Anza-Borrego Desert: Andrade Domelands Loop

Rating *****
Length 11.6 mile (return) - 6 Hour, 40 minutes (return trip). Moderate.
Elevation 630 - 1350 feet
Access Take the road marked 093, close to mile: 57.2. See below.

An adventurous hike in the Domelands area. Hike clockwise.

Start hiking up the old dirt road, heading uphill, a bit of a workout at the start.

If you keep on going, you should more or less end up in the main wash of the Andrade Canyon.
A you would enter the Andrade canyon, head East along the mountain and turn North/West in an Andrade fork down.

A small fork and a narrow drainage lead out of the canyon.
Over a ridge, head down steeply in the wash below, a nice wide wash, but first encounters a dry fall and next a huge tunnel.
The tunnel is a dead end for a safe hike, so head back and enter a wash further East at point "Wash 2".
Eventually ending downstream of the tunnel. At point "Fork 3" head back South and find the first opportunity to hike further East.
At this point ("Out") head over the ridge East and find a way to get into "Wash 3", rather steep, but the sand makes it not too difficult.

At "Fork 4", turn South and immediately turn East again in a very narrow drainage.
Heading South/East will lead to the edge of the shell reef, keep along the edge of the reef and a trail that vanishes soon.
Keep heading East and go down the canyon wash below at point "Wash 5". Now turn upstream (West).
Follow this interesting canyon all the way up to the end.
At the end just follow the footsteps up a mud hill trail leading out of the canyon.
Keep heading West, following an interesting drainage all the way until you complete the loop.

The terrain: mud hills, sand hills, sandstone and a couple of feet, thick shell layer (angled).

Warning:
This is a long hike, you need a GPS to find your way, and to hike back in case you can't make it any further.
This route may be impossible to hike, when walls tumble down, things get rearranged after rain.

The Carrizo Impact Area has been in use until 1959. it is a closed off area with unexploded ordnance. Sometimes buried deep in the sand.
Don't head any further North.

How to get here:

Take the road marked 093, close to mile: 57.2
The dirt road is good, some rocks, some ground clearance is needed.
Drive the dirt road for about 2 miles.

Disclaimer: Read this first before you start your hike. Contact: info/at/borregohiking/./com (leave out the /)
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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