2012-05-11: Ocotillo & Anza Borrego Wheelin'

[BorregoWrangler]

Thursday night I got an invite from Steve to run a few trails around Ocotillo with a few friends. The plan was to explore some difficult trails so I left my stock Jeep behind and road along with Steve. We left Alpine around 6:30 Friday morning, heading out east along I-8. After meeting up with Rob and Marty (I believe I remembered their names correctly) in their Jeeps (Unlimited JK & TJ) we decided to hit up a nearby rocky canyon. Afterwards we drove into Anza Borrego to Dos Cabezas, Peppercorn Slot, Jojoba Wash, and Carrizo Creek. I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking...

[THATSALEXUS?]

This really ended up being a great run. What John didn't mention (although he's posted on the subject before) was that the first trail we ran was Devil's Canyon.Devil's Canyon was the first route from Imperial to San Diego, before highway 80, before the single lane concrete highway. It appears to have been used between 1885 and 1915 give or take. So I've posted a couple pics of what it used to look like so you can compare to what it looks like now. I even found an old pic of John's Jeep next to a rock that's clearly recognizable in the old photo. Although the trail goes through to Mountain Springs, we reached the end of the road when I couldn't get my axle over a rock. Now that I've done some further research, it appears most people run this trail the other direction as it's easier that way...

Trailhead and airing down





Rocks getting bigger





First carnage



The offending axle, if only I had 39's...



The good ol' days





John in the same spot



Map

[sdnative]

Looks like fun. I have been wanting to check out that area, so let me know next time you go. Thanks for the pics.

[taugust]

Be advised that the Devils Canyon Trail is open by permit only with the BLM in El Centro. Fee required, lots of rules and certain dates and seasons only due to bighorn sheep habitat. If you go, be aware that if you are caught without permit, you could be in for hefty fine.

See here: http://icorva.com/index.php?option=com_ ... &Itemid=75

[BorregoWrangler]

This really ended up being a great run.

Great photos, Steve.

Be advised that the Devils Canyon Trail is open by permit only with the BLM in El Centro. Fee required, lots of rules and certain dates and seasons only due to bighorn sheep habitat. If you go, be aware that if you are caught without permit, you could be in for hefty fine.

See here: http://icorva.com/index.php?option=com_ ... &Itemid=75

Thanks for the heads up. However you'd think that there would be some kind of sign out there with that information. The BLM is usually pretty good about posting that kind of stuff. Every other closed area or limited use area is clearly posted out there.

Anyway, it was a great day out in the desert.