For several years now I had been hoping to hike out to Cottonball Marsh and explore the basin and marshlands. What held me back was being unfamiliar with the area and the complete lack of information available. About the only thing I had heard was that the Cottonball Marsh pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus milleri) were there and they were hard to find. In looking at the topo map (shown below), I realized that Cottonball Marsh covered a vast area and trying to find a few small ponds with pupfish would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. My thoughts on this were confirmed when a friend informed me that it generally takes a minimum of 3 days of searching in order to find the pupfish ponds. What I didn't realize beforehand, though, was that the terrain to get to Cottonball Marsh was some of the worst and most difficult for walking across in the entire park. In addition, once you have reached Cottonball Marsh the terrain takes a turn for the worse and you can find yourself sinking ankle or knee deep into slimy muck at times.
On March 10, 2011, our group set out from the Salt Creek parking lot to finally hike out to Cottonball Marsh for the day. We hiked south close to the base of the Salt Creek hills until we found a low opening in them and passed through heading west. Eventually we ended up finding the old closed road and hiked that for part of the way. Up until this point, everything was great. Then the road gradually disappeared and the terrain began getting rougher and rougher. Soon, progress was slowed to a crawl and every step across the rocks and muddy salt formations was painful. There were at least four separate times when our group got into a debate and we seriously questioned what we were doing on this hike and whether or not we should turn back. And the whole time, water was not visible. We wondered if Cottonball Marsh had dried up. But we pushed on, despite the increasing heat and negative feelings, and finally made it out to the old West Side Borax Camp site. From that spot, we could see where the first spring emerged and several pools of water sat out on the basin. The hike had been a little bit over 5 grueling miles so far. As we walked out to the first few pools which were visible, we realized that we could see more and more out on Cottonball Basin. The more we hiked, the more marshy pools became visible. This cycle continued and we finally realized how vast of an area Cottonball Marsh covered. During the course of our day, we were fortunate to stumble across the pupfish ponds by the miracle of all miracles. If we had not happened to hike in a certain direction at the exact time we did, we would have missed them. I'm still not sure how we pulled it off so perfectly, but we did. I can honestly say that the Cottonball Marsh pupfish pools are one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen in my entire life. These pristine pools and the delicate ecosystem connected to them are extremely special and amazing, more so than the most beautiful pond ever built in someone's backyard. I've never seen anything like it. Pools up to 4 feet deep of crystal clear water with schools of Cottonball pupfish swimming through channels into the ponds and then disappearing under into hidden areas. We literally saw hundreds of Cottonball Marsh pupfish. In order to protect the area, I've decided not to give out any information as to the location of the Cottonball Marsh pupfish ponds. If somebody cares enough to find them, they will spend the time and energy searching and hopefully come away as successful as we did. Just be prepared to have your hiking boots and shoes destroyed beyond recognition, as we did. And be prepared for one of the most painful and challenging hiking terrains you've ever had to deal with.
On March 10, 2011, our group set out from the Salt Creek parking lot to finally hike out to Cottonball Marsh for the day. We hiked south close to the base of the Salt Creek hills until we found a low opening in them and passed through heading west. Eventually we ended up finding the old closed road and hiked that for part of the way. Up until this point, everything was great. Then the road gradually disappeared and the terrain began getting rougher and rougher. Soon, progress was slowed to a crawl and every step across the rocks and muddy salt formations was painful. There were at least four separate times when our group got into a debate and we seriously questioned what we were doing on this hike and whether or not we should turn back. And the whole time, water was not visible. We wondered if Cottonball Marsh had dried up. But we pushed on, despite the increasing heat and negative feelings, and finally made it out to the old West Side Borax Camp site. From that spot, we could see where the first spring emerged and several pools of water sat out on the basin. The hike had been a little bit over 5 grueling miles so far. As we walked out to the first few pools which were visible, we realized that we could see more and more out on Cottonball Basin. The more we hiked, the more marshy pools became visible. This cycle continued and we finally realized how vast of an area Cottonball Marsh covered. During the course of our day, we were fortunate to stumble across the pupfish ponds by the miracle of all miracles. If we had not happened to hike in a certain direction at the exact time we did, we would have missed them. I'm still not sure how we pulled it off so perfectly, but we did. I can honestly say that the Cottonball Marsh pupfish pools are one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen in my entire life. These pristine pools and the delicate ecosystem connected to them are extremely special and amazing, more so than the most beautiful pond ever built in someone's backyard. I've never seen anything like it. Pools up to 4 feet deep of crystal clear water with schools of Cottonball pupfish swimming through channels into the ponds and then disappearing under into hidden areas. We literally saw hundreds of Cottonball Marsh pupfish. In order to protect the area, I've decided not to give out any information as to the location of the Cottonball Marsh pupfish ponds. If somebody cares enough to find them, they will spend the time and energy searching and hopefully come away as successful as we did. Just be prepared to have your hiking boots and shoes destroyed beyond recognition, as we did. And be prepared for one of the most painful and challenging hiking terrains you've ever had to deal with.
