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- I'm really enjoying walking through this area here behind Lobo Point on the Barber Mountain Loop Trail in a little hidden valley
- The Barber Mountain Loop Trail rises up a short, steep hill overlooking the hidden valley
- I decide to try hiking the adjacent Barber Mountain Loop Trail, or at least part of it, since I'm here
- The Barber Mountain Loop Trail climbs slowly from the Rings Trail summit
- With so few flowers in bloom, I'm happy to find a few Encelias (brittlebrush) flowering on the Barber Mountain Loop Trail
- A short stretch of the Barber Peak Loop Trail crosses a noteworthy patch of yellow lichen on pinkish rock
- I pass a nice juniper tree as I approach the crest of this segment of the Barber Peak Loop Trail
- This spot on the Barber Peak Loop Trail is just high enough for me to see all the way across Gold Valley toward my camp
- Barber Peak Loop Trail winds around some rocks, and I'm now looking at the Gold Valley hills that I rode across a few days ago
- Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Barber Mountain Loop Trail is this eroded rock hotel
- A nice rock staircase, part of the Barber Peak Loop Trail, hugs the left side of the rock hotel here
- I take a peak through some of the windows, but find the hotel has no interior, as expected
- I notice a big patch of those pink dry buckwheats that I see here and there in the Mojave Desert, near the top of Rings Trail
- It looks like the Rings Trail is going to lead me into that slot in the rocks
- As the Rings Trail approaches a slot in Banshee Canyon, it's nice to look back
- Is that the slot where the Rings Trail is leading?
- Ah... there are those famed rings I've heard of: the Rings Trail is now headed upward!
- As I start climbing the rings, I take a look back at a rock turret behind me
- Climbing up the rings on the Rings Trail
- At the top of the short climb up the rings on the Rings Trail, I take a look back down
- At the top of the Rings Trail, I encounter the sign warning that it's a potentially strenous climb for some folks
- I walk over to "The Overlook" at the top of the Rings Trail to see what it is that the sign points toward
- Oh, there's an eye, a tiny natural arch in the bubbly rock here near the top of the Rings Trail, Mojave National Preserve
- As I start down the Rings Trail, I take a look back at the Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Centre, where I've locked my bicycle
- The Rings Trail starts out following a wash, and I can see down beyond the Woods Mountains where I rode my bike yesterday
- Rings Trail curves and I'm now staring straight ahead at Wild Horse Mesa
- If you don't pay attention, you might miss these little beauties as you walk past!
- Rings Trail, Mojave National Preserve: buckwheats blooming
- Rings Trail moves straight ahead toward those hot bubbly rocks
- After breakfast, I ride the 5.5 miles over to Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Centre to do the Rings Trail hike
- Elevation profile of round-trip mountain-bike ride from Woods Wash, Mojave National Preserve, to Fenner and Essex, CA
- Route of round-trip mountain-bike ride from Woods Wash, Mojave National Preserve, to Fenner and Essex, CA: Day 10
- According to the windows at the old Essex Café on Route 66, 'good food' was served here
- Across the road from the old Essex Café, an abandoned house awaits something
- After my brief visit to Route 66 Essex, CA, it's time to begin the long ride back to camp, beginning with Essex Road
- It's fun to stop and watch I-40 freeway traffic for a few minutes while crossing over it on Essex Road on the way back to camp
- I reenter Mojave National Preseve at dusk, and ride most of the final 20-some miles back to camp in the dark: a pleasant evening
- A few Desert milkweeds pick up the sun along old Route 66 as I get close to Essex, CA
- On the outskirts of Essex, CA, I stop to check out an old abandoned gas station and its empty sign
- Arriving Essex, California, Route 66, by bicycle
- Essex, California has a school
- The 'core' of Essex, CA is the old post office house at left and the abandoned café straight ahead
- Behind the Essex post office and the abandoned café is a short street leading to a couple of houses
- Gotta love this weird sign in the door at the Fenner store just off I-40 and on old Route 66
- I take a good half-hour break in the shade of the Fenner store, drinking a couple of bottles of Sobe orange-carrot drink
- After my refreshment break at the Fenner store, I'm ready to ride on; I ride under the I-40 freeway and down old Route 66
- It seems that riding down Fenner Hills Road is getting slower and slower, even though I'm riding mostly slightly downhill
- Aha, I can now see trains down there rolling past Fenner by old Route 66, with the Piute Mountains Wilderness in the background
- I'll be at Fenner shortly; I definitely need a break and I want some COLD water
- 34 miles into today's ride, just before arriving at Fenner, I exit Mojave National Preserve for a while
- I arrive at the store at Fenner, CA and the outdoor thermometer reads 89F in the shade; no wonder I'm hot and thirsty!
