Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Desert camping - Anza Borrego

Anza Borrego is just a little bit outside our usual radius for one night camping trips (a two hour drive is our usual limit and this is more like three) but we had a group of friends going and we decided to join in. It's not the right time of year for the desert, but we checked the weather and it was gorgeous and since it was off season we could just roll in without reservations and still have our pick of the campgrounds.

borrego palms campground, anza borrego

borrego palms campground, anza borrego

desert happy hour

desert winds

Oasis

borrego palms campground, anza borrego

desert moonrise, anza borrego

slot canyon, anza borrego

It was such a refreshing trip. The weather was in the 70s during the day and then just chilly enough at night to need another layer. We were a little nervous when the wind picked up pretty strongly in the afternoon, but it died out completely the second the sun went down. The moon was so full that we didn't need headlamps and we sat around the fire until midnight.

On Saturday we hiked the Palm Canyon trail, which goes right out of the Borrego Palms campgound and ends in an amazing palm oasis and on Sunday we walked through the slot canyon on our way out of the park. If you come, don't miss the visitor's center, which is really well done.

Campground notes: 
We originally intended to stay in the Tamarisk Grove campground so we all met up there. It is a really nice, very small campground with the most adorable little cabins you can rent for $60/night (or regular campsites for $25). All the sites have shade structures over the picnic tables. The wind tends to be stronger here, though, so when we talked to the ranger and heard that Borrego Palm campground was nearly empty, we headed over there instead. We ended up staking out spaces 85 and 87, which are nice because they're on the outer ring. We had more than enough room for five tents.
FYI - the bathrooms at both Tamarisk Grove and Borrego Palm are nice. Running water, skylights, showers. It felt pretty luxurious.

As usual, camping in state parks with dogs can be tough. They're allowed in the campgrounds but not on the trails. This is trickier during warm months when we won't leave Circe in the car. For the hikes, someone has to skip out and stay at the campground with the dogs (in large groups this often works out okay). We usually assess the hike and then we'll sometimes take Circe in her backpack. It's not ideal because we can't let her down at all, so I wouldn't do this for long hikes where she might get overheated or bored. I didn't mind doing it for the slot canyon hike because it was more of a short walk and partially shaded. It did get a little tricky in the narrow sections! This is definitely technically against the rules, so we're aware that we might get a citation for it at some point. Our goal is always to be respectful of the wildlife, so if there's a chance that Circe being present, even in a backpack, will disturb that, we opt out. But if the issue is her being down on the ground, then we'll happily carry her. She is such a great camping dog, super mellow and easy-going, and she did particularly well this trip.


11 comments:

  1. Oh, Circe looks like she's having the best time!

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  2. Have you ever done a post on your camping gear? My boyfriend and I are thinking about getting some and don't know quite where to start. You seem like you use yours a lot for short trips, which is what I'd want it for too. Any advice? Thanks!

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    1. I haven't! And it's mostly because I feel like we're still getting our system down for these shorter trips. We have booked a bunch of short trips for the next couple months, and have our next one in a couple weeks. I'll try to take notes so that I can get a post up about what we find critical and how we pack for short trips.

      The sad fact is that you need almost as much gear for a one night trip as a one week trip! : (

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    2. Always a packing problem! Looking forward to your tips.

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  3. and the light and the light and the light

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  4. I'm in love with that tent (it's from REI?). Everytime I see someone camping with it, I get insanely jealous. My husband is a lightweight diehard so camping with a car tent would probably kill him (or so he says). This weekend we're heading down to REI to buy a 3 person tent at least - lightweight but larger than our tiny 2 person tent.

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    1. Yes, it's the REI Kingdom 4 and it's amazing! They have larger and smaller versions too. I have to say that giving up on only using our backpacking tent has made car camping so much more pleasant. I looooove not having to crouch/lie on my back while awkwardly attempting to get dressed. We still have our backpacking tent in hopes that we'll actually make it out backpacking, but right now car camping with the dog is much more our speed. When we decided to upgrade (after a camping trip where it rained and all three of us were stuck in our tiny backpacking tent for longer than was really fun) we originally bought something a bit more modest, thought about it for one week and then decided that there was no point going halfway, so we exchanged it for this one. It has two rooms, which means we can dump luggage, Circe's food/water, etc. in the front room (and even bring in chairs if it rains!) and have the back room just for the sleeping bags. Since we only use it for car camping, I don't really care that it's fairly heavy and now that we're used to it we can set it up just as quickly as our little tent.

      I'm still a little embarrassed about being the people with the enormous tent, but (as you can tell from this novel) I love it so much that it's worth it.

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  5. circe looks hilarious in that picture! she's really the perfect dog for you.

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  6. circe looks hilarious in that picture! she's really the perfect dog for you.

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  7. oh, seeing the photo of the hairy palm trees right after that splendid photo of circe made me laugh with delight. it looks like you guys had so much fun!

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  8. This looks so perfect. The empty space all around you and then that fabulous looking camp kitchen. And not even too hot or too cold from the sounds of it. Suffering huge camping envy now! Your little dog looks a cutie; seems to be having the best time stood on top of that cooler- and in your rucksack!

    Andrea Wilkins @ Getaway Outdoors

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