Borrego Springs: Alma Wash trail

Rating	*****
length	11.3 Mile - 5 hour 45 minutes (one way). Moderate.
Height	900 - 1890 feet
Access	From Ocotillo Wells take Split Mountain Road - exit elephant trees nature trail on the right. You probably need a high clearance car to make it to the trail head.
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Data	To download these files, right-click the link and choose 'save as' |--| .GPX (GPS file) |-----| .KML (Google Earth file)

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Follow the Elephant Trees nature trail (only one remains at the nature trail).
After marker 6 leave the nature trail to the left.
Aim at the marker "Canyon" or take a look at the first 2 pictures and aim at that point.
There are countless washes running in that direction, so don't expect a wash running to the canyon entrance.
You keep shifting from wash to wash and some rocky patches up the the canyon in a westerly direction.
Some stretches are soft sand and others are rocky, it alternates a bit.
In the canyon there are plenty of rocks so stepping up and down rocks is the way to go, some stretches are soft sand, but most of it is rocks.
The rocks are small so it's more like stepping than climbing, you probably almost never have to use your hands.
You can go as far into the canyon as you like, you won't miss out anything special, if you don't make it to the point we stopped.
Our stopping point, is where the canyon splits in multiple canyons and you probably can go on for quite some time or camp somewhere in the flat boulder free area's that are plentyfull.
Don't expect too much shade from the canyon, on some stretches there is some to take a rest but not enough to make the canyon a lot cooler.
Hiking time 5 3/4 Hours return. Return is somewhat easier as you go downhill.








Disclamer: Read this first before you start your hike.
Contact: usa/at/e/f/m/e/r/.eu (leave out the /)
All hikes recorded on pocket loox (pocket PC) using gpsTuner(.com)
Hiking Hellhole Canyon Trail Borrego Springs Area (Anza-Borrego Desert State Park) California, Hike with gps, gpx and kml (Google Earth).