Wednesday morning I headed out for some alone time, just me, the Explorer and my ever faithful dog. Three days of bliss in the Anza-Borrego State Park. Took I-8 east to S-2 in Ocotillo, Ca. Headed north and stopped by the Dolomite Mine because I have never been there.
Then dropped down into the lower desert through Canyon Sin Nombre. Its very scenic, and a very easy trail.
Here is a picture of the "secret camping spot" that is right off the main wash. It would be a good spot out of the wind, but I don't like camping that close to canyon walls right after several days of rain.
From there I continued into the desert and up the original stage coach route or Vallecito Creek Trail. Turned into Arroyo Seco Del Diablo. It gets narrow and very scenic and I haven't been through there in several years. About 3/4 of the way through that canyon, I was met with this
You can see the Explorer's roof peeking above the slide. The slide in itself looked like it was completely passable. I put the Atlas in low and creeped forward, then decided I should take a look at why no one else decided to drive over it. Found this very large mud puddle
Its not just mud, its more like clay suspended in slimy water and about two feet deep. I chucked a rock into it and it disappeared without a splash. Backtracked to the main wash, and into the next wash, Arroyo Tapiado. This is the same wash as the mud caves. I did not even slow down as I passed them by, been there done that. Besides I am sure they were still a little damp.
Took the cross over trail to the Diablo Drop off. Its name is the scariest thing about it. It did have a few new holes in the trail, but it was still relatively easy. The narrow wash from the drop off goes into Fish Creek Wash, several miles after the main entrance at Split Mountain. That end of the wash is used by Subaru wagon types to go hiking in nature. I turned the opposite way to go deeper up the wash. First night camp was spent after about 35 miles of off road driving in upper Fish Creek. I found a nice spot in the wash prior to Hapaha Flat. Even had 4G phone service.
I was tired from all that driving, and there was a very cold wind blowing down this canyon, so I went to bed early. In the morning I packed up and went up through Hapaha Flat to see what I could see. That trail turns into a one-way trail coming form the other direction, Pinyon Mountain.
Had to mess around a little
Went two washes down looking for a more open spot that was still out of the wind. By about 1100 I found this spot in a tributary of Olla Wash.
Its hard to see in the pictures, but the area I am camping on is raised off the wash floor by about two feet. After setting up camp, we spent the rest of the day relaxing and hiking around the surrounding area. Hiked up to the top of the cliffs pictured above for an incredible view.
Didn't hear or see another human the entire time we were here. Had 5G service here. Marked it on the GPS for future use. Left this spot about noon today. Drove up Sandstone Canyon to nearly the end. There are a couple of slides to get over now, which makes it interesting. I turned around when I got to a large boulder that had fallen into the canyon. I could see the way over, but since I was by myself I decided not to push my luck.
Turnaround spot.
Drove down Fish Creek through Split Mountain to Ocotillo Wells. As I got closer to the end of the wash I came across people, bleh. Then a few hundred grade school age kids in packs of 20 or so. I had to keep stopping because they were walking down the middle of the roadway in a huge wash. Of course, one of the "adults" with one group told me I needed to slow down. "Lady, I'm stopped. I can't go any slower." Civilization approached quickly. At the end of the wash were 4 school busses from Imperial County. Several people were also driving into the wash with Liberty's or Santa Fe's, some Subaru's, some pulling little camp trailers. I was thinking of stocking up on firewood and going for another night, but decided to head home.
Got home a little after dark. All in all it was a great three days with outstanding weather. Drove about 300 miles with about 50 in the dirt. I had no unknown issues come up with the Explorer and am getting used to the Atlas. I'm glad I went with the 3.8, its just about perfect for me. Tires work very well in all types of terrain and are smooth on the highway. Trans stayed cool even with all the extra weight of camping gear. Engine temps never got over the N in NORMAL. I do need to work on getting a new set of rear leaf springs, more tailored to what I do with the Explorer. With a few hundred extra pounds it wallows a little and the rear suspension drops more than I would like.