Anza-Borrego Desert: First Crossing loop

Rating *****
length 3.6 mile - 2 hour 15 minutes (Return trip). Easy/Moderate.
Elevation 1000 - 1480 feet
Access Most cars, watch out for soft sand, park before first crossing.

A nice loop up a sandy wash and back in an impressive deep mud/mud-stone canyon.

Park just before first crossing.
Hike up North/East in a wide sandy wash.
We kept right in the canyon, a small rocky stretch and you end up high above a mud/mud-stone canyon.
Watch out while you hike close to the steep canyon walls, the edge is partly mud and may not be that stable.

No way to go down at this point, head along a small rocky wash North, a short scramble up a slightly slippery gravel slope.
And yes, going down is a lot safer at this point, follow the boulders down into the sandy canyon wash below. This is the only part that isn't marked as easy.
Follow the impressive steep canyon down, no obstacles, just some nice sand.

Head back to 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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