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I reach the Kelbaker Road summit at the power lines just after 16h and stop for a quick energy-bar break
I put on my windbreaker for the easy 20-mile downhill to Baker, and off into the sunset we go
I catch the red rays of sunset as I pedal down Kelbaker Road toward Baker
It's still and silent as I ride into the sunset on Kelbaker Road
Sunset fades into dusk, then darkness joins me while I enjoy the final 12 miles of the ride into Baker
Elevation profile of bicycle route from Devil's Playground to Cornfield Spring Road via Jackass Canyon and Kelso Depot
Bicycle route from Devil's Playground to Cornfield Spring Road via Jackass Canyon and Kelso Depot
Elevation profile of bicycle route from Kelso Dunes area to Baker via Kelbaker Road
Bicycle route from Kelso Dunes area to Baker via Kelbaker Road
OK, everything out of the tent, it's time to pack up and leave!
Despite the near-freezing overnight temperatures, I'm shirtless and sweating a bit as I pack up in the warm morning sun
The 10-ton bike slithers down Cornfield Spring Road at 5-7 miles per hour toward Kelso Depot
As I approach Kelso, I see an RV driving up the paved Kelbaker Road
The final part of Cornfield Spring Road, which is shared with the road to Rex Mine, is quite sandy
Just before reaching the real pavement near Kelso Depot is an old washed-out road that was once paved
My long stop at Kelso Depot was a lot of fun, but now it's time for the gentle 8-mile climb up Kelbaker Road to Kelso Dunes Road
On my left as I climb Kelbaker Road are the Providence Mountains, where I hiked the past two days
On my right as I climb Kelbaker Road, the usually vivid Kelso Dunes pale in the murky light of the cloudy afternoon
It looks like a tarantula was run over by a car here on Kelbaker Road
My 8-mile climb up Kelbaker Road ends when I reach Kelso Dunes Road, at about 2800 feet elevation, and turn right
As I start down Kelso Dunes Road, I pause for the views across to Devils Playground and the Old Dad Mountain area
With the setting sun in my eyes, I ride more quickly than usual down Kelso Dunes Road because the surface has just been graded
It's that time of day again when the Mojave Desert sunset briefly illuminates everything in its own special way
I make a quick stop at the Kelso Dunes outhouse at the base of the official hiking "trail" up the dunes
A few moments after visiting the Kelso Dunes outhouse, it's time to dismount again and check out the lighting effects behind me
It turns out that the final mile of Kelso Dunes Road has not been freshly graded, and is the usual sand and washboard
I take a very short break at the end of Kelso Dunes Road, enjoying the pink Providence Mountains, to consider my camping options
One possibility is to stash my bike behind a creosote bush and walk my belongings into the adjacent Wilderness area
I decide that the best choice is to simply leave Kelso Dunes and its campers behind and head west down the power-line road
Sunset on the Kelso Dunes power-line road is nice, and the road starts out being OK for riding
The Kelso Dunes power-line road is getting sandy, so I'm now walking the bike a bit; time to find a campsite!
Hmmm... maybe there's a campsite for me on the raised rocky area to my left?
Success! I found one flat, wide-enough, non-rocky spot above the road, so I'm back at the bike to dismantle it and set up camp
I spend two hours at Kelso Depot, longer than expected, chatting with staff and a couple of bicyclists on their way to Las Vegas
Elevation profile of bicycle route from Cornfield Spring Road to west of Kelso Dunes by bicycle
Elevation profile of bicycle route from Cornfield Spring Road to west of Kelso Dunes by bicycle
Historic fencing
Historic fencing
Historic bird perch
We were here
Unexploded ordnance
Slow burial
Not quite random
Etched into the rock
Mining claim in a bottle
Abandoned fire ring
In the backcountry
Desert mushroom on a hot day
Creeping shadows
Waiting for sunset
Creosote bush family
Skull and desert buckwheats
Entwined Joshua tree
A tarantula hawk hugs a bouquet of buckwheat blossoms
100 degrees F in the smoky haze
Bright sunshine and a bit of smoke in the air as I look down toward "The Racetrack" in Death Valley National Park
Bone scatter
Thanksgiving 2019 snowfall melts away
Staircase
Sandstorm, Eureka Valley
The 2007 Henry Coe Park fire grew significantly in the hours since I left the park
The huge 2007 Henry Coe Park fire starts small and innocently on my way out of the park after a week-long bikepacking trip
Warm sunshine ahead
Distant dunes
March to the gateway
Desert rock garden
Upward
A, but not B
Funeral Mountains drainages
Rock walls
Root system
Sand platform
Dodder and desert primrose
Curves, points and clouds
A way through
Slab dune
Desert poppies, Bigelow's monkeyflowers and gravel
Fluffy in the breeze
Early sunrise, Eureka Dunes
Joshua tree and buckwheat
Webs
Outline
Hiding petroglyphs
Fading petroglyphs
Rectangle
Just enjoying the view...
