Another beautiful hike in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park! We took DiGiorgio Rd. just outside of town, and drove alongside citrus and palm groves until the pavement ended. Sandy roads replaced the asphalt, and just under 3 miles off-road, we reached the trailhead. The Alcoholic Pass Trail is a 2-mile round trip (out and back) trail - the first 3/4 of a mile or so is strenuous, switching back up the side of the mountain at the right of the above picture. The trail is steep and windy (as if drawn by an alcoholic, perhaps?), and the path is made up of loose sand and various sized rocks (from pea- to basketball- to small imported car-) that don't invite foot placement confidence. But the climb is worth it. From above, you can see the town of Borrego Springs and the square green groves of citrus.
And once you reach the top, there are beautiful views of several mountain ranges. The day was mostly cloudy, which makes for much cooler hiking, but not so great photos! We decided to continue hiking past the peak (beyond the signed trail, but still well worn by hikers that trek for miles across the desert canyons), and we found an awesome pass through two ridges of tumbling boulders, brown behemoths that have cascaded down over eons, some as tall as three humans high and taller!
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| The two converging tumbling boulder ridges |
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| An unusual rock, about 20 feet high |
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| Darell on the left, for scale |
After we spread out lunch on a huge, flat rock, and rested our old and somewhat weary feet, we headed back out of the canyon, through the rock ridges, and down the precarious sandy-windy-rocky-steep trail back to the jeep. On the way home, we stopped at the corner of DiGiorgio and Henderson Canyon roads at the Seafoam Fruit Stand. I bought a lemon to squeeze over some pasta, an orange to eat, and a pound of Medjool dates ($4. Really. $4 for an entire pound. We ate several on the way back to the RV. Absolutely delicious). A day well-spent, all the way around.
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