This was a hike with a large Meetup group near the Salton Sea. There were a few spots of fairly easy scrambling.
Easy, that is, aside from the two parts where I needed to crawl due to low rocks. While long pants weren't really necessary, kneepads would have been a nice accessory.
The group came back on the AllTrails route (link) but went up a parallel trail.
There were a couple of moments of excitement: an RV and a box truck from the group had got stuck in sand at the trailhead. So, if you've got such a vehicle or don't have AWD/4WD, it's best to park along the road. And, unbeknownst to me (I wasn't leading the group, I was just along for the ride), a small party had stopped midway due to a medical issue and had to be airlifted. I believe they were OK.
The hike wasn't really something I would have driven hundreds of miles for; I planned to do Pinto Mountain the next day. I had planned to tent camp on Painted Canyon Road but my tent broke in the middle of setting it up. There was either no room at the local inns or the prices were exorbitant so I just drove back to L.A.
A few years ago I had planned to camp in the Anza-Borrego badlands but the wind was so heavy that my tent poles broke. So, hopefully if I try to camp in that area a third time it'll be the charm. At least from the small amount of time I spent there, Painted Canyon looked like a good place to camp or boondock.
