Hiking Mecca’s Painted Canyon

Near the north end of the Salton Sea is the little community of Mecca (sorry, despite what you may have thought from the headline, I did not take a hike in Saudi Arabia), and just a few miles east on a dirt road is the trailhead for Painted Canyon. I had never heard of it, but noticed it because it has a high concentration of geocaches. It must be publicized somewhere, because there were a surprising number of people there.

The landscape is desolate and rugged. It is heavily eroded, with the washes having near vertical sides a hundred feet high. Ladder canyon (so named because of the 3 or 4 aluminum ladders required to get past the dryfalls) is a true slot canyon, 3 or 4 feet wide at the base. After climbing out at the top of ladder canyon, the trail continues on among the ocotillo until it drops back down into a large dry wash which I followed back to the trailhead.

Since it was mid-afternoon, I headed for Borrego Springs where I intended to meet up with my friends from the Geocachers of the Bay Area (GBA). I pulled over for a break at the service station at the intersection of Highway 86 and S22 and spotted a familiar looking vehicle with a familiar face peering out at me. So I met up with my friends earlier than expected.

Links
—Painted Canyon 2012 photo gallery