Parking at Salt Creek and crossing it before heading south:
View over the Salt Creek hills towards Tucki Mountain:
Following a drainage at the base of the Salt Creek hills for a while:
Right side of Tucki Mountain from the cross-over point in the Salt Creek hills:
And the left side of Tucki Mountain from the same spot:
Finally connecting with the old closed road which used to go out to West Side Borax Camp:
Looking up towards the alluvial fan of Trellis Canyon:
Large block of salt out on Cottonball Basin:
Panoramic of Cottonball Basin and Tucki Mountain (click to enlarge):
Trying our best to follow the old closed road as it wraps around at the base of Tucki Mountain and follows some utility poles:
West Side Borax Camp site is at the base of this small hill:
The old closed road continues around the base of the hill:
First appearance of water as a spring emerges from underneath the rocky salt formations:
The first spring gives life to the greenery and small streams:
Looking out onto Cottonball Basin from the first spring:
From this spot we could see the first marshy pond while standing at West Side Borax Camp:
So we followed the road a little further to the south and then cut cross-country to reach it:
Here we are walking across some jagged rocky salt formations to reach the first pond:
Steve standing at the first pond of Cottonball Marsh. This pond is very close to West Side Borax Camp and there were no pupfish to be found:
Panoramic of the first marshy pond of Cottonball Marsh (click to enlarge):
Beautiful reflection in another nearby pond showing Tucki Mountain:
Looking out across Cottonball Marsh you can see that small ponds are visible all over the place:
While walking through Cottonball Marsh, it is necessary to carefully navigate around the fragile and mucky areas:
The next two pictures show areas of black algae that we came across:
After quite some time and distance, we came across the first of the pupfish pools. If you follow the picture across from my knee, you will see a school of pupfish:
Zooming in on a Cottonball Marsh pupfish swimming by:
This area is a perfect little ecosystem, with a channel of water down the middle, salt and mud walls to each side, and a hiding spot for the pupfish near the top of the channel. We took our steps very carefully in this area so as to leave no impact:
The pupfish had long channels to swim through which split and went in different directions:
Two pictures of the pupfish swimming in a channel of the pool:
Zooming in on their hiding spot where they could swim under the salt formations and be protected:
Four more pictures of the pupfish and some of their hiding spots:
Very carefully getting a picture next to a heart-shaped pupfish pool. Notice that my hiking boots have taken a beating and been consumed by muck:
Such a beautiful pool for the pupfish to swim in. Note the small opening that pupfish can swim through at the top of the heart-shaped pool:
Another long channel for the pupfish to swim through:
This pupfish (like many others we saw) kept playing around in the dirt at the bottom of the pool:
These pupfish ponds were pristine and amazing to behold. If you are ever in the area, please be extra careful in walking around them. Don't walk through any of the channels that the pupfish swim through or any of the areas where they live. And don't get too close to the edges so that they don't collapse into the pools:
Two more pictures of the pupfish ponds. Note how there are little islands out in the middle of the ponds:
Such pretty designs to the edges of the pools. No backyard pond can compare in beauty to what is found here:
Pupfish swimming through their pond in the middle of the picture:
In the next six pictures, you can see some more small islands, pond edges, and pupfish swimming:
Yet another pupfish pond that we found. Notice here that there are pupfish swimming in the channel and on the shallow surface above the channel to the right:
Watching the pupfish as they swim up the channel further:
A school of pupfish swimming above the channel in the shallows:
Literally hundreds of Cottonball Marsh pupfish can be seen in this picture. Try to count them if you can:
Pupfish swimming up the channel and out of our walking range. It took some extra time, but we carefully exited this area in a way that left no impact. As you can see, the pupfish areas are fragile and thus we have left directions to find them out of this report: