Home 7119
- After 45 minutes of slow uphill, I see someone ahead in the road. Stranded? No, he's taking photos of the area, and of me
Photographer Joerg Boetel and his wife flag me down as I approach and offer me hot tea from their thermos, as well as granola bars. I'm not sure I have enough time to stop and chat, but I do anyway. This is one of the photos that Joerg Boetel took of me coming up Kelbaker Road with Providence Mountains in the background. - Photographer [url=http://www.joergboetel.com/]Joerg Boetel[/url] snaps one last photo of me as I ride away up Kelbaker Road
I'm so used to my cheap camera that I often forget how much difference it makes when a professional like Joerg Boetel with professional equipment gets behind the camera. - Joerg and Elke and I have a fun desert chat for a good half hour; they visit Death Valley frequently and are on their way home
Elke mentions that she rides her bicycle to work often because it's practical, while coworkers sometimes wonder if perhaps there's a problem that's preventing her from driving her car to work (a California attitude that I face daily as well). I would hang around and chat much longer if time weren't running out... Joerg snaps this photo of me as I depart and head onward up the hill. The heavy wind puffs up my windbreaker, but it seems that the wind is mostly coming from behind me now, which I welcome, of course! - The particle-board door on the bathroom has never been painted
This replacement door looks like it was installed years ago, judging by the water stains. - Solitude at a small dry lake in the backcountry
- Joshua trees and yellow rabbitbrush, Death Valley National Park
- I've arrived early enough to have supper at the Ludlow Café.
I have scrambled eggs and hamburger patty at the Café, which is almost empty today due to the holiday. Such a lazy, but scenic, day as far as bicycle-camping goes today. No camping tonight; I'll stay at the Ludlow Motel next door. - Turquoise-coloured bits in tailings at Trio Mine, Mojave National Preserve
- I stop briefly on Crucero Road as I pass the powerline road leading toward the Bristol Mountains Wilderness
I camped on the edge of that Wilderness last year and would like to explore those dry mountains more. I would go there as part of this trip if I had a couple more days off work... - I start walking up and down across the rocky fan and pass one of several jackrabbits that I'll see today
I usually can't catch them in a photo because they're so fast! But this guy thinks I can't see him because he is stationary. Thanks for the photo! - After Broadwell Dry Lake, I crawl up Crucero Road toward Ludlow, which is about 2 miles beyond the transmission tower
It's a slow 6-miles-per-hour ride up this sandy road out of the Broadwell Dry Lake basin. Maybe I have a bit of a tailwind today; it feels slightly easier than it did last year. - Big rigs park at the Ludlow gas station with the Sleeping Beauty mountains as a sunset backdrop
Gee, I was up on one of those ridges a few days ago... Tomorrow I'll head to the Cady Mountains, behind Sleeping Beauty for one last hike before I head back to San José. I watch pointless crime shows on TV, send texts from my motel room, and sleep well. - Another beautiful morning, hot sun, cool air, and I'm ready for the last hike on this trip, into the Cady Mountains behind me
Another dry granola-and-fruit breakfast with coffee (and a couple of Vietnamese honeyed-kumquats for dessert) and I'm slowly psyching myself to go. I first woke up at 6h30 (too early!), but went back to sleep until about 8h45. - There's a bit of a wind this morning as I pack up to leave Kelso Dunes Wilderness; my now-empty tent blows over
I needed to sleep in a bit today, so I did! I keep looking at the area behind me leading up into the Bristol Mountains, thinking I'd like to do a hike up there. Another future destination! - As I hike up the canyon into the Cady Mountains, I come across a balloon stuck in the brush
I make the mistake of removing it for later disposal, scraping my hand on thorns in the process! - Across the tracks from the Stockton Amtrak station is an old house that looks abandoned, but isn't
The windows of the house facing the tracks appear to be boarded-up (perhaps to block train noise), with iron security bars mounted on top. But the property is well-maintained and I notice some children playing in the yard and entering the house. - The dirt of Crucero Road comes to an end as I reach pavement at Ludlow and the I-40 freeway
