Day 3 Ocotillo Wells Vehicular Recreation Area Borrego Springs, California

It seemed rather simple.  We had mapped our route and we were on our way to Pinyon Mountain Road.  It took about an hour to get there from the campground.  It was chilly, cloudy, and windy!  I could tell though that I was going to love the ride as we began our ascent from the floor of the desert.  We were surrounded by mountains and the views were really pretty.  The clouds began to lift and we had a gorgeous day for driving. 

We had gone about ten miles when all at once a rather large and imposing rock appeared in the middle of our path.  Closer inspection of that rock revealed large scrape marks…oh no! 

We got out of the Jeep and walked ahead to see what was after the rock…it looked like a really narrow passage to the rest of the trail…with a three foot drop off!  It looked like the Jeep would have to at least rub tires on both sides of the opening to fit through!  Oh yeah…the maps indicated that this area is ONE WAY and it is labeled Pinyon Drop-off! 

The thing I really like about traveling with Tim is that he knows when to turn around.  He likes to take some chances and he likes to have fun, but he knows when to make a new plan!  We went out the way we came in and that is how we found ourselves on the Rodriguez Canyon Trail.  This ride was even more breathtaking than the one before it!

The peak of this road was at the an intersection with the Pacific Crest Trail. 

The PCT is the equivalent of the Appalachian Trail at home.   It stretches from Canada to Mexico and takes 6 months for enthusiasts to walk the entire trail. They say that no matter which end you begin on in April…you will encounter lots of snow.  It is said to be easier to walk than the AP because most of it runs along the ridgeline.  The difficulty lies in the distance between places to get fresh water and provisions.  It was 42 degrees here and Tim found some snow in the shade of a small tree.  The view from the ridge was spectacular.

We returned to camp and headed to dinner in downtown Borrego Springs at Carlees Place.  The food was good…They had live music but not until 8 pm…so we missed it!