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- I'm surprised to find a trough at Pine Spring, overflowing with water of decent quality; a few bees are living on the margins
- The Pine Spring water trough is inside a corral, which is apparently still in use by cows
- A bit beyond the Pine Spring corral is an old water trough and a rusty water tank
- I've hiked two miles up Pine Spring Road, which ends here, so I climb a hill to get oriented for the day's off-trail hiking
- From this hill above Pine Spring, I see a possible route to the McCullough Mountains ridgeline straight ahead, a bit to the left
- Out of nowhere, a grasshopper pops into the air and lands nearby
- A few mariposa lilies are blooming on this hill above Pine Spring
- On the way down to the wash, a patch of ankle-high cacti requires careful avoidance hiking
- I arrive in the sandy wash and prepare to climb the hill on my left, on my way toward one of the McCullough Mountains peaks
- Diminutive chia sages grow in the wash here
- Some larger desert sage bushes (probably Salvia dorrii) are also blooming in this wash
- I take note of this light-pink Mojave Desert native thistle: Cirsium neomexicanum
- I check my GPS again and begin the climb into the McCullough Mountains, straight up this hill
- At the top of the blackbrush hill, I turn around for a moment to enjoy the views back down into Piute Valley
- Atop the blackbrush hill, I check out the upward route ahead to the McCullough Mountains ridgeline
- A rock outcrop atop the hill ahead is my next target
- Nice views back down into Piute Valley from the rock outcrop
- Now that I'm above the rock outcrop, I can see the next hill on my way up the McCullough Mountains
- I walk past some banana yuccas and toward a stand of joshua trees on my way up this next McCullough Mountains hill
- Time for another energy bar, already, on my way up into the McCullough Mountains
- A few red penstemons are flowering today in the McCullough Mountains
- This steep, rocky hillside in the McCullough Mountains provides good footing on the way up
- A couple of claret-cup cacti are blooming on this McCullough Mountains hillside
- Finally, I reach a point from which the remainder of my route uphill is visible, following the rising ridge at centre-left
- OK, climb up that hill, now!
- After climbing that last short steep hill... now the McCullough Mountains peak 6557 is right in front of me
- Almost there... Peak 6557 is that hill ahead to my right
- A pile of rocks sits upon McCullough Mountains unnamed peak 6557
- I sit on McCullough Mountains Peak 6557 for a good 15 minutes and enjoy the views
- Looking to my right, I see the high point of this range, McCullough Mountain, at just over 7000 feet
- I bet the valley below, between here and the Lucy Gray Mountains in the middleground, would be an interesting place to explore
- Looking way off into the distance, I can see a snow-capped mountain, which I presume is Charleston Peak near Las Vegas
- I'm hoping to continue hiking along the ridge, but it looks like there may be a drop-off beyond those two junipers
- It's quite steep, but I conclude that I should be able to wind my way down the hill safely, and stay on the ridge line
- Once I get past the crazy, steep and rocky part at the beginning of the short descent, the rest is easy
- Phlox, cacti and pinyon pines on the McCullough Mountains ridge line
- I spy an old tree trunk on the McCullough Mountains ridge line
- From this McCullough Mountains saddle, I can still see across the Lucy Gray Mountains to Ivanpah Dry lake and Clark Mountain
- This banana yucca in the McCullough Mountains is getting ready to bloom
- This McCullough Mountains saddle also has great views eastward down to the Piute Valley
- From the saddle, I look back at McCullough Mountains Peak 6557
- I stop to look at a cactus growing in an unusual horizontal habit, one pad at a time
- Cacti and a few blue phacelia flowers enjoy the shade under this pinyon pine in the McCullough Mountains
- I almost missed these claret-cup cacti flowers under an old juniper while walking past
- The next marked point on my hike today will be McCullough Mountains unnamed peak 6425, the high point just ahead
- On the way up to Peak 6425 in the McCullough Mountains are a few rock piles
- I've seen this white flower before; I think it's Desert tobacco (Nicotiana obtusifolia)
- One last little climb up to McCullough Mountains Peak 6425
- From McCullough Mountains Peak 6425, I look back at where I was earlier, on Peak 6557, center
- McCullough Mountains Peak 6425 also has great views eastward across the Piute Valley
- I can still see a bit of the Ivanpah Dry Lake area from McCullough Mountains Peak 6425
- McCullough Mountains Peak 6425 marks a decision point as far as route-following is concerned
- I'll start the hike back to camp by hiking up the hill at centre-left, then following the ridge down to the hill in the middle
