Topic: Anza Borrego - Buttes Pass area - Sat March 7th

[FrankB]

Is anyone interested in joining me for a trip to Anza Borrego on Saturday March 7th?

I want to explore the area around Buttes Pass Road, north of SR-78. There is a hiking trail, about 1.5 miles round trip, to a narrow slot canyon. I have not been there yet, but have heard it is quite scenic. The trailhead is 1.8 miles from SR-78.  The other spot I would like to check out is Hawk Canyon, which is nearby, further down Buttes Pass. 

There will likely be little real off-roading here, Buttes Pass Road is in pretty good shape, probably 2WD is fine. Distances will be short. This is more of a photo and exploration trip.  I have posted it on the San Diego DSLR site as well. If any of them come out they don't move very fast, since they're too busy taking photos.

According to the Visitor Center staff there should be good flowers at Hawk Canyon. The weekend of the 7th may well be close to the height of the flower bloom, so there should be lots to see and photograph. I was out there this past Saturday and the flowers were pretty good, but next weekend should be better. Time permitting we could also check some of the more heavily visited flower spots, but I'm thinking of avoiding crowds.

I'll come up with a meet spot and time once I see what sort of interest there is.

[fleury123]

How much hiking is involved? I have a torn ligament but have been dying to see some of this stuff out there. I am trying to catch up with Mitch in Surgeries

[sturndog]

Diana and I would be interested in a one day -is there going to be any rain Saturday?  Of course I will fill up at a different gas station this time. BTW Frank at least if is a day trip I wont be shining my flashlight in your truck when you are changing your clothes - although Diana says you are "cute" - 

[AV Xterra]

Diana and I would be interested in a one day -is there going to be any rain Saturday?  Of course I will fill up at a different gas station this time. BTW Frank at least if is a day trip I wont be shining my flashlight in your truck when you are changing your clothes - although Diana says you are "cute" - 

Post pics or it never happened.

[Soylent Yellow]

Diana and I would be interested in a one day -is there going to be any rain Saturday?  Of course I will fill up at a different gas station this time. BTW Frank at least if is a day trip I wont be shining my flashlight in your truck when you are changing your clothes - although Diana says you are "cute" - 

What happens in the desert stays in the desert!  It stays in the desert John!  IN THE DESERT!!!

[FrankB]

How much hiking is involved? I have a torn ligament but have been dying to see some of this stuff out there. I am trying to catch up with Mitch in Surgeries

Chris, I'm not sure what the hiking will be like, as I've never been here. From the guidebook it sounds like the hike to The Slot may be listed as "moderate", and I think it is about 1.5 miles round trip. The guidebook I have says that a large person may have trouble getting through the end of the Slot, so I'm not really sure what to expect.  Hawk Canyon sounds pretty scenic, but we may just be sort of looking around and strolling, not really hiking.

These two areas are very close to pavement, just a couple of miles or so of 2WD dirt road. I'm thinking this is more of an exploration and photo trip than an offroading trip, just so anyone who is thinking of coming knows what to expect. I may not cover a lot of distance at all on this one.

[sturndog]

Well there is no large persons to get stuck except me and Mitch   

[XterracerX]

I thought the proper term is "big boned?"

Anyway, let's not all walk together side by side... 

[SuperSlideStyle]

Sorry, I'm going to Fred Hall Show in Long Beach.

[Goldfish]

How was the trip? Let's see some pictures. Entertain me while I sit here at work.

[FrankB]

How was the trip? Let's see some pictures. Entertain me while I sit here at work.

Just got back an hour ago (we went Sunday instead of Saturday). We joined Marty, his wife, sister and brother-in-law for a day of exploring and looking for flowers. Started out with some of the sculptures, then a brief stop on Henderson Canyon Road to check out all the people checking out what was not really all that great a display of flowers, then a nice long picnic lunch in the park at the Circle. From there it was over to Buttes Pass Road, and up Hawk Canyon to the end.

Hawk Canyon is a great place, it would be a really nice place to camp. There are even a few fire rings scattered around the canyon, not too close together.  We also drove out Borrego Mountain Road as far as the Dropoff, but there were some huge holes in the dropoff part of the trail so just hung out at the top and enjoyed the sunset. I think this is actually a better spot than Font's Point for sunsets.

I have some pics up either later tonight or tomorrow night.