BORREGO BADLANDS, CALCITE MINE EDITION

On the road between Borrego Springs and Salton Sea, there are several places to access (by hiking, driving, or OHV) the Badlands. The Calcite Mine trail is accessible by 4-wheel drive vehicle, or on foot. We drove in for a bit (about a mile) and then hoofed it the rest of the way. Calcite was mined here for military purposes until a synthetic material was discovered. It was mined for commercial purposes (for collectors) up until 1945.  Not much is left of the mine but giant slots cut out of the stone, but the views from the nearby peaks are outstanding, and the geology is diverse and fascinating.

A Tale of Two Rocks:

When we first started our ascent to the Mine area, we saw these two rocks (just left of the center of the photo) perched above us. The brownish mountain on the right turned out to be our final destination (a bit above the Mine site)

Closing in on the two perched rocks

Right up to them

Passing by

The view from above, as we continued our ascent

 These photos were taken on our way back down from the mine. We didn't realize how much the rock on the right looked like a face until we came at it from a different angle.

Same two rocks, from descending angle

Note the cleft chin, a la Robert Mitchum...

 I got a little ahead of myself, though. Before we went back down the trail, we went up the steep path to the mountain top, where we enjoyed views of the Salton Sea, and some peanut butter sandwiches.

Steep road upwards

A view on the way to the top

From the top, that's the Salton Sea in the distance

We could even see our jeep way down there (this was taken zoomed 12x)

View to the west

Teeny Darell

On the way back, we took a little detour through the most spectacular desert wash I've ever seen. Narrow, smooth walls of rock surrounded us on both sides, huge boulders at awkward angles leaned out from cliffs or sat at the bottom of the wash, and strata after strata of varied colors, textures, and densities of stone filled the landscape. You really had to be there. These photos are only tiny pieces of the whole picture:

Then the wash widened out, we hit the road that led back to the jeep, and we drove home. Every time I think we've done the most outstanding hike, another one comes along and tops it!