Anza-Borrego Desert: 2.5 Mile Mine Wash Loop

Rating *****
Length 5.6 mile (return) - 3 Hour, 30 minutes (return trip). Moderate (boulders).
Elevation 1810 - 3100 feet
Access On the 78 exit on mile 79.1, drive for about 2.5 miles on the Mine Wash road. If you drive carefully most cars should be able to make it up to this point.

Start hiking left away from the road (South East)
You should see the sandy wash after a minute or so.
Hike up the main sandy wash.

The wash narrows and the first obstacle is a small dry fall.
You should be able to climb it easily, but if you can't, hike up the right side of the wall.

The next obstacle can be seen from afar a steeper boulder filled wash.
The boulders aren't huge and there is always a relatively easy way up.
We started right of the boulder wash.

On top the wash levels and becomes a small sandy wash. But this is only for a short while as we are closing the top, the wash narrows and gets more grown with scrubs and agave.

Close to the saddle move to right side of the wash.

On the saddle you can see a ridge a bit to the right, but that's not the easiest one.
Turn right on the saddle and hike a bit further until you see the next ridge.
Hike down the ridge, not much of a problem as there is sand that holds the gravel more or less in place.

As ridge starts to rise again, turn left and follow a small wash down into the main wash.

Keep hiking downhill until you reach the car.

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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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