I swear, it never fails. Once again, as we headed out to Anza Borrego on this trip, mother nature decided to get us a little wet…. make that soaking wet and it didn’t let up until about mid-day!! Okay, I just had to get that off my chest.

Unlike our previous trip a few weeks back, we decided to look for a better and less crowded location to camp and see all the wildflowers blooming in Anza Borrego. Well, after doing a little research online, I found that a small area just off S-2 and south of highway 78 called supposed to be heavily in bloom right now and so that’s where we decided to start our trip.

Smugglers Canyon
After a leisurely breakfast at the IHOP in Temecula, we filled up our gas tanks, picked up some last minute provisions and then headed off for Anza Borrego. To get away from the hordes of people we saw just a couple of weeks before, we decided to steer clear of all the obvious tourist traps (just about anything in and around Borrego Springs) and headed down the S-2 towards the southwestern edge of the park.

Our first destination was going to be Smugglers Canyon which is right off the S-2. There is a hiking trail here that heads north towards Whale Peak and goes to a site where Indian pictographs can be found. I think it’s safe to say that we would have done the hike if not for the fact that we got stuck at mouth of the canyon with cameras in hand, mesmerized by the explosion of color.

Carrizo Badlands Overlook
Leaving Smugglers Canyon, we continued south until we reached the Carrizo Badlands Overlook. The view from this vista point really is a sight to see but as an added bonus, all the Ocotillos in the immediate area were in bloom too. From here, we backtracked just a few hundred feet up the S-2 and then turned off onto Canyon sin Nombre.

The landscape in Canyon sin Nombre was relatively dry and harsh compared to what we just left. In some areas, the walls of the canyon exposed uplifted and folded sedimentary layers but for the most part, they were made of mud and riddled with slots just itching to be explored.

Carrizo Creek - Vehicle Recovery
Out of Canyon sin Nombre, we proceeded east up Carrizo Creek and planned to have lunch at the old Carrizo Stage Station Site. I say planned because on the way there, we encountered a small group of trucks, two of which had gotten very stuck in deep mud. Thanks to all the rain we had earlier in the day, the trail had become a sticky and gooey marsh with a deceivingly dry surface crust on top. Need I say, my family and I decided to spend the next hour or so helping to dig and winch them out. We never did make it to the old Carrizo Stage Site but we sure did have a lot of fun helping out where we could.

Carrizo Badlands - Camp Site
After our recovery work was done, our daylight was quickly fading so we decided to head back a bit to dryer ground and setup camp for the night. As always, we feasted that night on some super delicious filet mignon that Yvonne prepared for us, YUM!!

The next morning, we packed up early and then decided to hike and explore the many slot canyons immediately around us. There weren’t nearly the amount of wildflowers that we saw the previous day but there were still quite a few around and even more of something a little less pretty… caterpillars!! Actually, there were tons of these bugger and to describe them more accurately, they were huge! By 9:00 am, we were back at out rigs, loaded up our gear and were on our way again to our next destination, the Slot.

The Slot
On our way out, we headed north up Vallecito Wash (instead of backtracking up Canyon sin Nombre) which ultimately hooks up to S-2. Once on S-2, we headed north and then headed east on HWY 78. Just passed Borrego Springs Road, we turned left onto Buttes Pass Road and made our way to the Slot.

Of all the places to visit and explore in Anza Borrego, the Slot is one of my more favorite stops. Very easy to get to and relatively close to town, the Slot is like a dissection through the landscape, slow cut open by time and water. If you’re claustrophobic or on the fat side, I wouldn’t recommend this hike.

Pumpkin Patch
Leaving the Slot, we headed up Buttes Pass which eventually becomes The Cut Across Trail and headed to the final destination on our trip, the Pumpkin Patch. Our plan was to stay on this easy but annoying trail (basically a motorcycle route with a ton of whoops on it) until we reached Basin Wash, but somewhere along the line, we took a wrong turn, got very lost, followed some old motorcycle tracks, made our way over some very difficult terrain (I’m still amazed that a Sportsmobile 4×4 van could follow me through all of it) and then found ourselves on the wrong side of a boundary fence… Argh!! With some effort, we did manage to find a route around the fence that ultimately hooked back up to the Banks Wash route and then the Pumpkin Patch.

In the end, all I can say is what a let down. I had never been to the Pumpkin Patch before and that’s the only reason why we went. Had I known it was going to be just a small patch of a few rocks, I would have spent more time taking pics of my Jeep flexing out on the trail we just came on instead of worrying about daylight. Oh well, you live and learn and now I can say I’ve been to the Pumpkin Patch.