- Fenner Hills Road crosses a wide gravelly area thst was apparently once cleared of vegetation
- Ugh, Fenner Hills Road passes through a couple of sandy stretches where I can barely ride my bike.
- Out of the last sand-trap on Fenner Hills Road, the road briefly crosses a gravelly area, then returns to a soft earth surface
- Occasionally, Fenner Hills Road almost fades away, in the gravelly stretches
- Just before I leave the powerline road for Fenner Hills Road, I spot yet another balloon, near the one I just saw
- After about 25 miles so far today, I get excited as I start riding the almost 9 miles down Fenner Hills Road toward Fenner
- After a few miles, the rough Fenner Hills Road passes by a small hill on the right
- On some parts of Fenner Hills Road, rocks provide the surface for short stretches
- Some stretches of Fenner Hills Road are just a weak track through creosote-bush scrub
- My Fenner Hills Road route crosses the (gas) pipeline road, both roads lightly traveled
- Just before I leave the powerline road for Fenner Hills Road, I spot the remains of a balloon
- As the road crosses Watson Wash ahead, I run across a rancher in a pick-up truck on the way up that hill over there
- I pause to shoot photos at another water stop along the route, more cow shit everywhere of course!
- The road quickly gets better and I pass another functional corral just before I arrive at the powerline road
- I go for a short ride up a side road, wondering where it leads, and it ends near a guzzler, which is dry today
- I'm intrigued by a cow carcass that I discover along the road
- Smile for the camera!
- Ah, a view of Tortoise Shell Mountain in the Woods Mountains, where I hiked yesterday
- Woods Wash Valley Road continues through remote territory
- Cow shit everywhere, I'm getting used to the smell in the hot sun!
- I leave camp before 10h and ride past the Woods Mountains, at first on the way to Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Centre to get water
- I pause briefly at the high point of Woods Wash Road to check out remnants of barbed-wire removal
- More remnants of barbed-wire removal along Woods Wash Road, with Table Mountain and one of the Twin Buttes in the background
- After 5 miles, I arrive at Hole-in-the-Wall Campground and go for a short ride, noting that it's nearly deserted today
- I try riding a half-mile down a really sandy road near Rustler Canyon, but it doesn't work out and I decide to backtrack
- This better, unnamed road in the Woods Wash Valley is also rather sandy, but it is rideable
- Cow shit everywhere here in the upper Woods Wash Valley; 4WD required, I only have two (but I do have two feet in addition)
- I notice a small water tank on the roadside and it's full of fresh, clean water
- Tortoise Shell Mountain hike elevation profile
- An hour later, I'm back down in the Woods Wash area
- Scribbles
- Crescent moon and etchings
- Chalkboard?
- Most of this has been here for a long time...
- I could spend hours here looking at this stuff
- It looks like there has been some weather erosion on some of the designs here
- Some of these look carved deeply into the rock
- Yucca in Woods Wash, plus some bonus carvings
- Sunset back home at the tent near Twin Buttes, I fix the broken rack piece on my bike (glad I brought extra parts!)
- Sitting up on Tortoise Shell Mountain for half an hour, I enjoy views toward Wild Horse Mesa and the Providence Mountains
- I also enjoy views across the Lanfair Valley while sitting up on Tortoise Shell Mountain
- It got rather cold overnight, so I didn't sleep well, but as soon as the sun hit my tent this morning, it was intensely hot!
