Hellhole Canyon, Maidenhair Falls (Anza-Borrego)

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Tue Mar 05, 2019 7:42 pm

I spent the weekend in Borrego Springs in the Anza-Borrego Desert with my parents and lady. We only did one hike, but it was one of the best I've done in a while. It was also the greenest I've ever seen any desert.

The conditions were pristine. We awoke to light showers which ended with a rare desert rainbow. Once the sun came out and the rain passed, we headed to the trailhead of Hellhole Canyon (Anza-Borrego Desert State Park). The temperature was in the 60s and there was a strong breeze with a light mist. The trailhead was busy, most likely because the near by and more popular Borrego Palm Canyon was closed due to rain damage. Still, the trailhead wasn't nearly as busy as popular spots in the San Gabriels.

Total mileage: 5.5
Total gain: 965

Post by **JeffH** » Wed Mar 06, 2019 7:20 am

Great shot of the rainbow!
How cold was the water? Was there a line for the shower too?

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Wed Mar 06, 2019 8:38 am

JeffH wrote: Great shot of the rainbow!
How cold was the water? Was there a line for the shower too?

The water was cool but not cold. I'm a native Washingtonian though so my tolerance is relatively high compared to the average Southern Californian. That probably explains why nobody else wanted to take a rinse. Also, these aren't the most inviting falls; they don't get very much sunlight.

Girl Hiker · Post by **Girl Hiker** » Wed Mar 06, 2019 9:22 am

Nice shot of the rainbow. Great pics!

Post by **tekewin** » Thu Mar 07, 2019 5:48 pm

Cool rainbow ending on Indianhead (which is an awesome hike BTW).

I've had Maidenhair Falls on my list for a while. You couldn't have picked a better time. It will probably be bone dry when I get around to visiting.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Thu Mar 07, 2019 5:55 pm

tekewin wrote: Cool rainbow ending on Indianhead (which is an awesome hike BTW).

I've had Maidenhair Falls on my list for a while. You couldn't have picked a better time. It will probably be bone dry when I get around to visiting.

Indianhead is on my list as well! How's the trail when ascend from the canyon?

Post by **tekewin** » Thu Mar 07, 2019 6:27 pm

Anthony wrote:
tekewin wrote: Cool rainbow ending on Indianhead (which is an awesome hike BTW).

I've had Maidenhair Falls on my list for a while. You couldn't have picked a better time. It will probably be bone dry when I get around to visiting.
Indianhead is on my list as well! How's the trail when ascend from the canyon?

Official trail to the first oasis, use trail to the second oasis, but once you leave the canyon, no trail. I went up the southwest ridge, which is probably easiest. Mostly steep class 2. Just follow the ridge to the top. The south gully is also popular but I have't done it.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Thu Mar 07, 2019 6:44 pm

tekewin wrote:
Anthony wrote:
tekewin wrote: Cool rainbow ending on Indianhead (which is an awesome hike BTW).

I've had Maidenhair Falls on my list for a while. You couldn't have picked a better time. It will probably be bone dry when I get around to visiting.
Indianhead is on my list as well! How's the trail when ascend from the canyon?
Official trail to the first oasis, use trail to the second oasis, but once you leave the canyon, no trail. I went up the southwest ridge, which is probably easiest. Mostly steep class 2. Just follow the ridge to the top. The south gully is also popular but I have't done it.

Sounds kinda like Strawberry in ANF. Is it comparable?

Post by **tekewin** » Thu Mar 07, 2019 6:50 pm

SW ridge has far less class 3 than Strawberry, but more route finding and gain plus cactus. It seemed a little bit harder but if you can do Strawberry, you can do Indianhead. Better views, too. Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Thu Mar 07, 2019 7:57 pm

tekewin wrote: SW ridge has far less class 3 than Strawberry, but more route finding and gain plus cactus. It seemed a little bit harder but if you can do Strawberry, you can do Indianhead. Better views, too. Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread.

I posted a pic of Indianhead, so your comment is fair game in my book! Good info.

headsizeburrito · Post by **headsizeburrito** » Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:06 pm

Idianhead is a ton of fun if you are up for some good rocky scrambling! I'm looking at my pics and see I did it in 2013, time flies... I took the standard trail up the valley then picked a random spot to start going up. Pretty sure I stayed mostly to the west just below the main ridge. Like tekewin says it has less class 3 than Strawberry and smaller moves, but still plenty rocky and you might get a few thorns. I descended via draw east of the main south ridge, required a few slightly sketchy drops but worked out, though I'd probably take the ridge back if I did it again. I did see a good pack of borregos though! Great views from the summit as well.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:20 pm

headsizeburrito wrote: Idianhead is a ton of fun if you are up for some good rocky scrambling! I'm looking at my pics and see I did it in 2013, time flies... I took the standard trail up the valley then picked a random spot to start going up. Pretty sure I stayed mostly to the west just below the main ridge. Like tekewin says it has less class 3 than Strawberry and smaller moves, but still plenty rocky and you might get a few thorns. I descended via draw east of the main south ridge, required a few slightly sketchy drops but worked out, though I'd probably take the ridge back if I did it again. I did see a good pack of borregos though! Great views from the summit as well.

20131205_121932.jpg

20131205_123019.jpg

That looks great. I've fallen in love with Borrego, so I'll definitely be back. I wanna hit a HPS peak next time I'm in that area too. Combs looks cool.

ReFreshing · Post by **ReFreshing** » Fri Mar 08, 2019 7:25 am

That's a good flowing waterfall!

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Mon Mar 11, 2019 11:39 am

It looks like this thread got moved. Where should I have posted it?

Post by **Sean** » Sat Apr 13, 2019 5:00 pm

Anthony wrote: It looks like this thread got moved. Where should I have posted it?

I like to put new TRs in the main Other Ranges forum, if they aren't about the Gabes. Then I "archive" them later in the subforums by location. The theory is that they'll get more initial visibility if they're in the top forum.

Girl Hiker · Post by **Girl Hiker** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 2:40 pm

Nice Pics!