Anza-Borrego Desert: Marsh Canyon Loop

Rating *****
length 6.2 mile (loop) - 3 hour, 15 minutes (loop). Easy/Moderate, expect some boulders.
Elevation 1400 - 2000
Access All cars park roadside, close to mile 36.

A nice loop entering Marsh Canyon from the North.
Head south into the sandy canyon wash, keep left at the fork.
The canyon wash has some boulders, but it will get better as the canyon turns South/West and levels.
Turn right (East) in a rather small wash and hike up to the saddle.
On top you have a nice view of Marsh canyon. Looks rather steep, but that is not the case and best of all the gravel is fixed in sand, so not too many loose rocks.
You will see the first footprints in the sand as the wash gets gradually better, still some boulders remain.

You can take a small detour into the rugged Squaw canyon, to look at some nice dry falls. This will add half an hour to the trip.
Take the marked General store trail, easy to miss from this direction and at the store hike North, East of the road. At this point it's one hour back to the car.
Pick up the wash and follow it all the way back to the wash. The wash is easy and firm and slightly uphill.
The center of the wash is marked by Smoketree and Willow.
Note: Marsh Canyon isn't an officially named canyon and goes by the name fork of the Squaw canyon and agua caliente canyon.

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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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