Saturday, February 6, 2016

West Butte and Slot Hike, Anza Borrego Desert State Park

 

We love hiking through slot canyons, and had never made it to the most popular one in Anza Borrego on our previous visits, so it was high on the list of hikes to do this time. The gang piled into two cars and made the 20 mile drive to the trailhead for The Slot, in the Borrego badlands.

P1030485

Since the trail out and back through the slot is short, we decided to make a longer loop up West Butte and end in the slot.

DSC03903

P1030490

I wrote some poor directions from a website about the hike, and we were never really sure if we were on the correct route. There are trails everywhere, so we just picked what we thought was the right one and headed off, up the butte, along ridges and through washes and a jeep road.

P1030492

P1030493

DSC03913

DSC03914

We finally ended up in the slot. Sometimes it’s just better to sit down and scoot.

P1030496

P1030497

DSC03921

DSC03925

DSC03919

P1030500

P1030501

P1030502

We hiked 5 miles but it seemed longer for some reason. Probably because we felt lost most of the time. On the way home we stopped for a late lunch at Carmelita’s in Borrego Springs. A good day!

10 comments:

  1. We found the same thing to be true about the trail. We couldn't really find any beginning. We just drove back a road a few miles and made our own trail down. It was pretty amazing once we got there. Glad you didn't give up.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hiking slot canyons can be a fun change of pace. You actually get to feel the trail with your hands and sometimes the butt. Just now, I'm watching the Phoenix PGA Open as golfers and spectators enjoy blue skies and short sleeve weather of Arizona. Thanks for sharing your photo's. I like the one of large rock hanging overhead.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the sinuous slot feeling. Not sure this is the one in AB I did last year.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I admire your carry on even if you are unsure. Just did that too and know how the feeling of lost?? is. Love slot canyons. Great pictures. Glad you found it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks like lots of fun. It was great to run into you guys again the other morning. Sorry that we didn't get to visit. Would love to hear more stories of your adventures.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful blue sky day for a hike. Love the slots. Carmelita's sounds wonderful - one of our favs in AB!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This can be a tricky hike to follow, but we were using A Foot in Field hiking book for San Diego County. The directions there were pretty good. But it can seem confusing because it is a long walk down the wash to the Jeep road. We redid this loop hike this year and I kept saying I thought we missed something. But eventually we came to the Jeep road. I don't understand how you dropped into the slot?? The Jeep road takes you to the entrance and you just walk into the slot. Sound like you had fun anyway:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Jeep Rd. is the exit. The entrance is marked as such and, indeed, you climb up and then "drop down" to enter "The Slot". Either way works.

      Delete
    2. We did walk into the slot from the jeep road. The big drop we made was through a smaller slot area before we got to the jeep road. We have no idea how we got there, but it was fun and challenging!

      Delete
    3. Very cool! I will have to check it out the next time we are in Anza!

      Delete