Mud Hills Wash to Elephant Knees | Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

BorregoWrangler

Rendezvous Conspiracy
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On New Year's day, 2015, I was able to get out of town for hike through Mud Hills Wash, which would be hike #2 of my 52 Hike Challenge. This five-mile route, in the desolate Carrizo Badlands of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park takes you through the magical mud hills on the edge of the badlands and up to the top of the Elephant Knees mesa where you can see the vastness and density of the area's oyster shell reefs. This area is so dense with fossilized shells and shell fragments that they seem to outnumber the materials in which they are embedded. The view is one where you can take in much of the Fish Creek drainage and trace its geological history.

"This is the desert at its lowest, hottest, and- to the unappreciative eye- most unfriendly. To those who know it well, however, it is a fascinating labyrinth of rugged canyons, twisted arroyos, and mud hills, containing not only some of nature's best examples of earth sculpture, but also a complete sequence of animal fossils. In truth, it's not unfriendly at all. Even the weather is beautiful- at least from late fall into early spring." - Jerry Schad, Afoot & Afield In San Diego County

Click HERE for more photos and my full report! :)
 

SoCal Tom

Explorer
Thanks for posting these. I'm a fan of A/B and these reports help me decide which ones are appropriate for my son and I .
Tom
 

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