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Talk about a trip you took out to Anza Borrego

Truck Camper on Truckhaven Trail

hikerdmb

Posts: 423

2/21/2011

hikerdmb

Posts: 423

We had planned to backcountry ski in the Sierra this weekend but a huge storm with big winds led us to re-think that and head to the desert instead. We left early Friday morning and headed down to Borrego Springs. The forcast was for high winds but it was quite calm the entire drive out. We were looking for a campsite with a view and cell phone coverage, needed to be in range for a call. We had the camper on the truck and I knew of a couple of spots up past Clark Dry Lake. I had spotted them on my two trips earlier this year up into Rockhouse Canyon area. It is a slow ride up this road with the camper. We arrived at the first spot and parked to look around. From here I was hoping we could get a signal through Alcoholic Pass but no luck. Here is a pic of the site and I think that is Daren's mountain to the right.

There were lots of Desert Dandelions and Sand Verbena up this way.

There is also a nice view looking back into Clark Dry Lake.

Since we needed to move we headed for our second choice of campsite. It is on the Truckhaven Trail. We have camped there several times before. It has a great view of the Santa Rosa Mountain, Clark Dry Lake, and the area around Borrego Springs.

We took off for a short hike up toward the moutains and found the hidden dunes that lie to the east of Clark Lake.

Later in the day the wind kicked up and then as night fell the rain began. It rained all night long, sometimes quite heavy. We were thinking it was probably a good idea we came back to this side of Clark Dry Lake and when we looked out in the morning we were REALLY glad we made that choice. The lake bed was pretty much covered with water as you can see in this pic.

We had a nice breakfast and then the motorcylces started coming up the trail. Apparently it was the Dual Sport Desert Dash and we were parked next to their route. There must have been over one hundred of them coming by every few minutes until about 2:00. We decided to go for a walk and look for some flowers. We did not see any huge fields but there were plenty to be found if you look. Here are some of the blooms we saw. I tried my best with the names so let me know if I got any mis-named.

Ocotillo

Naked Stem Sunray

Yellow-head

Desert Marigold

Brown Eyed Primrose

Desert Pincushion

Dune Primrose

Arrow Leaf Balsam Root

It turned into a beautiful afternoon. I love the desert sky after a storm comes through the blue sky with the white clouds.

Toro Peak even tried to make an appearance. It was covered with snow.

We decided to head home late in the afternoon on Saturday since more rain was on the way and the wind had really begun to blow. As we passed by Font's Wash we saw why the lake had filled. Both Font's and Inspiration Washes had flowed across the highway and down to Clark Lake. Caltrans had been out in the morning to clear the road. This is the view down toward the lake.

As we headed up the hill from Borrego Springs we saw a wonderful rainbow over the desert. A good end to the trip.

This was not quite like skiing in the Mighty Sierra but that can wait until the snow pack settles a bit. There are lots of flowers in the desert but you have to look for them, no fields of purple. The rain should help the bloom tremendously.

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Anza Borrego Desert

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Truck Camper on Truckhaven Trail