A lot of noisy ravens live up in those palm trees here on the edge of town by the Dairy Queen gas station. - I'm up early this morning for the hike to Hyten Spring that I didn't get around to doing last year
Another nice morning. Even though it was chilly last night, I was too hot sometimes in my winter sleeping bag, and didn't sleep all that well (was up at 1h eating turkey jerky to help me fall back asleep). A quick breakfast and coffee, and I'm on my way. Three cups of coffee today instead of the usual two. With close to 20 hiking miles ahead of me, I figure I'll need it. - On the south end of Broadwell Dry Lake are scattered many small rocks which look like they may be volcanic in origin
This is reminiscent of the famous Racetrack Dry Lake in Death Valley, except that these rocks here don't move across the lake leaving tracks. - The Royal Hawaiian Motel is the cheapest motel in Baker, and for good reason (at $49/night it's not exactly cheap, however)
The rooms recall the 1970s and often exhibit various features of obsolescence, such as this out-of-service wall heater and a big stain on the thick carpet. I've stayed here several times now, and each room is a little different. - I arrive at Bathtub Spring shortly after sunset and finally figure out how to get through the fence that protects the spring
Yes, there's even a bathtub here, a spring true to its name! (Bathtub Spring in the Mid Hills does not have a bathtub.) It's not obvious at first how to open the fence, but I persist, knowing that there must be a way to get to the water that I need. - A cactus thorn punctures my tire and some Slime spurts out to fill the wound
Luckily, my tire doesn't lose much air before the puncture is sealed, so I don't even need to pump up my tire. Slime does a great job on fixing small punctures like this, even though it can make an awful mess on a big puncture that it can't repair. - I take a quick look back down beyond the rock pile I just climbed up
On we go... - First, I ride down the bumpy powerline road 1.7 miles back to Crucero Road
I'll make a left at Crucero Road toward Broadwell Dry Lake and Ludlow, but I'm looking at the Cady Mountains further ahead where I'll do a hike a couple of days from now. - A few steps up...
- It gets slippery here and there on Crucero Road due to powdery surface sand
Apparently no other vehicles have driven up this road since I did two days ago because my tire tracks (and a few footprints) from then are still visible. I add a few new tracks today. - This climb right here is short and steep, but fairly easy, with mostly good footing
Views are suddenly getting better. - After checking in at Baker's Royal Hawaiian Motel for Xmas Eve, I walk back up the road to get a meal at the Mad Greek
The Mad Greek restaurant at Baker's four-way stop sign is one of just a few non-chain restaurants and shops in town. Mostly, Baker is just a huge freeway service stop for motorists en route between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, oblivious to the existence of Mojave National Preserve. With just one main street and a resident population of about 900, there are nonetheless numerous gas stations, adjoining well-lit convenience stores and uninteresting chain restaurants, as well as three motels. Baker also hosts "the world's tallest thermometer," the tall structure in the photo. It's 50 degrees F tonight, which is much warmer than what was forecast. The unexpected balmy weather is being caused by very high winds blowing warm air in from the south. I hope these winds don't make bicycling difficult tomorrow... The bright light in the sky is not a UFO taking off from Alien Fresh Jerky just up the road; it's the full moon rising. - Above the little dry waterfall is easy walking on gravel below the Cady Mountains peaks
I see what looks to be an easy way up the hill off to my left, so I follow it upward. - Another cool rock wall in Hyten Spring wash
There's an interesting side wash here that would be fun to explore, but I decide to stick to my planned route. - I return to the main canyon, looking for a better route up, and head straight toward the Cady Mountain peaks and a rock outcrop
The route ahead might be blocked by those rocks ahead, but it might be easy too. I'll find out when I get there. A fly (a yellowjacket?) has been following me for a while along here. - Arriving at a saddle in the Cady Mountains, I notice a little cave
I climb up onto the saddle at my left to see what's up there. - The rocky terrain gets more interesting as I slowly get higher up this Bristol Mountains wash
The wash has narrowed; the hike becomes more intimate. - I feel like I'm on top of the world as I arrive at a local summit in the Cady Mountains
