Ladder Canyon is located in Mecca Hills about 40 miles SE of Palm Springs and near Salton Sea. It was formed by the convergence of the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate along the San Andreas Fault. Yes, we were on the fault!
This place is amazing. My sister and I set out for a hiking/photo expedition and our expectations were far exceeded! She is in the first photo preparing to ascend one of the several ladders we would encounter. The trip there was adventure enough taking my tiny Lexus IS 250 (NOT 4WD!) on a soft dirt road just to get to the trailhead. The suggestion was to keep going and never stop until you reach the end or you would get stuck. So we decided that this was worth it and that’s what AAA was for! We didn’t need the tow, I’m happy to report 😉 But I am considering purchasing a cheap, old 4wd car for future off road adventures.
I will post more pics later, but I just had to put these up to share. We did not complete the “loop” from Ladder Canyon through Painted Canyon but we did do all of Ladder Canyon, which, in itself, might be a challenge physically for those who are not used to the rigors of hiking. Fortunately, my sister Melanie and I are conditioned for this.
The feeling of being deep down in these cool, shady canyons was one of isolation and amazement. We started early so we had the canyons to ourselves. It was silent except for our footsteps and our discussions over which camera settings to use to capture our experience. Upon reaching the top of the ridge, we could see down to the Salton Sea south of us, and San Jacinto to the west. Truly breathtaking all around. We lunched on the ridge amongst a few ants and under a warm sun.
Enjoy and please share any experiences you’ve had with this part of SoCal!
Jen
Jennifer Lund Photography 