With the day quickly waning, we headed out of Anza Borrego State Park on Tule Wash. This wash hooked up to HWY 86 over by the Salton Sea and will take you north to I-10 or south to I-8.

Now, I’ve been coming out to Death Valley National Park, CA since I was a kid and over the last 10 years, I’ve been coming out on a more regular and frequent basis. During this time, I have never… and I mean never, seen this place look so amazingly beautiful. Due to all the rains we’ve been having this year, Death Valley has become a completely different park covered in greenery, wildflowers and water just about everywhere you look. Unfortunately, this may be a once in a lifetime experience and if it is, I am certainly glad that I got a chance to see and experience it for myself.

Saratoga Springs
Starting from the southern border, my family, friends and I decided to begin our expedition by breaking off Highway 127 before the small town of Shoshone and headed up into Death Valley by way of the well traveled and easy graded dirt road known as Harry Wade Road. Aside from our desire to get off the pavement sooner than later, we had planned to make our first stop at Saratoga Springs which is only about 10 miles off the highway.

Saratoga Springs is home to three all-year ponds and home to one the several varieties of Pupfish. Apparently, these ponds are also a seasonal habitat for a multitude of migratory birds. As we made our approach to the springs, the road leading to it progressively got wetter, stickier and eventually turned into a deep soup of chocolate pudding about a mile from the parking area. By the looks of things, several SUV had attempted to make the crossing but got bogged down, backed out, parked their vehicles and then its occupants hiked the rest of the way in. After accessing the situation, we decided to give it a go and with a little effort, we made our way through the muck without incident. Once at the parking area, you will still have to hike in about half a mile to reach the ponds. This oasis in the desert really is a odd gem in an otherwise harsh environment and it was especially beautiful this year with the addition of all the lovely desert wildflowers surrounding it. After spending a couple of hours hiking around Saratoga Springs, checking out the thousands of Pupfish, frogs and wildflowers, we decided to make our way to our next destination, the Armagosa River.

Armagosa River
Back on Harry Wade Road, we continued to make our way up north into the valley floor and about 17 miles later, we reached our next destination for this trip, the point where Harry Wade Road crosses the Armagosa River. So why was this particular point of such a keen interest to us? Well, it is in my opinion one of the best places to see the explosion of desert wildflowers (particularly the Desert Sunflower) in Death Valley. Unlike the display at Jubilee Pass and Ashford Mills area that was being touted as the best viewing area online and in the news, the Armagosa River area was little known to most and saw only two other vehicles the entire time we were there (as opposed to the hundreds if not thousands at the other locations). Standing at the edge of the flowing river and looking north, we were treated to a sea of golden wildflowers as far as the eye could see. I truly feel fortunate to have seen this amazing display and would be surprised if I ever saw it again. With the day waning, we decided to pack up our things and high tail it to Johnson Canyon which was our final destination of the day and where we would setup camp.

Hungry Bills Ranch
Making our way further north, we eventually hooked up to the 178, made our way past all the tourists and then turned back off the pavement on to West Side Road. Much like Harry Wade Road, this is a well maintained graded dirt road and you really can make good time on it. Johnson Canyon Road was only about 17 miles north of where we started and we got there in no time at all. This was a good thing as the drive up the Panamint Range is easy but very rough and slow going. To cover a short 10 mile distance, it probably took us easily over an hour, maybe two to reach the end. As you make your way up, be sure to look back ever now and then to take in the awesome view of the valley floor below. Towards the end of Johnson Canyon, the road became heavily rutted with a good size stream cutting though it and it was pretty much impassible to all but the most capable rigs. This last length of trail was a lot of fun and easy for my Jeep but I was blown away that my friends highly modified Sportsmobile 4×4 Van was able to keep up and without any signs of struggling. By the time we reached our campsite, the sun had already set behind the mountains. That night, we ate Brazilian style fillet mignon and then went to sleep to the sound of water rushing and frog croaking.

The next morning, we made sandwiches, packed up our Camelbacks, laced up our boots and set off for a 4 mile round trip hike up Johnson Canyon and to our destination for the day, Hungry Bills Ranch. Originally settled by Swiss farmers who grew fruits and vegetables for the gold miners at Panamint City just 10 miles to the west, the land was eventually homesteaded by a man from Shoshone named Hungry Bill. Anyway, on this day, the weather service was predicting a high of 95°F on the valley floor but due to the high altitude, I don’t think it ever got more than 75°F all day and thank God for it too. The well traveled foot trail up to Hungry Bills Ranch is beautiful with the 9,636 foot Sentinel Peak in the foreground, but it is also rugged and moderately strenuous with multiple water crossings (be prepared to get your feet very wet) along the way. Some of the sights you will see along the way is an old grinding wheel, sections of irragation channel, automobile parts, bits and pieces of farm equipment (please leave everything in place and DO NOT take any souvenirs) and orchards with a few trees still bearing fruit. However, one of the most interesting things we saw was a long and segmented stone wall leading all the way up to the ranch.