There are higher points in the Cady Mountains nearby, however. - Big ant hill at the mouth of my chosen canyon in the Cady Mountains with a nice view of Broadwell Dry Lake
Hyten Spring, where I hiked a few days ago, is behind the Bristol Mountains peaks at the left. - After breakfast, I dig a cat hole up on the hillside above Indian Springs Road
It's so nice to have an outhouse with a view, and nobody around to invade your privacy! I haven't seen anyone since leaving the pavement of Kelbaker Road yesterday afternoon. - It's so nice to have an outhouse with a view, and nobody around to invade your privacy! I haven't seen anyone since leaving the pavement of Kelbaker Road yesterday afternoon. - Before reaching the wash that leads up to the Hyten Spring area, I hike cross-country around the left end of the mountains ahead
It's rocky terrain, a bit up-and-down, and it slows me down, but it's more interesting than hiking the nearby powerline road. I could have set up camp last night a bit further down the powerline road to make today's hike a little shorter. - I start hiking up Hyten Spring Wash and encounter several coyote melons left from earlier this year
It's not steep, but I'm gaining elevation at a slow and constant rate nonetheless. The cool morning is warming up, so I take off my sweater and start hiking in short sleeves. - This hike is progressing slowly; I'm finally entering the mountain zone as I walk through this gateway
Looking forward to getting up in those hills ahead! - I notice several "Chinch weeds," if that's what they are, as I walk across the alluvial fan
According to some photos I've found on the web, this might be Pectis papposa. I saw some of these while hiking in the Sleeping Beauty area also, a few days back. - I climb a short distance up and around this dry waterfall, but decide it's more slippery than I was hoping for
An adjacent hill looks like it might be worth a try instead. - I pass a deflated barrel cactus in Hyten Spring Wash that lost its footing on the steep adjacent hillside
I come across these occasionally in the Mojave Desert. - Great, the rocks look like a really easy step up to the next level of this Cady Mountains canyon
I'm at around 3750 feet elevation here. - I pass a number of cholla cacti on the way up the wash into the Bristol Mountains
I've hiked about 4.5 miles so far, on my way up into the mountains ahead. I seem to be hiking at a steady 3 miles per hour on this extended, slightly uphill, stretch. - I've seen Brittlebrush a few times on this trip
I didn't realize Brittlebrush can flower this late in the year. - I hear some noise, look up, and notice an owl, noticing me
We watch each other peacefully for a few minutes. - I take a nice water-and-energy-bar break up here on my Cady Mountains summit to enjoy the views
I'm at about 4125 feet elevation here, nice place to sit for a few minutes. - I keep walking up the Cady Mountain canyon, looking for possible easy routes up into the rocky hills
I saved several possible upward routes on my GPS so I wouldn't miss them while hiking past. - A number of small barrel cacti adorn this rock wall in Hyten Spring Wash in the Bristol Mountains
I wonder how high the water gets here during wet weather... - This adjacent hill has good views of the hill I just climbed, but it too is quite slippery
Lots of loose, fine gravel and sand in some spots here. That's OK on flat terrain, but I don't like that on a hill. - The Lewis (Lew) Carpenter Guzzler, Kelso Dunes Wilderness
Constructed 1992, according to the plaque. - It's easy to miss little piles of cactus droppings like these as you walk over them in the Mojave Desert
These cholla cactus "children" stick to your shoes and pants; have fun getting them off if you've picked them up! - Late-day sunlight looks great in Piute Gorge
I follow the trail down to the canyon, wondering what I'll see on the way to Piute Spring. - I pass through a forest of Smoke trees on the way up Hyten Spring Wash
Here in the Kelso Dunes Wilderness, automobile (and bicycle) travel is supposed to be prohibited, but there are some tire tracks here. Maybe I should have brought my bicycle up here and camped in this area, despite the law. - After the fire, Death Valley National Park highlands
- I follow the tire tracks a short distance off my Hyten Spring hiking route and find that they end at a guzzler
