On Sat, Mar 18, 2023, I made a 1st self-supported attempt of the 210mi Anza-Borrego Loop. A series of bad decisions led to an undesired outcome. Keep reading if you are interested to learn from my mistakes.
“Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions.”
— Mark Twain
Epic fail.
The movie
The route
The 210mi Anza-Borrego Loop elegantly combines two established FKT routes, the Santa Rosa Traverse and the Anza-Borrego Traverse, a section of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), a section in the Jacinto Mountains Monument, and a traverse of the Borrego Badlands into one big, fabulous, irresistible, unforgettable 210mi loop. You will simply get to see the very best of the Anza-Borrego desert region.
For more info, see 210mi Anza-Borrego Loop.
The Anza-Borrego Loop: 210mi of joy with 47,000ft of elevation pain. For more info, see 210mi Anza-Borrego Loop.
“Paths are made by walking.”
— Franz Kafka
I can safely say that this is not true. Not all paths can be made by walking.
Bad decision #1: Clothing not treated with Permethrin
The “desert” has ticks? Yes, I had forgotten how many ticks I got on my last Santa Rose traverse. Thus, sadly, I failed to treat my shoes and clothes, with Permethrin. I ended up picking ticks off me all day and night.
Hello ticks!
Hello rocks and cacti!
Bad decision #2: Additional waterproof gloves and socks ordered too late
I failed to order additional waterproof socks and gloves early enough. They arrived the day I left and were waiting in the mailbox until I got back.
Bad decision #3: Packed the wrong-sized shoes
During my packing frenzy, I grabbed a brand new pair of Cascadia 16 shoes, which I intended to wear. Unfortunately, I did not realize that they were the wrong size = too small. Thankfully, I had also packed an alternative pair of shoes for more snowy conditions. However, they were a very beaten-up pair of Mutants that had already 500+ miles on them. No, they did not feel fresh.
Not good.
Somewhat fresh and new.
“Men in their late 50s often make very bad decisions.”
— Paul Theroux
Bad decision #4: Didn’t pack poncho
A poncho, combined with a rain jacket, is quite possibly the best way to stay dry and warm in torrential rain. I speak from experience. Sadly, I had decided to leave the poncho at home. Don’t ask me why. The atmospheric river was already in the forecast by then, so, clearly, I should have packed the poncho. I think I was more concerned about snow and less about rain.
Very organized packing chaos.
Bad decision #5: Didn’t buy poncho at local store
The local store had ponchos on display. However, I made the (regrettable) decision that they were too heavy and didn’t buy any. I really should have gotten one.
Lightweight is a lie. Nevertheless, I should just have bought one.
Bad decision #6: Didn’t load sufficient calories
It took me almost 26h in 2022 to complete the 45mi-ish Santa Rose traverse, which is an off-trail route for the most part that includes a lot of bushwhacking. When I loaded my pack the night before I started the Anza-Borrego Loop, I failed to add the extra calories I was supposed to buy in California (so I wouldn’t have to fly them out = overweight luggage). As a result, I had calories for about 12h only. But alas, it took me over 30h to get this first section done. The lack of sufficient calories (and water) led to a major slowdown.
Shopping for calories and other essentials.
Bad decision #7: Started in the morning
I couldn’t decide on my start time until it was too late to start into the night. The original plan (according to my spreadsheet) was to start in the morning so I could get a good night of sleep. However, starting in the morning meant that I would have to do a difficult section with lots of bushwhacking at night. So, while I got a good night of sleep indeed, I paid a price by being very slow during the night.
Not as romantic as it may look like.
This IS the route.
Dawn’s peak in the middle of the night. Finding the cairn is not quite obvious.
Bad decision #8: Ignoring severe weather warnings
The weather forecast for days 3-5 was devastating: high winds, atmospheric rivers, floods, and snow. I thought I would be fine as long as I was off the higher elevation peaks and passes. I was not. With the gear and shelter I had, I found it impossible to stay dry and warm. Twice I went into hypothermic episodes. Hypothermia kills, you really want to be careful in such situations.
High wind, flood, and winter weather advisory.
Lots of snow on the Santa Rosa traverse. It started to dump fresh snow when I reached Toro.
Thankfully I had packed microspikes. The snow was iced-over and hard. I would not have made it without the microspikes.
Bad decision #9: Packed inappropriate shelter
I carried a tarp and a water-resistant bivy bag only. In strong winds, torrential rain, and misty fog, that is just not enough to stay dry.