- Elevation profile of bicycle route from Mid Hills Campground to Twin Buttes area
- Bicycle route from Mid Hills Campground to Twin Buttes area
- I walk around the area where my bike rack broke, looking for an open area for a good campsite, not too close to the road
- I'm excited to be heading up Woods Wash Rd toward my new campsite, though I don't know exactly where that is yet
- Table Mountain on the left, and Twin Buttes: a classic Mojave National Preserve view that I usually see from Black Canyon Road
- This stretch of Woods Wash Road follows an old range fence toward Twin Buttes, with old rough-hewn wood posts
- I ride the 10-ton bike slowly on the heavy washboard of this part of Wild Horse Canyon Road
- Cool rock formations abound on lower Wild Horse Canyon Road, Mojave National Preserve
- Wild Horse Canyon Road is all scenic, but I especially enjoy riding down this part with the Providence Mountains in the distance
- Wild Horse Canyon Road rolls along as it approaches the Barber Peaks area
- I reach a point where I have a view over to Bluejay Mine Road and Wild Horse Mesa above
- I finally leave: on my way out of Mid Hills Campground, I run into Ranger Greg, and we have a great chat
- Black Diamond Spring hike from Barnett Mine, Mojave National Preserve
- Route of Black Diamond Spring-Barnett Mine bike-hike from Mid HIlls campground
- Hmmm, I'm not making as much progress climbing all these rocks as I would like
- Up on the rock-pile hill, it seems that everything is steep going up and steep going down, with neither direction being best
- I consider climbing back down to the wash and trying a less rocky route up over the hill, but I might as well continue upward
- I need to climb up over that ridge to my right to get back to the Barnett Mine area
- Nice views eastward across the Lanfair Valley as I reach the top of the fan above Watson Wash
- A couple of stray boulders sit on this part of Upper Black Diamond Spring Valley
- A row of vertical rocks outcrops above Barnett Mine frame a view of Table Mountain
- I walk down a rocky slope and join a brushy drainage that should lead to Black Diamond Spring
- Have a seat and relax at the end of the Barnett Mine Road
- More mining remains at the Barnett Mine
- All rides out of Mid Hills Campground start with Wild Horse Canyon Road, and I always enjoy the descent into Round Valley
- The road to the Barnett Mine area, about 1.5 miles long, is rough and slightly uphill
- A bit of assorted debris is scattered around at the end of the Barnett Mine Road
- Gold Valley bicycle route
- Elevation profile of Gold Valley bicycle ride
- The views from here are excellent, and I can almost see down to the old Route 66 area from here
- The 13-mile ride back to Mid Hills Campground up Black Canyon Road starts on pavement
- After about 3.5 miles, the pavement goes away; Black Canyon Road turns to dirt on the way back to Mid Hills Campground
- Twin Buttes and Table Mountain: I've ridden past them many times around sunset while camping at Mid Hills Campground
- A motor vehicle pulls over while I'm taking photos by a big, old corral in the Gold Valley Ranch area: I meet Russ
- The sun starts to go down as Black Canyon Road winds its way through the pass
- It gets dark just as I approach Wild Horse Canyon Road for the final couple of miles back up to Mid Hills Campground
- I climb up a couple of hills near Grass Canyon at a leisurely pace, with no specific goal in mind
- Lots of barrel cacti grow here in the hills near Rustler Canyon and Grass Canyon
- Bicycle route: Mail Spring to Mid Hills Campground via New York Mountains Road
- Bicycle route: Mail Spring to Mid Hills Campground via New York Mountains Road
- Way off in the distance, I can see flat-topped Table Mountain, which I'll pass later on the way to Mid Hills campground
- An hour goes by, and I'm still riding, and pushing, the bike up the Sagamore Cut-off Road
- Postcard view of the New York Mountains while mountain-biking through the Carruthers Canyon area
- I make a quick stop along Ivanpah Road to climb up onto an old railway grade that is marked as a road on some maps
- Elevation profile of hiking route: Mail Spring, Lecyr Spring and Keystone Spring, Mojave National Preserve
- Hiking route: Mail Spring, Lecyr Spring and Keystone Spring, Mojave National Preserve
- Despite today's hot weather in the 90s (F), the Lecyr Spring canyon looks rather green
- Lots of hiking possibilities on steep, scenic hillsides around Lecyr Spring
- While walking across the plain between Lecyr Spring and Keystone Canyon, I take a break under one of the big juniper trees
- An old rock wall sits above Lecyr Spring
- If you don't look closely while walking by, you might not even notice the old rock wall above Lecyr Spring
- A former alignment of the old road has turned into a drainage gulley over the years, so a new road was built to the right of it