This unexpected discovery explains most (but not all) of the tire tracks I've seen today. Guzzler-maintenance folks have permission to violate the mostly-good law that prohibits ordinary people from driving a bicycle or car into a Wilderness area like this. A full pond of water here, though not the freshest. I consider filtering some, and hiking an extra day in the area, but I do have plenty to get me back to Ludlow tomorrow. - I turn for a look across Crucero Valley as I stumble across the rocky landscape
There are many reddish buckwheat skeletons left from last year's flowering season. - And here's one of those Goldfields-like flowers of which I saw several while hiking Sleeping Beauty a couple of days ago
They're tiny and easy to miss. - I think this is a little Claret-cup cactus sprouting an early blossom
Because of the rocky terrain, I'm looking down at the ground a lot (always a good idea when desert hiking anyway); otherwise I wouldn't be noticing little details like this. - From here, I'll start winding my way downhill toward the Piute Spring area
I can see some of the Old Government Road ahead of me that will serve as my downhill trail. - I get closer to the tailings pile at the old Trio Mine site
- Pumping water at Indian Springs
I refill all my containers: four 1.5-litre water bottles, two-litre Camelbak, and 10-litre MSR water bag, all of which weighs almost 40 pounds when full! There will be no water at today's destination: Devil's Playground. The high level of particulate matter in this tiny stream requires that I clean my MSR water filter five times while filtering water due to clogging. - It's fun to explore randomly, but I'm also here to fetch more drinking water
Here's Piute Creek again, my water source today. Rare desert streams like this are almost magical amidst the dry landscape. - I take a good half-hour break in the shade of the Fenner store, drinking a couple of bottles of Sobe orange-carrot drink
Best of all, they carry tall bottles of Sierra Nevada pale ale, so I buy a couple of those for later consumption. I'd love to drink one of those now while it's cold, but with almost 40 more bicycle miles ahead of me, that wouldn't be a great idea. - Frost on my bicycle this morning near Kelso Dunes
I did not sleep much last night due to the cold; the frost on my bicycle tells me that it was damp last night as well. I fell asleep easily enough last night, but kept waking up. I woke up restless and cold at 2h45. By 3h15, I still hadn't fallen back asleep, so I heated a pouch of boil-in-bag lentil biriyani from Trader Joe's to get something warm in my tummy. While waiting for my late-night snack to heat up, I stepped out into the chill to enjoy a few minutes of star-studded sky on my last night here. The sky was so dark that I was seeing the gentle wisps of galaxies in the sky, in addition to thousands of stars. The hot meal did the trick and I finally fell asleep. It's unlike me to get up just after sunrise like this morning, especially after so little sleep, but I have almost 50 miles of riding today to get back to Baker and I hope to make it before dark. I intend to take the morning slow and leisurely, as usual. - Leaving the Royal Hawaiian Motel in Baker to start my Mojave National Preserve trip
Decorative deer have been placed under the motel sign to capture some Xmas spirit. The motel rooms in the one-storey structure visible here are not in use because trees have grown into the plumbing system and significant repairs will be needed to make them usable again. - A little dry lake down there to explore
- Table Mountain on the left, and Twin Buttes: a classic Mojave National Preserve view that I usually see from Black Canyon Road
... but this evening I'm a bit closer, on the U-shaped Woods Wash Road. Soon, I'll be passing by the Twin Buttes hill on the right. - The road to the Barnett Mine area, about 1.5 miles long, is rough and slightly uphill
Like most backcountry desert roads, it gets rougher as it gets closer to the end. - I think I've found it: Bronze Mine Spring
It's dry right now, except for a few green grasses by the source. I wasn't expecting to find water here, but I was hoping to be surprised and find some. - Well, here's how much water remains at Mail Spring in late spring 2012
It's not enough for me to filter, and it's probably just barely enough for the wild animals that use it, like those deer I saw a few minutes ago. - I wonder if this grassland is natural, or if it was converted into grassland by the cows that grazed here for decades
I want to go for a hike up there! - Desert poppies, Bigelow's monkeyflowers and gravel
- Indian paintbrush, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
- At midnight, as I prepare to go to bed, I notice that "Royal Hawaiian" is written on my pillow--happy 2008!