One of many early PCT thru-hikers at the Paradise Valley Cafe (~ PCT mile 155).
Bad decision #10: Inappropriate shelter not appropriately set up
Not only did I have an inappropriate shelter for the weather, I also failed to use it. Instead, I slept under big boulders twice. That was fine while the wind and rain weren’t too strong yet, but once conditions got worse, everything was wet within minutes (and before I woke up).
Not the best shelter when the wind is howling and the rain is pouring. This really did not work out as planned.
Bad decision #11: Errors in GPS tracks
I did not properly check all GPS tracks that I had designed. It turned out that there were some significant mistakes and inaccuracies that led to major bushwhacking episodes.
Navigational struggles of various kinds. Think night, snow, rain, brush, no trail.
Bad decision #12: No topographical maps on GPS
I decided that I probably didn’t need topographical maps on my GPS. I was wrong. They would have been a huge help for the off-trail navigation/orientation at night and for finding alternative routes when I got stuck in terrible bushwhacking.
Power-hungry electronics.
Bad decision #13: Not enough recon
There were parts of the route that I didn’t recon properly beforehand. That was a mistake. There was some terrible bushwhacking where I thought I’d find a buttery trail. As a consequence, I ripped my rain pants into uncountable pieces. And that was only one reason why I couldn’t stay dry anymore after that (see bad decision #14).
“No trail.” I can confirm that this is partly true. The trail is not maintained. In some sections, it felt like it never even existed.
Shredded rain pants and hypothermia after a truly terrible bushwhacking section through brush that is almost impossible to get through. But I had no other choice. Going forward was still easier than going back.
Bad decision #14: Failed to stay dry
I carried a pretty significant collection of gloves, hats, socks, and other layers. Yet, when the rain really hit, I went through all of these items pretty quickly. Neither the supposedly waterproof rain jacket nor the waterproof overmitts lasted more than a few hours. And as said above, I had no rain pants anymore, only a rather skimpy rain skirt. What I really needed was a poncho. Duh!
The poncho I didn’t pack. It did wonders on the Wonderland.
Crossing many flash-flooded rivers where there is usually no water whatsoever.
Wet to the bones.
Bad decision #15: Flawed spreadsheets
As always, I had very detailed spreadsheets to plan my pace, calories, and water needs. However, this time my predictions were unusually far off. At the end, I was a whopping 15h behind my predicted schedule.
Bad decision #16: Flawed nighttime planning
The spreadsheets also didn’t account for properly planning the nighttime. There are several sections that are quite challenging at night. Unfortunately, I had to do all of them at night because of my flawed planning and the bad decisions I made en route.
Impossible nighttime bushwhacking.
Bad decision #17: Didn’t pack and eat enough calories
Because the weather was very windy, wet, and cold, it was not only hard to eat, but alas, I also had simply not packed enough calories in my resupplies. As a consequence, I worked myself into a deep calorie deficit over 3+ days. Once you are in it, it’s challenging to get out of it.
“The whole point of life is learning to live with the consequences of the bad decision we’ve made.”
— Sherrilyn Kenyon
The end
The end was cold, wet, and ugly. The PCT was swept clean for the last 20 or so miles. I didn’t see a single tent or person. Apparently they all got the storm memo while I didn’t.
I barely made it to Warner Springs in the torrential rain, across flash-flooded rivers.
It came down pretty good.
Trying to warm up in the “rescue vehicle.”
To wrap things up, Borrego Springs got hit by an earthquake.
It was a pretty good shake.
Epilogue
I made it halfway (105mi) before I had to give up in Warner Springs in a hypothermic state, soaked to the bones, with no dry layers left.
It rained, stormed, and snowed for two more days straight. There was no way I could have stayed warm and dried my gear while continuing, especially with the shelter situation I was in.
It was really painful having to quit on the “easy” section, after having completed the impossible hard parts of the route. But such is life.
That says it all.
I made it halfway (105mi) before I had to give up, hypothermic and soaked to the bones, with no dry layers.
It rained, and rained. Then some more.
It also snowed (Lake Cuyamaca webcam) down to about 4,000ft. Higher elevations got a foot and more of fresh snow.
Attempting to refill the tank at Carlee’s.
More calories (Carlee’s).
Thanks honey for the support!
A drying marathon.
Slightly beaten up. Waiting for the remaining 3 toenails to come off.