Mine Wash lies along a direct route between Mt. Lagu­na and the Salton Sea. The sea today is a pale cousin of the ancient fresh­wa­ter Lake Cahuil­la, which was peri­od­i­cal­ly formed by the over­flow of the Col­orado Riv­er and which pro­vid­ed home to thou­sands of native peo­ple around its shore­lines.  The Kumeyaay Vil­lage site lies along the best route from the ancient lake to the Lagu­na Moun­tains to the south­west, the ances­tral home of the Kwaaymii, the last natives to use the Mine Wash site. To hike to the moun­tains, con­tin­ue south to the upper end of the wash, the nape of Mescal Baja­da, through Mine Canyon and on into Earth­quake Val­ley, where looka­like boul­dered hill­sides embrace anoth­er vil­lage site.

The blue waters of the Salton Sea can be seen through the Nar­rows to the north­east from the site, but as you explore the gen­tle hills west of the site for this nice vista, watch out for the ram­bunc­tious “Jump­ing Chol­la,” aka Ted­dy Bear cactus–but in no way are they soft and fuzzy close up.

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With our spring rains of 2016–making it past the Julian rain shad­ow to the desert–the burst of col­or around the Mine Wash cul­tur­al site was worth a few spines around the boot edges.  Just remem­ber when you vis­it, wear sol­id hik­ing-type boots, because reg­u­lar walk­ing shoes can admit the spines read­i­ly, and get­ting the lit­tle jumpers off–once they stick your skin–is going to be regret­ful. The rough edges of a heavy rock or boul­der lying near­by is some­times your best friend.

 

If you’re look­ing for an ocotil­lo for­est, Mine Wash is one of the best areas to find these beau­ti­ful plants in suf­fi­cient den­si­ty to obtain good pho­tos, as well as actu­al­ly be shad­ed by clus­ters of them.  Desert col­or can some­times be a sprin­kle here and a dab there, but after a good drink the forests of bril­liant ver­mil­lion-crowned ocotil­lo seem to float above the desert floor like glow­ing candlesticks.