Hiking in the Coachella Valley
East Indio Badlands Trail
Planning a trip to Palm Desert last month, I had zero expectations. The primary reason for going was to visit friends who winter there. However, being people for whom it was appropriate to stay with for just a couple of nights, we signed up to pet-sit for an additional ten days just a 15 minute drive away!
Thinking we would spend our time golfing, cycling and gawking at famous people’s mid-century homes, I did very little planning prior to departure. I did some research on the internet on arrival, mostly pointing us to exploring the more famous destinations such as Joshua Tree and Mount San Jacinto. But the real hidden gems we discovered were by word of mouth from the people we met. Rather than driving long distances and paying entrance fees, we found the trails less hiked and dramatic in landscape.
The most unique we discovered was the East Indio Badlands Trail. If you have ever visited Cappadocia in Turkey, it has some uncanny similarities. The trailhead is unmarked and tucked into the edge of the town of Indio. The path starts off through the desert, but the destination appears visible soon enough. The hills appear to consist of diagonally vertical layers. Formed by the nearby active San Andreas fault, the tectonic plate movement and erosion created a labyrinth of multi-hued and irregular rock slots to squeeze through.
The day had already been inclement weather, and about half a hour in, it began to sprinkle rain. Glancing up, we noticed menacing black skies, and after a minute of watching, realized the clouds were heading our way. We made the (smart) decision to back track our route instead of continuing, and as we reached the desert, rain hammered down and flooded the path.
I knew we had made the right decision as inevitably the news headlines would have screamed “Two Canadian Women Trapped in Rock Slots in Flash Flood”. But, being true subscribers of FOMO, we headed back the next day to complete the 5.5 mile loop. The narrow slot canyons we had entered the day before eventually widen and lead to a long, narrow, steep ridge allowing panoramic views of the valley and the Salton Sea in the distance.
Sharing our experiences with the people we sat for, they had never heard of the trail despite living for years in Palm Desert. They were intrigued how I had discovered it, and I shrugged and explained, I just do life different.