Deep in the rugged expanse of Carrizo Gorge in the Anza Borrego desert, there is a small cave of pictographs that few have ever seen. The area is surrounded by large unstable mountains, choked with catclaw, and littered with large truck size boulders.…

Just when I feel like I have seen everything there is to see in the Anza Borrego Desert, I read a BLOG or catch a book entry about someplace new and exciting. This time around it was an abandoned railroad camp in the southern end of the park. The ruins are almost 100 years old and were built to support the construction of the Carrizo Gorge Railway.

According to Jerry…

At 4229 feet Sombrero Peak is the highest point in the southern end of Anza Borrego Desert State Park. We have observed this impressive mountain over the years from various vantage points but never made the trek to the top. As Jerry Schaad describes it :

"Climbing Sombrero Peak is a feat attempted by relatively few people, but not because of its height (4229 feet above sea level), which is quite modest. Rather, the peak is…

While most people were trying to escape the record high temperatures by heading to the beach, I decided to head out to Anza Borrego for the day. This trip would be solo since my claims of a fun desert adventure fell on deaf ears. Mary simply wasn't buying it. She said something about triple digit temperatures and that was that. She was right, the weather had been over 110' for the past week out in Ocotillo but that failed to dissuade me.

I dropped down into Ocotillo around noon…