- This is one of the more scraggly pinyon pines I've come across today in the McCullough Mountains
- About 10 minutes later, I notice a hillside that might make for a good descent down to a wash
- I climb carefully down the steep hill, past the bunch grasses, blackbrush, and the occasional banana yucca
- I start hiking down the rock-strewn wash, which is like a staircase in a few places
- It's dry right now, but I can imagine a rush of water being funneled down this drainage during the wet season
- The wash begins to widen slightly, collecting sand that runs down from the McCullough Mountains
- The wash continues to wind its way down from the McCullough Mountains
- A primrose blooms in this McCullough Mountains wash near an old tree trunk
- The star of most every desert-wilderness trip: the stray balloon
- I'm seeing some footprints in the sand now as I get closer to the Pine Spring area
- Another Palmer's penstemon starting to bloom
- I'm surprised to notice a few barrel cacti along Pine Spring Road on my way back to the tent
- I have an easy one-mile walk down Pine Spring Road to finish off the day's hike
- And there it is, home again for the night near Pine Spring, with a flowering beavertail cactus along the way
- Time to boil water for this evening's instant meal: Mountain House Rice with Chicken (yum)
- After dark, I write notes in my journal and wind down as the evening gets progressively cooler
- I slept fairly well, but wake up early to a chilly, grey morning here in the McCullough Mountains foothills
- Near my tent, this shiny black bug is having fun climbing a bush
- Camp slowly gets packed up, and I lazily leave my Pine Spring campsite around 11h30
- The first part of the backtrack ride away from the Pine Spring area rolls in between some low hills
- I've just climbed up the single short, steep hill on the way out of Pine Spring
- From here, the high point of the day, at about 4925 feet elevation, it will be mostly gentle downhill until I reach Searchlight
- This part of Pine Spring Road is fun to descend, with a drop of about 600 feet elevation in 1.5 miles to the powerline road
- It's a great ride rolling downward toward the McCullough Mountains powerline road
- On the other side of Piute Valley is the Highland Range, about which I know little
- I take a short break at the junction of Pine Spring Road and the powerline road, looking back toward the McCullough Mountains
- I'm still wearing my sweater as I ride along the Wee Thump Wilderness' northern boundary
- I spot a few Indian paintbrush flowers near the road on the northeast side of Wee Thump Wilderness
- The road along the northeast side of Wee Thump Wilderness is often (but not always) in good condition
- At around 4200 feet, I'm starting to see just a few wildflowers in the Wee Thump Wilderness area
- Nearby, a campsite and fire ring are on the other side of the road from the Wee Thump Wilderness
- I come across a road marked as a dead-end, only 0.2 miles long
- It turns out that the short dead-end road ends at a guzzler (a contraption for storing rain water for later use by wildlife)
- "This device for watering game birds was paid for with YOUR money"
- This guzzler collects water and drains it into the container hiding below the "roof"
- Back on the "main road" on the east side of Wee Thump Wilderness, I stop for another quick break to take off my sweater
- A moment of panic ensues when I drop my camera and it no longer takes good photos
- Along the Wee Thump Wilderness road, I see some yellow buckwheat-like flowers that I'm not familiar with
- Yellow and peach cactus flowers next to the small pink blooms of range ratany, adjacent Wee Thump Wilderness, Nevada
- Cactus-flower close-up, next to Wee Thump Wilderness, Nevada
- This Mojave aster, growing at the edge of a creosote bush, still has a few fresh flowers
- I keep riding along the edge of the Wee Thump Wilderness after passing another guzzler (same model as the last one I saw)
- This part of the Wee Thump Wilderness road sports some pink buckwheat blooms
- This range ratany at Wee Thump Wilderness is in full bloom
- The so-scenic ride through the joshua-tree forest along Wee Thump Wilderness ends here; time to ride the highway for a bit
- A few bouquets of yellow and orange dress up the seven-mile straight-line ride to Searchlight, visible even from here
- Close to Searchlight along Nevada 164, I notice a few of these yellow domes
- After seven miles, I arrive at the stop sign: I arrive at Searchlight, Nevada, population 576
- I pull in at one of Searchlight's two gas-station convenience stores, but no propane bottles are sold here
- Of course, there's a casino next door (this is Nevada!) and it has a McDonald's, the only fast food in town
- At the south end of Searchlight, Hwy 95 leaves town for the open desert
- Sweet! I stumble across another, smaller, general store and gas station that carries the propane bottle I want!
