Anza-Borrego Desert State Park: The Slot

Hiked: 06 October 2019
Distance: ~2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Trailhead: Borrego Mountain Wash, Borrego Springs, CA 92004

The Slot in Anza-Barrego Desert State Park, CA

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is just over 1.5 hours east of San Diego, but the landscape quickly transitions from the bustling resort city to wide expanses of rock formations and sand bleached from the sun. There are a couple vista points along the drive that are worth pulling over for, especially as the sun is rising or setting.

An inconspicuous turnout on SR 78 reveals incredible views of the desert below and mountains reaching into Mexico

 The roads leading to the state park lie in valleys susceptible to flash flooding and are long and winding, but well-maintained. After about an hour, large, branching cacti begin popping up along the roadside and the stale smell of the desert grows strong. The road to the trailhead is marked with a very small sign that is easy to miss if you're not expecting it. Thankfully, plugging the latitude and longitude into Google Maps provided plenty of guidance. The road to the trailhead, "Buttes Pass Road," is a 2.2 mile wash of hard-packed sand and loose rocks. I drove down it with my 2WD rental sedan, but definitely would have been more comfortable in a vehicle equipped with 4WD. I can imagine the road is impassable after a rain storm. After a very bumpy two miles, the road opens up into a parking area with signs for the trailhead and warnings of heat exhaustion.

Mine was the only car parked at the trailhead and saw no signs of any other hikers in the area. The first thing I noticed after stepping out of my car was the quiet. I've been on a lot of not-so-popular hikes in remote locations, but I don't think I've ever experienced a silence so encompassing. I could hear myself breathing and the sand scraping against the bottom of my sandals. I wish I could have appreciated the silence and the solidarity, but honestly I found it discomforting. Nevertheless, I set out to explore The Slot.

From the parking lot, the trail that cuts a loop through The Slot

Looking down into the canyon from above

From the parking lot, the loop trail appears to start on the left, but I didn't notice this at first, so I immediately descended into the canyon. The sandstone is soft and handholds and foothold sometimes broke away while I was climbing down. The canyon walls reached around 10-15 ft throughout and there were plenty of opportunities to climb in and out. At times the canyon narrowed to points where I would have to turn sideways and squeeze through. The walls twist and turn and it's clear where water rushes through the canyon when it fills during flash floods.

The sun shines intensely into the canyon already before 7:00 a.m.

The soft sandstone has been carved away by repeated flash floods

Full disclosure, I didn't hike the entire loop and spent my time exploring the nooks and crannies of the canyon, it's possible that I missed some nice desert views from the rim. I realized when I was ready to climb out that I should have noted the exact spot that I initially descended. Everything in the desert kind of looks the same, including these walls. I decided on a section of sandstone that looked easy enough to ascend, so I climbed up and was only a short walk away from the parking lot.

Overall, this wasn't as much of a "hike" as it was a quick walk, but checking out this somewhat-local slot canyon was certainly worth the short drive. The silence and desolation still made me uneasy throughout the morning, so I think I'll find a companion for any future desert hikes I do.