A day in the Anza Borrego Desert

A Cholla cactus in Hellhole Canyon, Anza Borrego.

I spent the day with my family in the Anza Borrego Desert. The weather was gorgeous, it was slightly overcast and not too hot, the air was crisp and we could see far. We went to Hellhole Canyon, close to Borrego Springs, a canyon we’ve never been too. It takes less than two hours from San Diego to get to the start of the trail. We hiked for a few hours and approximately 5 miles, which is not much: we took our time.

The desert was surprisingly green because it rained a lot lately. In a few weeks the wild flowers bloom will certainly be explosive.

I recharge my batteries when I am in the desert. I like to look at the different native plants. I especially like the Cholla cactus, because they are so fuzzy and shine so much in the sun. The Cholla is abundant there. Coming back from the Canyon, we could see the open perspective of the Borrego badlands and beyond, the chain of the Santa Rosa Mountains. The sun was setting when we came back and we had many light shifts, from very contrasted warm, dark oranges and light browns to extremely soft and purplelish hues. Although we saw quite a few visitors, we were the only ones at the end of the day on the trail, and in the silence we heard the coyotes…

Back in San Diego the heart warmed by that arid but magnificent land!