This Sunday morning, I met friends Aaron Cook and Scott Tebbetts near the Tamarisk Campground near the western edge of Anza Borrego state park. We started off with a mellow hike to Perpendicular Bluff, a seldom visited survey marker near Yacqui Pass, before heading up to Ranchita to ride down Grapevine Canyon on mountain bikes.

The hike was a mellow off-trail outing, where we crossed paths with Bighorn Sheep several times, something I regard as one of the best desert experiences you can get out there. This was my fourth encounter with the sheep, but perhaps the most intimate. We’d seen a few of them from near the beginning of hike, but towards the end of our outing, we spooked a few of them by startling them from above. They stared at us for a while, then skirted around to get to higher ground, making them a bit more comfortable.

Having set up a car shuttle, the mountain bike ride was really a cruise, dropping 3500’ in 13 miles. It was a relatively effortless way to enjoy the scenery, the only difficulties being some light sand down low. We topped off the day in appropriate Anza Borrego fashion, with burgers and beers at Carlee’s Bar’n’Grill in Borrego Springs. Nice day out for sure…