- A lot of the older houses in Searchlight have a bit of old-style character, but need some work
- Across the road from the little general store is Searchlight's laundromat
- The hills in Searchlight provide a terraced effect in some neighborhoods
- It makes a lot of sense to reduce the speed limit where it goes through town (crossing such a busy road can be interesting)
- I decide to check in for a night at Searchlight's only motel; I'll check out that old miner's cabin across the road tomorrow
- My room is clean, though the mattress rather worn-out, and it's bicycle-friendly
- A billboard next to the Searchlight motel advertises a "luxury" motel elsewhere
- After a bla meal at McDonald's, I settle in for an evening of TV and writing notes in my brick-walled room
- Breakfast in Searchlight means McDonald's again (ugh); I admire the old Colton Mine headframe on the way back to my motel room
- Looking down the street in Searchlight, I can see the forecast rain clouds hovering over the mountains where I'll be headed soon
- I think I'm leaving the Searchlight motel early, but the cleaning woman also arrives early, reminding me that check-out is 10h
- My first stop upon leaving the Searchlight motel is the old mining residences just across the road
- Nearby is a second building, a small cabin: all this in "downtown Searchlight"
- In the backyard sits a small outbuilding
- A major luxury...
- Another luxury: an old hot water heater
- And perhaps the biggest luxury of them all: electricity
- From behind the old miner's cabin, I look across the highway to last night's Searchlight motel
- OK, time to start today's ride; I start riding down Nevada 164 into the grey clouds
- I spot a nice clump of pink buckwheat flowers along Highway 164 on the way out of Searchlight
- From Nevada 164, I zoom in across the valley and see some rain clouds over the Castle Peaks, my destination today
- As I head into the clouds on Nevada 164, I see a little sunny spot on the road ahead
- Indeed, the sunny spot on Nevada 164 stays put and I ride into it
- I reach Walking Box Ranch Road and it's time to ride up that way and leave pavement for a few days
- A row of 6 SUVs has stopped by the Walking Box Ranch, apparently preparing for a ride into the rain clouds ahead, like me
- I take a short break over by the Walking Box Ranch entrance; it's not open to the public, but it's nice to look at
- I pass the stationary 4WD folks and begin my ride up Walking Box Ranch Road; they soon depart too and pass me, one by one
- After half an hour, I take a short break at an old corral on Walking Box Ranch Road where I've stopped before
- I'm often looking back behind me toward Nevada 164 and the Highland Range to take in the cloud formations
- Though mostly gradual, Walking Box Ranch Road does have a few short rolling hills
- Looking back on Walking Box Ranch Road, it looks stormy over toward the McCullough Mountains where I camped 2 days ago
- As Walking Box Ranch Road approaches the California border, I pass another old corral
- Here and there on Walking Box Ranch Road are bits of residual old pavement
- I'm feeling happy now that I'm seeing views of the Castle Peaks, Mojave National Preserve
- Walking Box Ranch Road is a "Road Not Maintained" on the California side of the border
- I pass the Castle Mountains area, just outside Mojave National Preserve, and remind myself to visit this area in the future
- I'm going to leave Walking Box Ranch Road here and follow this smaller road at my left toward Castle Peaks
- My new road, which I've not been on before, immediately drops into a sand-and-gravel drainage area
- Phew, my road rises out of the gravel onto a smooth surface and passes a "Entering Mojave National Preserve" sign
- I reach a brief detour down and around a washed-out section of this road and it occurs to me that this is an old railway grade
- A close-up of the wash-out reveals buried posts that supported the old Barnwell and Searchlight Railway grade
- I pass an old road leading toward the Castle Peaks area, now closed by Wilderness markers
- The Barnwell and Searchlight Railway grade is a great mountain-bike ride today, 100 years after the rail line was decommissioned
- I take a quick break in the joshua-tree forest to enjoy the silence and try my cell phone; I also remove my sweater
- I zoom in behind me for a closer look at the old Barnwell and Searchlight Railway grade that I've been riding for a while
- I haven't seen many wildflowers along the old railway grade, so a patch of paintbrush really catches my attention when I pass by
- Suddenly, I have a view across Lanfair Valley all the way to Tabletop Mountain (the distant flat-topped hill, of course)
