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Years ago when I first heard of the El Camino del Diablo I think I was a bit intimidated. Warnings about illegal activity close to the border, don’t go alone, all the typical chicken little things you hear, mostly from people that haven’t been. After a trip to Baja that felt safer than a lot of places you could go in the U.S., and other trips along the southern border, it now just seemed like another backcountry trip to prepare for.

The El Camino del Diablo (Spanish for the ‘Path of the Devil’) has earned it’s name, to be sure. Similar to the Mojave Trail, it was used for thousands of years by Native Americans. The Spanish used it as a path between Mexico and the California’s as early as the 1500’s by members of the Coronado expedition. Many have lost their lives along the route due to extreme heat, lack of water and the utter remoteness.

We set off on the El Camino del Diablo after three nights at Organ Pipe National Monument, the day after Christmas. Recent rains seem to have been enough to settle the dust but not make the playa lake that the route crosses impassible due to deep mud. The flowers were blooming. And due to the holidays it seemed that all the staff of the border patrol had the day off, as their forward operating base on the route was quiet as could be. We had the place to ourselves and didn’t cross paths with anyone else until the very end of the day. Perfect timing.

Until you reach the playa lake at mile 48, and then the Pinacate Lava Flow a couple miles later it is smooth sailing, then 4 low comes in handy for a few miles.

By the end of day one we had covered 90 miles and found camp near the Tinajas Altas, or High Tanks, cascading pools of water held by pockets of granite.

I was surprised to find several elephant trees here, which I only recognized from our time spent in Anza Borrego.

The hummingbird bushes were starting to bloom, and we even spotted a few hummers enjoying their nectar.

On day two we continued west through the mountains and then north toward Mesa. What a change in the roads from day 1. The high speed side by sides and sand rails have made these roads nearly undriveable, and definitely unenjoyable. If I had to do it all over again we would have headed north at the High Tanks on the ‘El Camino del Diablo Este’ instead of the ‘Oeste’ route we ended up taking. By midafternoon we just wanted it to end.

And like all things, it did come to an end. Now I look back, and in addition to those miles of washboard, I think of the beauty of the desert, with the flowers blooming and the sun on the mountains.

Postscript: If you decide to give the El Camino del Diablo a go, be sure to obtain your free permit to enter either the Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge or the Barry Goldwater Military Range: https://bmgr.recaccess.com/