Subliminal advertising? Maybe, and maybe it's working. I keep coming back to this place, and to Mojave National Preserve. - Lecyr Spring should be just down there in that little canyon
The "man and woman" rock pile on the hillside is an interesting visual. - The Amtrak bus leaves me at Baker, California at around 20h30, gateway to Mojave National Preserve
I mount my saddlebags and sleeping bag on the bike and ride a half mile down the road toward the Royal Hawaiian Motel, which will be home tonight. - Pancake Rock and the hungry orange lichen monster
- On upper Morning Star Mine Road, I'm heading toward the Ivanpah Mountains, with Kessler Peak at the left
- Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Barber Mountain Loop Trail is this eroded rock hotel
I spend a few minutes here walking around and looking at it. - After I get home next week, I'll get a detailed USGS map and try to map today's hike in the Indian Springs and Cane Spring area
It looks like I missed Cane Spring after all, which is higher up on the lava flow. Also, I now see how I overshot my campsite on the way back to the tent... - It looks like I missed Cane Spring after all, which is higher up on the lava flow. Also, I now see how I overshot my campsite on the way back to the tent... Continue to Day 3: Indian Springs to Devil's Playground via Jackass Canyon. - A discarded Bud Light beer can at roadside is a sign that I've re-entered "civilization"
Garbage equals life. - Even the message telling the visitor that this heater is no longer in use appears to be many years old
The tape attaching the message to the heater hasn't detached yet. - Buckwheat, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
- Burro trails
- Quiet moment at the end of a pristine dry lake
- Desert mallow and granite
- Cattle pond near Wagon Road
- Arriving Essex, California, Route 66, by bicycle
Population 100, elevation 1775 feet, my low point of the day. Where I'm camped is up around 4700 feet. I have a bit of a ride ahead of me this evening! - I see a bit of greenery over there; that must be Cave Spring
Onward go the feet! Anything bright-green in the desert is worth checking out. - Cow shit everywhere here in the upper Woods Wash Valley; 4WD required, I only have two (but I do have two feet in addition)
As long as the road doesn't get any more sandy than this, I'm fine. But this sign worries me a bit... I continue onward, slightly downhill. - My Amtrak bus out of San José leaves me at Stockton, where I transfer to an Amtrak train to Bakersfield
After the 4.5-hour train ride to Bakersfield, I'll transfer to an Amtrak bus to Baker that will take four more hours. The Stockton train station is located in a decayed industrial area that gets very little pedestrian traffic. Heavy metal bars on the train station's windows and doors suggest that it's a high-crime area. - Rosy buckwheat flowers overlook a smoky canyon in the highlands of Death Valley National Park
- A tarantula hawk hugs a bouquet of buckwheat blossoms
- Overview of my room at the Royal Hawaiian Motel
This room still has the original knotty pine ceiling. The ceiling in many other rooms has since been covered up by the kind of faux-wood paneling that adorns the walls here. The power goes out a few times during the evening for a few seconds. I'm left wondering if the power failure is caused by tonight's wind storm or if it's because I'm running the heater in the room. - Enough chatting; it's time to get on with the day's business of riding up out of Kelso Valley to Baker
It's just after 13h, so I should have enough time to get there by dark, unless a heavy headwind gets in the way. - Fluorescent bulbs above the beds (and almost everywhere else) create a retro 1970s fashion
The symmetrical arrangement is further complemented by the landscape painting hung above the beds. It has been a long day of travelling and I fall asleep easily in this quiet place. (Who else spends Xmas Eve in a motel?) - Riding Nipton Road, just a few more miles until I reach Nipton village over there
The final few hot-and-sweaty miles ahead before I reach Nipton are slightly uphill. Desire to reach the destination in the heat of the day always increases along this stretch, but there's no way to get there more quickly! - Afternoon stroll under changing skies
- End of day
- I spent last night at Whiskey Pete's Casino Hotel in Primm, NV and I'm more than ready to get going this morning
