Mecca Hills Painted Canyon Ladder Hike

I've been known to lead us into uncharted territory before, where there is little to no available physical maps, with just some info I read on the internet to guide us on our way, and things normally work themselves out... eventually.  I've been known to look at a hiking map and underestimate the length of the trail or the elevation gain required to get to the destination.  I've also been surprised about the ratings of some hikes, where it promised to be an easy to moderate hike and it turned out to be a pretty darn tough one... so hiking with me is always an adventure.  "Enjoy the journey" I like to say.

With all that said, I don't think Aunt Sally knew my history when she agreed to join us on the "walkabout" hike I was so excited to take.  Honestly, I didn't even know what a "walkabout" was at the time, it sounded like a nice stroll through some pretty cool places in my mind, and with all the great reviews, it sounded like an adventure I couldn't wait to start.

Well, I was so right and so wrong on so many levels, but thankfully, we all made it there and back, and Sally and I are still on talking terms.  So I think, anyway.

Last time we were in Palm Springs, a few years ago, I didn't do too much research as to the hikes available in the area outside the "easy" hikes.  We had cousins and family traveling with us, as well as small kids, so "easy" was our pace at the time.  This time, I was craving more adventure.  I took a look at the top 5 hikes in the Palm Springs area, and this trip, I was determined to do at least 2 of them.  Meca Hills Painted Canyon was at the top, and just the name alone pulled me in.  I was going, and it was going to be fun, even if I had no idea where or what it was.

The internet review said the ladder hike was sometimes inaccessible due to flooding and damage to the ladders, but the split rock hike proved to be a great hike if the ladder hike was not available.

A most recent review stated that new ladders had been installed so the hike was even better than before.  (Good news!)  Really, the reviews were pretty spotty, and there was not even a good map to look at, but my experience has been, once you get to the trailhead you can see the map posted, and then you go from there.  And, if all else fails, sometimes you run into someone who knows where you should actually go and that makes it better.

So, this was my plan.  We headed south, about an hour drive, to the small town of Mecca, California.  I prayed, as we drove, that my GPS wouldn't fail us, as we traversed down a long, dusty, uneven, sandy road that warned us not to pass unless we had 4-wheel drive.  "It looks pretty dry, right?" I asked Derrick as we turned on to the road, and with my internet review in hand, reading out loud so he could hear the directions to the trailhead, Derrick felt it was safe, trusted me, and we nervously laughed as we went further into "no man's land" to find the trailhead.

As we got closer and closer to the trial head, the mountains and the colors became more vibrant and I understood why it was called "painted canyon".  It was a very unique area.  Once we arrived at the parking lot, I was happy to see a few other vehicles and hikers.

I jumped out, didn't see a posted map, and decided to ask a nice looking group of friendly hikers what trail they had just come off of and how it was.  The nice woman was a seasoned local hiker and had just taken her friends for their first trip in this area.  She gave me directions, told me that THIS was the trail to hike (now that the ladders had been replaced), and feeling more confident, we were on our way.  Granted, her directions were "hike until you see the arrow of rocks on the ground, then climb the big pile of rocks and that will lead you into the slot canyon."  That was about all I got from her and thinking it was pretty self-explanatory after that, we were on an adventure!

We had to hike along the river bed to get to the slot canyon, and once there, Grandpa Ernie and Great Grandpa Collins found some rocks to rest on while we went into the canyon.

At the start of the hike, you hike along a river bed to get to the slot canyon.

Hiking the river bed with Grandma and Grandpa and Great Grandpa Dale

This trail marker was WAY hard to find and on the opposite side of the trail.
Thankfully I saw the rock arrow on the ground first.
Do you see the trail?

The rock arrow on the ground, placed there by previous hikers, pointed us in the right direction.  I would have totally missed it if the lady I met in the parking lot wouldn't have alerted me to it.  Derrick didn't see it at all.  If you look closely you can see the boys and Great Uncle Jim climbing the rocks into the canyon.

Do you see them?  Do you see the big smile on Jim's face?

"We found the trail!"

After climbing the rock slide at the beginning, this was more climbing we had to do.
Look at how small Ethan is!

Now, things really got interesting after the kids climbed this large pile of rocks.  "MOM! There is a ladder!  Should we climb it?  It's going down?"  I could see the disappointment on Sally's face once they shouted there was a ladder, but she kept smiling and saying "this is just a walkabout".  Ha!

Ethan and Everett had already climbed down by the time I got there with the camera.

Sally was such a GREAT sport!  She was afraid of heights but pressed on!

Looking back down that ladder!

And she made it!

The kids are always 15 steps ahead of us!

"And we are still smiling!"

The canyon was so narrow in some areas.

Allowed to scramble and explore, they didn't want to pose for this photo.

Eli was right at home with mommy on his first slot canyon hike.

Ladders, dirt, rocks and a maze of passages... what is not to love?

Sally was so brave!!

Elliot looked so small next to the steep walls.

As we hiked along, we passed a few different groups of people, and not knowing where we were going for sure we asked about the trial and where to go.  One man told us that we needed to follow the trail until we come to two ocotillos (what?) then climb the ridge to the top.  He said that we could then follow the path along the ridge to the rope ladders (yes, rope ladders) that drop down the canyon walls to the river bed, or we could turn around and head back the way we came, which, with our group, he suggested was the best idea, as rope ladders and babies/small kids, didn't sound like a safe combo.

So, not knowing exactly what ocotillos were (I thought he was talking about the hoodoos or tall spires of rock we've seen before in Utah, and he was just using a different word, some sort of slang to describe them) but thinking they would be obvious, we decided to try his suggestion.

It turned out "ocotillo" are a type of plant... those tall cactus type things on the left of this photo.

So, we found the trail leading up to the ridge, and we hiked the slippery slope of rocks to the top.  As it turned out, "ocotillo" is a type of cactus plant that was easily spotted along the trail.

Up, up, up we go!

Aunt Sally had enough of the steep slopes, so she decided to stay at the bottom and wait for us while
Uncle Jim sprinted to the top like a kid.

Once at the top, it was breath taking.  The openness and colors were beautiful.

There is nothing like the feeling you get when you reach the top after a long, sweaty hike, taking in the fresh air and rush of a new perspective.  It's absolutely refreshing, energizing and mostly addictive.  This is part of why I love to hike, the view is rarely short of amazing.

Grandma Vicky agreed it was a tough hike up to the top.

See the people in the distance?  This is where we think the rope ladders are, but we didn't venture that way.

The trip down was more dangerous as everything under your feet would slip and slide.

These kids loved the narrow maze through the canyon.

What goes up, must come down.  Heading back the way we came.

These boys took a dusty detour.

The colors on the rocks as the sun was setting was much more vibrant.

Definitely a "painted" canyon.

As we drove home it was interesting to see all the different crops grown in the area.  This was definately a farming community.  Not much but desert and crops were in the nearby town.