- I take the detour around another wash-out on the old Barnwell and Searchlight Railway grade
- I pass an old OX Ranch water tank, so I'll be leaving the Barnwell and Searchlight Railway grade shortly
- I start riding, and sometimes walking, the 10-ton bike up Castle Peaks Road, the final leg of today's trip
- As I rise slowly, the views across Lanfair Valley become increasingly expansive
- Castle Peaks Road heads across the land toward a slot between the rolling hills at upper-left
- 10 minutes later, I'm almost at the next landmark, where Castle Peaks Road arrives at the slot in the rolling hills
- Between the rolling hills, Castle Peaks Road rises up a short steep hill onto a man-made berm overlooking a dry reservoir
- The short, rugged descent down the hill off the dam on Castle Peaks Road would require high clearance
- Castle Peaks Road beyond the dry reservoir continues to deteriorate
- Immediately after the little detour on Castle Peaks Road is another sandy stretch, too deep for me to ride the 10-ton bike
- My wish is granted when I reach a well-used campsite a short distance ahead, just off Castle Peaks Road
- I go for a short walk as I try to decide where to erect my tent, and I discover this luxury outdoor toilet
- I have to laugh while walking around my new campsite; I discover that I'm at the end of Castle Peaks Road without realizing it
- I set up camp next to a juniper tree, hoping that it might provide a bit of a wind break should I need it
- Since I'm between a couple of hills, I don't get to see a full sunset here at the end of Castle Peaks Road
- Morning at Castle Peaks Road means I get to try out the deluxe facilities while listening to the quail; it works well!
- I notice bird activity near my tent and locate a nearly invisible bird's nest in an elbow of this joshua tree at centre-right
- I start today's hike by climbing up a hill and looking down at my tent in the little valley at the end of Castle Peaks Road
- Someone has a nest here sheltered against a boulder on top of the hill above my tent
- I pass a few brilliant Indian paintbrush plants as I further climb the hills above my tent
- I'm now at one of the high points of this ridge in the Castle Peaks area, at about 5225 feet elevation
- Good views over to the New York Mountains peaks from this Castle Peaks ridge
- From this ridge, the only way is down, so I continue eastward down into the canyon below
- To my surprise, I find a small stream in this unnamed Castle Peaks canyon
- I climb up the next hill and down into a juniper-studded valley
- I encounter a nice patch of Mojave asters on the way down into the valley below Castle Peaks
- In this little valley below Castle Peaks, I reach an old closed road, a perfect trail after a bit of cross-country hiking
- The cool rocks formations in the Castle Peaks area are endless; this one harbors a small natural arch
- I crouch and walk through this little rock arch in the Castle Peaks area
- On the other side of this Castle Peaks arch is a rock formation that looks like a tortoise, with its head extended
- I climb over the next hill (a 75-foot rise), upon which I find a boulder with a tuft of cactus on its head
- I find a few Gooding's verbenas blooming in the wash
- Now that I'm in a smooth-bottomed wash in the Castle Peaks area, my hiking speed is picking up a little
- In this Castle Peaks wash, I encounter my first stray balloon of the day, trapped in a desert sage bush
- In this Castle Peaks wash is the most lush Desert four o'clock (Mirabilis multiflora) that I've seen so far on this trip
- Six minutes after my first balloon discovery, I stumble across a second one in the same Castle Peaks wash
- Hiking down this Castle Peaks wash is fun (it's a bit downhill), and then I reach this fairly recent barbed-wire fence
- A nice juxtaposition of pink cactus flowers and orange desert mallows in this Castle Peaks wash
- Yellow Eriophyllum wallacei flowers are scattered intermittently in this Castle Peaks wash
- A few stretches of this Castle Peaks wash have a lot of thorny Catclaw acacia bushes to avoid
- A few rather large Chia sages grow in this Castle Peaks wash
- I climb out of the wash and crawl under the barbed-wire fence again, in order to continue hiking toward Indian Spring
- Near the barbed-wire fence is the brightest blooming desert sage I've seen yet on this trip
- I drop down into the next wash that my route randomly crosses
- I continue hiking more or less along the barbed-wire fence
- I climb over several low hills on my cross-country route toward Indian Spring
- I notice a nice little "pineapple cactus" on my cross-country trek over the low hills
- As I drop down into yet another wash, I realize I'm quite close to Taylor Spring (dry), where I hiked last year