- I arrive at a spot I'll call the Lecyr Overlook; my original plan was to hike down the canyon ahead
- The views down Lecyr Canyon toward Ivanpah Valley are quite nice, with the Ivanpah and Clark Mountains in the background
- Pinon pines, low banana yuccas and junipers grow in this area overlooking the Ivanpah Valley
- I turn around to start my hike over to check out Lecyr Spring, and zoom in on the New York Mountains
- An old road rises slowly toward Lecyr Spring
- I'm just high enough now to have an expansive view across upper Lanfair Valley to the Castle Mountains
- From here, I can also see beyond the hills to Ivanpah Dry Lake
- Lecyr Spring should be just down there in that little canyon
- I push through a few baccharis bushes, enjoying the shade of a pinyon pine, on my way to Lecyr Spring
- Lecyr Spring, Mojave National Preserve
- A few grey Range ratany bushes on the Trio Mine tailings pile still sport a few magenta flowers
- I climb up the hill a little further to get a better view of the main Trio Mine tailings pile
- Turquoise veins in rock at Trio Mine, Mojave National Preserve: copper, presumably
- Turquoise-coloured bits in tailings at Trio Mine, Mojave National Preserve
- I start hiking down the hill from Trio Mine toward my next stop and come across an old balloon
- A barren patch of earth catches my interest as I walk past
- Here's the old road leading up to the main Trio Mine tailings pile
- From the Trio Mine site, a look across the valley sees a few houses over on the other side of the valley
- Some debris from a former building at Trio Mine tumbles down the hill
- I take a look at one of the major shafts at the Trio Mine site
- A few Joshua trees are starting to grow atop the tailings pile at Trio Mine
- I take a peek at some excavations before walking over to the main Trio Mine area
- I leave the tent on today's Lecyr Spring and Keystone Spring hike before 10h30
- I start the hike by walking down Mail Spring Road, seeing the road that I rode two nights ago by headlight
- I think I remember pushing my bike up this little rocky hill a couple of nights ago, dazed in the dark
- Straight ahead across the plain, halfway up the distant hill, is the old Trio Mine, today's first destination
- While walking down Mail Spring Road, I recall good memories of last year's hikes in the distant hills
- I walk past a rusty metal object on Mail Spring Road
- When I reach the road to Lecyr Spring, I turn and hike up that way, with the New York Mountains peaks in the background
- I arrive at the dry Lecyr Well site, with low-growing daturas in the foreground, Mojave National Preserve
- These flowering mahonia (berberis) bushes are noisy at this time of year, attracting lots of buzzing bees
- It's not just bees making noise: these mahonia (berberis) flowers also attract many large orange wasp-like insects
- A windmill, a defunct wilderness camera and a dry cistern all sit at the old Lecyr Well site, Mojave National Preserve
- Next stop on today's hike is the old Trio Mine site
- I get closer to the tailings pile at the old Trio Mine site
- I follow an old road briefly beyond the Trio Mine site to another old tailings pile
- A good day of backcountry camping usually begins with a roll of toilet paper and a 'sanitation trowel'
- My tent is somewhere in the area in front of that low brown hill in the middleground
- I pass this juvenile Joshua tree while hiking back to my tent near Mail Spring, Mojave National Preserve
- Beyond the Joshua trees and junipers, I have good views over to the Castle Peaks while hiking back to my tent near Mail Spring
- I arrive back at my tent before sundown and rest inside until the sun goes down and things cool off a bit
- With sunset at Mail Spring comes a bit of relief from the day's heat, followed by thousands of stars in a moonless sky
- On my way back down Keystone Canyon, I pass a few expiring purple flowers that I've seen before, but can't identify
- On the way back down Keystone Canyon, I pause to take a look at interesting staining on a rock-outcrop turret near the trail
- I'm hiking into spectacular views across Lanfair Valley to the Castle Mountains as I exit Keystone Canyon
- Juniper berries on the hike back to my tent near Mail Spring from Keystone Canyon
- I get out my water filter and pump a few litres of water from Keystone Spring
- I encounter a dense thicket of willows, or Desert willows (chilopsis), so I climb up the hill a bit to detour around it
- Another interesting find is what appears to be the remains of a small building
- In Keystone Canyon, I come across an old cistern that I remember from when I was here in 2008
- An old pipe leads up to Keystone Spring from the dead cistern that I just passed
- OK, now I'm on the correct trail to Keystone Spring!
- And here it is: Keystone Spring!
- I presume the Keystone Spring water hole here has more (and fresher) water during the wetter season
- This appears to be the source of the spring