I'm not a fan of casinos, so I don't have a fun benefit from staying here like many people would. However, the Amtrak bus stops here, so it's a good place to start a Mojave National Preserve bicycle-camping trip. - Sunscreen on, and the 10-ton bike packed up, I pull away from the hotel at Primm
After a quick boring breakfast at the McDonald's in the hotel, my first stop will be the Starbucks on the other side of the freeway, and the gas-station store for water. It's amazing how terrible the tap water in the hotel tastes. - Tree of vultures, Center Flats Road
- Dusk, Wagon Road
- Swirling hillside
- Finally, I've reached the flatter, upper part of Ivanpah Road, still with blurry shadows due to the eclipse
I'm exhausted, but I can pedal a bit more now with the lower sun and slightly cooler air. Some phony positive-packaging folks would call this moment a renaissance; I call it running on empty with stamina. - Human skull, Mojave National Preserve, 2014
- Rattlesnake tip
- Joshua tree and buckwheat
- Winters Peak, Death Valley National Park
- Last season's prince's plumes blossoms discuss the day's snowfall
- A good day of backcountry camping usually begins with a roll of toilet paper and a 'sanitation trowel'
Another hot morning and I'm forced awake early by the sun shining on my tent, just as I fall into a deep sleep. Not enough sleep, I feel like I have a hangover! - Human skull, Mojave National Preserve, 2014
- Piute Canyon opens up a little
- Crossing
- I pack a day bag and start today's hike by walking 1/4 mile up to Indian Springs to filter the day's drinking water
My bag contains my winter coat, hat, scarf, gloves, toilet paper, batteries for the camera, a flashlight, and my yellow-jacket-sting kit (I'm highly allergic). - I expect to be out hiking for the rest of the afternoon, so I'm bringing a flashlight, just in case. My day bag also contains my winter coat, hat, scarf and gloves for later in the day when it cools off, as well as toilet paper, batteries for the camera, and my yellow-jacket-sting kit (I'm highly allergic). - The stained ceiling in the bathroom tells a story of a shower in the room above that leaked
Perhaps the ceiling still leaks now; the sink in this room is clogged and drains extremely slowly. - I stash the bicycle behind some Catclaw bushes with fragrant flowers and begin the hike up Borrego Canyon.
It looks a lot like the Cave Spring area where I hiked yesterday for good reason: it's just a few miles away. - As I approach the old settlement of Barnwell, I'm compelled to stop and look at the old private automobile graveyard there
... history, but it's on private property. - I'm back on pavement for a couple of miles and ride past the former Ivanpah store on Ivanpah Road
I've often stopped for a break at this building during past trips, but today I'll pedal on past it. I'm already tired and want to keep going. - A glance across the Nevada border from the Last Chance Range
- Cactus buddies
- Evening stroll, Death Valley National Park
- I hike the 1.5-mile-long stretch of the old Ivanpah railway grade northbound to the Bathtub Spring area
Several slots were blasted through the rocky hills 100 years ago to create a fairly flat railway bed. The Bathtub Spring Peaks in the background, where I hiked in May 2011, pick up the golden pre-sunset light. - White drapery
- Wild Horse Canyon Road is all scenic, but I especially enjoy riding down this part with the Providence Mountains in the distance
I'm riding Wild Horse Canyon Road down to Hole-in-the-Wall visitor Centre, where I'll recharge my phone and fill up on water before heading out to the Twin Buttes area for a backcountry campsite. - Desert mushroom on a hot day
- Skull and desert buckwheats
- Phlox, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
- After about 3.5 miles, the pavement goes away; Black Canyon Road turns to dirt on the way back to Mid Hills Campground
...but I still have that nice tailwind pushing me up the slow grade. - Well, the Cima store might be closed right now, but it's an interesting place to take a break nonetheless
I always enjoy walking around the modest historic building here. - Waiting for sunset
- Hopsage bush and snow
- Desert beach
- Dripping cliff
- Creeping shadows
- Slab dune
- Eureka Dunes
- Human skull, Mojave National Preserve, 2014
- After about 25 miles so far today, I get excited as I start riding the almost 9 miles down Fenner Hills Road toward Fenner