On-stage
Tic tac toe
Rattlesnake tip
Juxtaposition
Burro trails
Desert mallow and granite
Walk of giants
Creosote bush family
Desert abronia
Storm clouds
Outpost
Afternoon haze
Cloudy day
Desert beach
Ring of rocks
Abandoned firewood from years ago
Implement
Snake #1
Snake #2
Bigelow's monkeyflowers and pine cones
Granite Mountain Wilderness
Dry wash, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Indian paintbrush, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Elderly juniper tree, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Phlox, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Morning, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Wallflower, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Road, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Evening stroll, Death Valley National Park
Scratches on the earth
Buckwheat, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Afternoon stroll under changing skies
Drainages and road
Light in the canyon dims first, and then the temperature starts dropping rapidly, as sunset approaches
Dripping cliff
Penguin man
Joshua tree on a smoky afternoon
Moonscape
As if breathing, sand-drifts stick to the hillside, collapse under their own weight and slide down, over and over again
Dusk, Wagon Road
Cattle pond near Wagon Road
Tree of vultures, Center Flats Road
Smoke over San Francisco Bay, August 2020
Smoke over the Diablo Range near Calaveras Reservoir, August 2020
Smoke in the Monument Peak area, August 2020
Eureka Dunes
White drapery
Winters Peak, Death Valley National Park
Dry waters
End of day
Looking across the Darwin Plateau
Desert rock garden
Swirling hillside
After the fire, Death Valley National Park highlands
A glance across the Nevada border from the Last Chance Range
A little dry lake down there to explore
Cactus buddies
Distant puff of smoke
Pancake Rock and the hungry orange lichen monster
Morning sun busts through the smoky haze of the California fires
In the smoky sunlight of the California fires, a tree charred in a previous fire slowly returns to the earth
Crossing
Solitude at a small dry lake in the backcountry
Social distancing for plants
Rosy buckwheat flowers overlook a smoky canyon in the highlands of Death Valley National Park
Slow-moving coyote in the smoky afterglow of the California fires finds residual water in a hose at a decommissioned cistern
Joshua trees and yellow rabbitbrush, Death Valley National Park
Quiet moment at the end of a pristine dry lake
Human skull, Mojave National Preserve, 2014
Human skull, Mojave National Preserve, 2014
Human skull, Mojave National Preserve, 2014
Human skull, Mojave National Preserve, 2014
Those darker hills, with their simple lines and angles, Death Valley National Park
Gravity, Death Valley National Park
Sunshine warms a chilly Death Valley canyon
Simple sunset, Death Valley National Park—nothing to do but watch it change
Erosion, Death Valley National Park, Fall 2020
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
Wry Canyon smiles back at me, Death Valley National Park.
Gentle downhill, Death Valley National Park.
Jagged shadow, Death Valley National Park
A cholla cactus watches me from a safe distance, Death Valley National Park
Elevation profile of Old Government Road day hike to Piute Spring from Piute Gorge campsite
Route of Old Government Road day hike to Piute Spring from Piute Gorge campsite
A bird feather is stuck in this cholla cactus
I arrive home at the tent just as it's getting dark; my first job is to add chlorine tablets to my water, to make if drinkable
I drop down a final 150 feet with views across the entire Lanfair Valley to the New York Mountains
I pick this spot in the shallow stream, just deep enough to filter water; lots of cottonwood leaves floating around
Ooops, my water filter has clogged, so I resort to dipping my 10-litre water bag in the stream
My water bag is 3/4 full now, so it's time to leave the quiet babbling brook and walk back up the hill to my campsite
It's about 30 minutes before sunset, perfect time to be climbing a big hill in the Mojave Desert
I end up off-trail for a short distance on my way up the hill
I'm on the Old Government Road again here (the old alignment of what we today call the Mojave Road)
Another view of the Old Government Road roadbed
I turn around on my way up the Old Government Road to take in the sunset
Almost at the top!
The sunset and belt-of-Venus view at the top of the Old Government Road is as good as it's going to get
There's a moon in the sky!
I walk back down to the canyon floor: big rocks, willow trees and cottonwoods along Piute Creek
Layers of roots, dropped foliage and sand drainage in this dry part of the Piute Creek bed
I walk through a few cottonwood trees to get back to the stream that emanates from nearby Piute Spring
I cross through some of the riparian brush at Piute Creek
I don't find any of the old road, but I do find parts of a trail here in Piute Canyon
I follow the trail a short distance up a hill, but this is headed away from the stream that I want to follow
It's fun to explore randomly, but I'm also here to fetch more drinking water
While getting ready for today's hike down to Piute Spring, I have my first and only sighting of humans for the day
This part of the Piute Gorge Trail is marked by rocks, but there are few footprints here to keep the trail alive
As I gain a little elevation, I can see the rounded corral that I rode past yesterday
On my way up the hill, I pass by this engraved rock
And here's another one...
The Piute Gorge Trail joins the Old Government Road and I approach the crest
Nice views across the next valley toward the Dead Mountains Wilderness area, outside Mojave National Preserve
From here, I'll start winding my way downhill toward the Piute Spring area
Today, not much remains of the Old Government Road except for some rock build-up