could not see the canyon so we decided to turn back and make some images of the free desert blooms we were walking past.

 

During our walk we could see the Salton Sea in the distance.

 

Our desert walk trail.

 

Some of the flowers we saw on this walk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had given up hope of finding the slot canyon, on our way back to the car we found a more traveled trail that took us a short distance to the parking area for … the Slot Trail!, it was on Borrego Mountain Wash Road not Buttes (but we still couldn’t see the “T” other than John who was “T”icked off by now), oh well, it’s always in the last place you look. Several other vehicles were in the parking area so I guess it just wasn’t a good map day for us; we scrambled down into the Slot Canyon and enjoyed the experience very much (even a bad day here is a good day!).

 

OMG, we found the slot canyon!

 

Inside the slot.

 

 

 

Suck it in, you can make it!

 

Interesting shapes.

 

No room for a backpack here.

 

The slot was very deep in places.

 

No need for single file here.

 

We made it out.

 

 

Nice walk back to the CRV.

It was hot today,about 80 degrees, so we hand our shorts on and we got a lot of sun during our walk back to the CRV.