I've never explored this area and the road seems quite rarely traveled. Nice country as the road follows the Fenner Hills. It will be a gradual downhill, from about 2850 feet elevation down to about 2075. - I spend 4.5 hours on the Amtrak San Joaquin train, occasionally staring at the tray-table instructions in front of me
Fortunately, the train serves food, and the chicken burrito is pretty good. Beer is also available, but it's a bit early in the day for beer (for me at least). - Climbing up the sometimes-rough pavement of Kelbaker Road; those who have ridden it know it
At many spots along here, a bicyclist must ride out in the middle of the lane to avoid dangerous texture problems near the edge of the road. - Human skull, Mojave National Preserve, 2014
- Looking across the Darwin Plateau
- 20 minutes later, I stop for another break further out on Broadwell Dry Lake
Time to stop for an energy bar; I send a text message. I listen to silence. And the wind. - Cloudy day
- The 10-ton bike waits outside the doors to the Kelso Depot visitor centre
I step inside Kelso Depot to buy a souvenir T-shirt from the gift shop, which I always forget to do. The woman at the entrance counter says, "You're back," remembering me from my Spring 2006 Mojave National Preserve trip. I'm a bit surprised that she remembers me, since that was 18 months ago, but I do sometimes stand out in a crowd. I chuckle and tell her that I won't be asking her this time to unlock the downstairs closet with the water tap, since I filled up at Coyote Springs yesterday. - As I reach a saddle between Twin Buttes North and Table Mountain, it looks like Table Mountain isn't that far away
I guess I'll keep going and see how far I get. - The Joshua tree orator welcomed me with open arms that day, happy to greet a human for the first time in a long time, and assured that miles walked up this nameless and unassuming Death Valley canyon would be worth the effort
- Those darker hills, with their simple lines and angles, Death Valley National Park
- It's time to make some coffee using a toilet-paper filter and get started
I really, really need coffee this morning, or on any morning that I get up so early. The strong coffee tastes great and I make a second cup immediately afterwards. - Gravity, Death Valley National Park
- This wavy-leaved plant reminds me of the "soap root" plant that grows in the Bay Area
As one would expect, the plant life here in the sand is quite different from what surrounded me the past two days up around Indian Springs. - Parts of Hart Mine Road have a tendency to get a bit washed out
Hence the "Road Not Maintained" sign here. - Early sunrise, Eureka Dunes
- Outpost
- The huge 2007 Henry Coe Park fire starts small and innocently on my way out of the park after a week-long bikepacking trip
September 3, 2007, 2:15 p.m. - Moonscape
- Jagged shadow, Death Valley National Park
- Snake #2
- The first stop on today's hike is nearby Mail Spring; a pair of deer stare at me as I approach
Mail Spring supposedly has water sometimes. However, I'm not expecting to find any water here now that the dry season is well underway. But you never know... - Late-morning coffee and breakfast (brunch, really). It was cold last night and I didn't sleep so well, and then I slept in late
A typical camping breakfast for me consists of tamari almonds, dried apricots, dry granola, coffee, water and maybe miso soup. I forgot to pack my coffee cup, so I'll drink my coffee out of my plastic bowl. - I had no problem falling asleep last night, but I slept very lightly during the pre-dawn hours and had many strange dreams. At 8h30, I awoke to sunlight, but fell back asleep. Eventually, some sun started shining on the tent, making it comfortable inside, and I didn't wake up again until 11h30. I eat a typical (for me) camping breakfast, which consists of tamari almonds, dried apricots, dry granola, coffee, water and maybe miso soup. One of the first things that I notice on this first morning of camping is that I forgot to pack my plastic coffee cup, so I'll drink my coffee out of the plastic bowl that I didn't forget. - In the smoky sunlight of the California fires, a tree charred in a previous fire slowly returns to the earth
- Rock assortment
- On the road to Coyote Springs at the base of the Granite Mountains
The sand on this road is well-packed and easy to ride, except in soft spots where drainages cross the road. - The 2007 Henry Coe Park fire grew significantly in the hours since I left the park
