Anza-Borrego Shenanigans

With a set of new car keys burning a hole in my pocket and the freshly waxed sheen of my Crosstrek looking a little too pretty, I decided it was time to get down and dirty. I grew up offroading and riding motorcycles in Ocotillo Wells which is located in the Anza-Borrego desert east of San Diego. I grew up riding there because the day after I got my motorcycle at 9-years-old I literally went off a cliff in the mountains. My parents decided they wanted to keep both of their children alive so we stuck to riding in flat places hence why I grew up riding in the desert. So it was only natural I break in Suzie with some good ‘ol offroading.

We first stopped in Blair Valley, which is approx. 35 minutes away from Julian. There’s a turn off from highway 2 heading east and a fairly clean privy close to the road. The six of us were in 3 different Subarus and probably looked like huge assholes as a Subie gang but it was fun so who cares? We decided on Blair Valley because there were pictographs from the indigenous Kumeyaay that we wanted to see. There were 5 miles of dirt road to reach the trailhead where there was plenty of parking available. It was an out-and-back trail. There was a very slight incline in the beginning half that was fairly sandy and featured jumping cactuses which promptly stuck to my brother’s shoe. It was definitely family-friendly as long as your kid knows not to get near cacti.

Sorry to say, the pictographs were…not the most stimulating thing in the world. They were cool in that I wondered what they signified but realized that I would most likely never know. Thankfully, there was some nice shade at the site and we hung out for a bit while making a game plan. It was interesting but it did leave us wanting to go see more.

Following my brother in his lifted Crosstrek was the most fun I’ve had in months with the quarantine in place. The dirt billowing into the air, both me and Travis bouncing in our seats while “Sunny” by Boney M. filled the car. At one point I had one wheel high in the air and I felt like a kid again, laughing in the seat of my dad’s F-250 as he navigated over precarious terrain for maximum fun. We decided to stop and eat lunch at the entrance of Blair Valley before heading to the slots.

We arrived at the slots and was met with a park ranger who informed us it would be a 40 minute wait and $10 a car to get to see the canyons. We decided against it. From there my brother led us to the end of Pole Line Road off of the 78 where we drove for 7.5 miles before getting onto the dirt. It was absolutely gorgeous. Feeling my tires slide over silt and bounce on the uneven terrain was thrilling. Seeing how tiny we were compared to the enormous canyon walls was amazing.

We were seeking the wind caves. Also known as aeolian caves, they’re formed by the wind working as a sandblaster to carve smooth caverns into the rocks. We eventually found them when we came to a large river wash where other cars congregated. We found a trailhead and it was a little intimidating. For me in particular. It was incredibly steep and rocky, I immediately stepped aside and had everyone pass me while I cursed not bringing my trekking poles. I eventually lumbered up the hill and surprise, surprise, we found another one exactly like it. It sucked but I trudged my ass up it. At the top of the second hill, I was huffing and puffing pretty hard but we caught sight of the caves and scattered to check them out.

Would I do it again? Yes. Would I bring my poles and sleep more the night before? Abso-fucking-lutely. We got to see the sunset while sitting on top of hills that were probably so old we could never finish counting their number of years in age. While I was hammering water I couldn’t help but feel lucky. Not everyone gets to see this beauty. I was thankful for my body for taking me there (and my AWD Subie) and for the friends and family I had cheering me on to climb up those bullshit hills to get a view of the extraordinary.

Thanks to Jose, Dorco, and Travis for the pictures.
Highly recommended to have a 4WD SUV
Blair Valley Pictograph Trail:
Beauty – 5/10
Difficulty – 2/10
Mileage – 2 miles

Goat Trail:
Beauty – 9/10
Difficulty – > : (
Mileage – unknown, but short