With the exception of a couple of stone ruins and stone wall encompassing a better part of the ranch, little remains at Hungry Bills Ranch. Much to my surprise, quite a few of the fruit trees here were still alive and budding. I also notices a lot of large animal droppings most likely from wild burros feeding on the fine grasses in the semi-enclosed and cleared field left behind. Within the ruins, you should see remnants of an old cast iron stove, wash bucket and even some farm tools. Again, please leave everything in places.

After a pleasant lunch and a nap on some boulders while we let our socks and shoes dry, we made our way back to camp and to dinner.

Bad Water
The following morning and last day in Death Valley, we packed up camp early and headed back down into the sweltering heat. Back at West End Road, we headed north until it hooked back up to the 178 and then headed south to Bad Water.

Bad water sits at 279.8 feet below sea level and is the lowest place accessible by vehicle in the western hemisphere. The area immediately adjacent to the parking area is filled with small pools of spring fed water year round but on most years, the salt flats to the west are completely dry, hard as a rock, white as snow and in some spots, uniquely sculpted. On a few of my visits to this area, the salt flats were covered with about an inch of water and you could walk out for what seemed like miles in it. However, for the very first time in my life, this place was completely full with knee deep water! It would seem that the bottom of Death Valley had become a Lake Death Valley with people kayaking on it. In all my years of visiting this wonderful place, this was by far the most stunning and unusual sight I had ever seen.

Darwin Falls
Leaving Bad Water, we headed north again, hooked up to the 190, gassed up at Furnace Creek, passed Stovepipe Wells and then made our way over the Panamint Range. Just on the opposite side of the Panamint Valley, we turned off on to a small dirt road and made our way to the last destination for the trip, Darwin Falls.

Of all our stops, this was maybe the most disappointing. Getting to the year round falls itself requires a short and easy 1 mile hike but at least when we were there, the trail was muddy from heavy foot traffic and there were just tons of people everywhere… Not exactly my idea of fun.

Leaving Darwin Falls, we headed back to the Panamint Valley and then headed south to Ridgecrest. After a pleasant dinner at a local Mexican joint, we headed on home.

In all my years of visiting this incredible place we call Death Valley, I think it’s fair to say that this was by far the very best trip I had ever experienced. I absolutely love this place and I’m always blown away by the life it has and the life it gives to me.

If you have any questions about my trip and/or about Death Valley in general, please feel free to contact me by email.

I don’t know why, but every time I come out to Anza Borrego, it always seems to rain. Not a lot of rain mind you and certainly not enough to keep you at home but defiantly enough to be annoying for sure. Having said that, all this rain has turned the Anza Borrego desert into a beautiful garden of wildflowers, which is in fact the reason why we came. I suppose this would have been an amazing sight to see if not for the thousands of tourists that flooded into Borrego Springs like some kind of disease (apparently they got the memo too). Need I say, we quickly made our way out of the zoo and sought seclusion on higher ground up Coyote Canyon.

Making our way past the Desert Gardens, I was surprised to see how far and how many BMW’s, Lexus’, Mercedes Benz’s and mini-vans of all makes went up this trail. As I suspected, the first water crossing was enough of a deterrent for most would be explorers but it certainly was disappointing to see how many made it all the way past the second and significantly deeper water crossing. Even at this distance, the hills were just teaming with people gawking at all the pretty flowers. Fortunately, this is where the trail ended for all but the seasoned wheelers. Just on the other side of the second water crossing, the trail climbs up a short but rocky and somewhat challenging (i.e. FUN!) ridge. Beyond this point, the only vehicles I saw were a group of Land Rovers, a couple of Broncos, several Jeeps TJ’s, YJ’s and even a couple of old Willys.

Over the ridge, the trail makes its way across Collins Valley and ends up at a primitive campground in Sheep Canyon. From here, there are several foot/horseback trails that will take you up Indian Canyon or all the way across Coyote Canyon to the northern boundary of Anza Borrego State Park. On this trip, the creek near the campground was running full and so my family and I decided to spend our day and do lunch here.

The only way out from here is to go back the way you came. Make sure to take a moment and verify that nobody is coming up the rocky section of trail before you start your descent. Remember, this trail is closed between June 1st and September 30th so plan accordingly.

Although we were able to take quite a few photos of the beautiful wildflowers and I got to get in some easy wheeling, I don’t think I will be coming back out to the Anza Borrego Desert until the crowds have subsided a bit.