Anza-Borrego Desert: Box Canyon East Fork Loop

Rating *****
Length 5.2 mile (return) - 3 Hour, 10 minutes (return trip). Moderate.
Elevation 1170-2370 feet
Access Follow the dirt road into coyote canyon and park at the gate or drive up to the 3th crossing (AWD). Any car with some ground clearance should be able to make it up to 3th crossing.

A nice canyon loop, but expect boulders and rocks.

Hike right of the lower willows scrubs, until you reach a sand wash, leading North (right).
This is the box canyon wash a sandy wash with some rocks.
A small obstacle is a dry fall, that is real easy to hike up.

Take the first fork on the right ("Fork 1") a narrow sandy wash, leading to the main wash.
At first the hiking is easy on sand, but you get more and more rocks and some small boulders.
The best place to hike is left and later on the right side of the wash.
Look for animal tracks, they lead to a nice trail on the right side of the wash.

As the wash gets real narrow, get of of the wash and move over to the left to the other branch.
Get into the wash again and follow this narrow wash, with some scrubs and rocks.

Go out of the wash again to the left and up on the saddle you can see the return wash.
Enter the return wash a bit high as it's a lot easier over there.

Hike down the wash until you meet the main Box canyon wash and turn left.
The hike down is on a boulder filled wash, but there is always an easy way down.

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Hiking the Borrego Springs Area (Anza-Borrego Desert SP, Cuyamaca Rancho SP, Imperial Sand Dunes (Algodones Dunes), Jacumba, Laguna Mountain, Warner Springs) California, Hike with gps, gpx and kml (Google Earth).
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