September 3, 2007, 6:07 p.m. - Scratches on the earth
- Bigelow's monkeyflowers and pine cones
- Unidentified alyssum-like plant
I wouldn't be surprised if I know the name of this plant from having studied the native-plant catalogues, but I don't recognize it in its real-life situation. - Dry waters
- Slow-moving coyote in the smoky afterglow of the California fires finds residual water in a hose at a decommissioned cistern
- Sunshine warms a chilly Death Valley canyon
- These plants look like a cross between a daisy and a milkweed
They are flowering now, but their blossoms are all closed. I wonder if they only open on days of full sun. - March to the gateway
- Abandoned fire ring
- I come across another cattle pond, this time a really big one
I have to go for a walk and take a closer look. - National Parks Service did an excellent job restoring Kelso Depot
Desert-chat time! I always enjoy this. I end up talking with a Park Volunteer doing landscape maintenance at Kelso Depot who moved out here from the east so he could live in this environment. - While sipping my coffee, I notice that the water bottles which I left outside last night have quite a bit of ice in them
I guess it was colder last night than I thought. I'll save this bottle of water for later. During my usual hotter weather trips, it would be mighty refreshing, but not right now thanks! The water bottles in my tent had no ice in them this morning. I've been trying to make sure that my water bottles are never completely full at night, just in case the water freezes and expands. - The 10-ton bike and I are ready to leave downtown San José and head to Mojave National Preserve again!
There really are other places in the world to visit besides Mojave National Preserve, but I keep going back anyway. With each visit, I get to know the area better and notice places that I haven't had a chance to explore. It's one of the biggest national parks, vast enough that even Park staff often doesn't know all the nooks and crannies, so I'll probably be going back to the area a few more times yet. - It looks like the Rings Trail is going to lead me into that slot in the rocks
Cool, this is more interesting than I was expecting! - Bladderpod (Isomeris arborea) flowering and fruiting on the hillside behind my tent near Indian Springs
I like this plant enough that I would try growing one in my yard back in San José if I thought it would tolerate the wet winters back there. - The further I descend this hill toward Kelso Depot, the stronger the headwind
Even though I'm supposedly going downhill, wind is much stronger than gravity right here right now, and I'm pedalling a lot just to maintain 12 miles per hour! - Desert rock garden
- On-stage
- In the backcountry
- Smoke over the Diablo Range near Calaveras Reservoir, August 2020
- As if breathing, sand-drifts stick to the hillside, collapse under their own weight and slide down, over and over again
- Gentle downhill, Death Valley National Park.
- Ice in my water bottles this morning at Indian Springs!
I slept poorly again last night due to the cold and had plenty of weird dreams again, none of which I can remember. I almost got up at 6h due to the cold, but I managed to fall back asleep again. The water bottles with the most ice were the ones I left outside my tent, but there was even some ice in the drinking tube of my Camelbak, which I kept inside. - Morning sun busts through the smoky haze of the California fires
- I spot a larger cave in the Cady Mountains next to the smaller one I saw earlier, on my way up the saddle
I'm wearing short sleeves all afternoon, but still in long pants. The cool wind up here is comfortable, but not cold, while the sun is still shining. - A, but not B
- "The Scream"
- Thanksgiving 2019 snowfall melts away
- The impending sunset illuminates the distant power lines
Most of Jackass Canyon Road is actually a power-line service road. - 100 degrees F in the smoky haze
- A way through
- Drainages and road
- I ride away from the campsite up Kelso Dunes Road toward the Providence Mountains
Good-bye! Until next time! I stop briefly at the Kelso Dunes outhouse to use the facilities and dump a couple of pounds of garbage in the trash bins. One isn't aware of just how much garbage one produces, and the weight of it, until it's necessary to carry it around to the next garbage can. - Elderly sagebrush survivors