Painted Canyon - 2.10.2019
From the city of Mecca, California... drive east on 66th Avenue (aka Box Canyon Road)... shortly after crossing over the Coachella Canal, turn left onto Painted Canyon Road... then drive 4.5 miles to the end of the road and park.
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Painted Canyon is very broad at its mouth.
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The canyon narrows in less than a half-mile.
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After ~1 mile we found the first two ladders... and we will get to do them again on our way back to the car.
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The second ladder had a rope to help with the ascent.
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There was lots of lupine in the canyon washes.
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Yellow Cups.
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The third ladder was the tallest... we are already on the loop portion of the hike and will not need to do this ladder on our return trip.
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Ladders 4 and 5.
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The fifth ladder looks like it is new... I like how it is wider at the bottom and top.
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Scorpion Weed.
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Ghost Flower.
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Done with the ladders for awhile... and heading up the canyon.
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Heading up the canyon.
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Desert Gold Poppy.
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There was lots of lupine and desert sun flowers in the washes.
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Heading up the canyon.
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Love the rock formations.
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The canyon narrows after a couple of miles.
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Denali Girl scrambles up.
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Sometimes a person just has to make their own ladder.
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Desert Mallow.
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Will need to scramble up this small waterfall.
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After hiking ~3 miles we are coming up out of the canyon.
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Desert Sun Flower.
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Broad views above Painted Canyon in the Mecca Hills... Orocopia Mountains on the far left horizon... with the Salton Sea (kind of hard to see) in the center horizon... and the Santa Rosa Mountains on the right horizon.
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The Santa Rosa Mountains on the horizon... and I can see Denali Girl standing on the little bump over there in the right foreground.
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Lots of color in them thar hills!
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A well deserved lunch spot.
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The Salton Sea on the left... with the Santa Rosa Mountains in the center.
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The Salton Sea, Santa Rosa Mountains and lots of canyons in the Mecca Hills.
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Lots of canyons in the Mecca Hills.
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One more shot of the Salton Sea and Santa Rosa Mountains from Point 1460 (our high point for the day).
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No idea what this is.
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Denali Girl works her way down into a canyon that we will use to close the loop portion of our hike.
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In the canyon wash and heading for the barn.
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Continuing down the canyon wash.
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Other worldly!
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Sun hitting a smoke tree in the canyon.
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Continuing down the canyon wash.
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Ladder #2 earlier in the day becomes ladder #6 for the day.
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And ladder #1 earlier in the day becomes ladder #7 for the day... don't slip here before you get on the ladder.
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More smoke trees in the canyon.
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Continuing down the canyon... don't want to be here when that big chunk of rock breaks loose.
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The parking area is in view... our trip was 6.5 miles, gaining ~1000 feet of elevation.
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