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- From what I can tell, Brant siding has been moved down the road since the time that the maps I'm consulting were made
- The 10-ton bike takes a break for a few minutes under the train tracks on the road leading up into the New York Mountains
- After I walk the bike through the sandy area under the bridge, the road rises up to a somewhat firmer surface
- I pass some Wilderness markers blocking an old road on my way toward the New York Mountains
- I come across a collection of cans along Brant Road
- The cans are all food cans; full, upright, different from each other, and only slightly weathered: could this be a food cache?
- Just beyond the food cache on Brant Road is a small intersection and a sign declaring "Lawler Lane"
- Another shed behind the old house at Ivanpah, Mojave National Preserve; let's take a look inside
- Inside this tin-clad shed at Ivanpah is an old set of shelves
- Someone has removed a board from a small window on the back side of the old house at Ivanpah, Mojave National Preserve
- Next to the crumbling exterior of the add-on at the rear of the house at Ivanpah is an open window
- I take a peek inside the open window at the abandoned house at Ivanpah, Mojave National Preserve
- I remount the 10-ton bike, cross the tracks, and get back on the dirt road (now called Brant Road on some maps)
- Across the Ivanpah Valley creosote bushes, I see an old trailer and what looks like a garage
- The road leading into the property is marked with fairly fresh "no trespassing" signs, but the gate is open
- I continue riding up Brant Road and notice that a section of the barbed-wire fence along the tracks has been cut
- On the far side of Ivanpah Valley, I can see a distant dirt road squiggling up into the Ivanpah Mountains
- One of the outbuildings at the Ivanpah house is clad with plywood from a sign that once advertised a "ranch resort"
- Another outbuilding at the Ivanpah property contains recent fabric and clothing remnants
- Old corrals and a decaying outbuilding at Ivanpah, Mojave National Preserve
- To the west, down in Ivanpah Valley, sits reclusively a lone habitation
- Nipton-Moore Road is mostly straight and almost flat, but it occasionally dips down to cross drainage washes
- Large culverts beneath the raised train tracks in Ivanpah Valley prevent the tracks from washing out during heavy rains
- Yellow creosote bush flowers, barbed wire, Ivanpah Dry Lake, and that white peak in the distance
- I'm also just high enough now above Ivanpah Valley to see a few flowers in addition to the creosote-bush scrub
- Some yellow flowers add to the predominately dull-green landscape
- Another freight train passes by as I ride up Nipton-Moore Road, Mojave National Preserve
- This train is hauling an endless number of tanks of a presumably deleterious substance
- I'm happy to see this train and its cargo pass by quickly on its way toward Los Angeles
- Nipton-Moore Road dips down to cross another drainage area just before it arrives at the paved Ivanpah Road
- I've reached the pavement of Ivanpah Road, cross the tracks, then ride over to the abandoned house nearby
- I park the 10-ton bike against the old house on Ivanpah Road and go for a walk around the property
- Today, the valuable historic house at Ivanpah is an attractive nuisance, too close to paved roads travelled by bums and thugs
- View of the rear of the old house at Ivanpah, Mojave National Preserve
- I enjoy the morning shade at Nipton; it makes packing up so much easier
- I roll the packed bike up to the store at Nipton and stop in for another bottle of iced tea before I leave
- The day's travels begin as I ride south on Nipton-Moore Road, a dirt road that hugs the Ivanpah Valley train tracks for miles
- After close to three miles, I approach the power-line road that crosses Ivanpah Valley
- This route across the Mojave Desert gets a lot of freight-train traffic
- I take a look at the power-line road that heads southwest across the Ivanpah Valley
- About six miles down Nipton-Moore Road, near Moore siding, I look back and still see Nipton in the distance (the green patch)
- Ivanpah Valley sunset hike route from Nipton
- Malpais Spring, Mojave National Preserve to Nipton bicycle route elevation profile
- Malpais Spring, Mojave National Preserve to Nipton bicycle route
- A glance back toward Nipton, two miles away, reveals pink-orange hills
- The orange glow cast across Ivanpah Valley hits the Lucy Gray Mountains in Nevada, just north of Nipton
- I still have another mile ahead of me before I reach the city lights of Nipton, and my tent
- Pink-orange stripes crown the New York Mountains on the southeast side of Ivanpah Valley
- It's getting darker (and redder) by the minute as I follow a small drainage in the creosote-bush scrub on the way back to Nipton
- Mojave National Preserve sunset looking up Ivanpah Valley toward the Cima Dome area
- The end of sunset behind the Clark Mountains, viewed from Ivanpah Valley, produces a nice yellow glow
- I take a break from speeding down Nevada 164 toward Nipton to look at a dirt road that leads into the hills
- I continue zooming down Nevada 164 toward Nipton, California: miles of excellent downhill riding
- My eight miles of zooming downhill on the highway is about to end as I arrive at Nipton, that tuft of trees a mile or two ahead
- At the Nipton store, I check in for another night of tent camping, chat a bit, and buy some beer and salty potato chips
- I'm looking forward to a big meal at the Nipton café in a few hours, the building next to the store with the big covered porch
- I set up the tent in the shade of Nipton's eucalyptus trees by the train tracks, like I did a few days ago
- After a filling steak supper at the Nipton café and some socializing, I look across the train tracks; time to go for a walk
- I cross the train tracks at Nipton for a short sunset hike (four miles round-trip) and enter Mojave National Preserve again
- Walking westward through the creosote bushes of Ivanpah Valley, I find myself between two power lines
- Most of Ivanpah Valley is dominated by creosote bushes, but here I pass through an area of small rounded shrubs
- I pass two small hills that seem out of place in the wide-open Ivanpah Valley, and a pile of old barbed wire
- I pick up an animal trail through the creosote-brush scrub as I head down into Ivanpah Valley
- I discover an abandoned, deflated balloon under a creosote bush in Ivanpah Valley, not far from Nipton Road
- The sun is dropping and the first glimmers of sunset in Ivanpah Valley are hitting my beard
- The eight-mile downhill to Nipton on Nevada 164 begins!
- I begin the gentle 900-foot climb up Nevada 164 between Searchlight and Nipton
- I make a stop at one of the Wee Thump Wilderness signs along Nevada 164
- Near the Wee Thump Wilderness sign is an old dirt road that leads inland toward the McCullough Mountains
- After my break, I continue riding up Nevada 164 toward Crescent Peak
- As I climb Nevada 164, I enter the land of desert mallows and joshua trees
- Yellow desert marigolds decorate the shoulders of Nevada 164 east of Crescent Peak
- The south side of Nevada 164 is very much alive
- I park the 10-ton bike and go for a walk in the desert-mallow field along Nevada 164
- Orange desert mallows bloom amongst the mature joshua trees across the road from Nevada's Wee Thump Wilderness
- Joshua trees grow quite slowly, so these big trees here along Nevada 164 must be quite old
- The trunk of this joshua tree near Crescent Peak on Nevada 164 is thicker than most
- Back on Nevada 164, I cross Crescent Pass at about 4850 feet elevation, my high point of the day
- All packed up, I ride down the dirt road away from my Malpais Spring campsite
- About a mile down the road from my campsite, I approach the defunct water tank and windmill of Stagecoach Well
- I stop at Stagecoach Well when I hear a rubbing sound and, yes, my rear wheel is rubbing against the bike frame again
- I arrive back at the "main road," Walking Box Ranch Road, and begin the 11-mile ride to the Nevada 164 highway
- After a mile, I pass the "stateline" sign on Walking Box Ranch Road; I'm leaving California and entering Nevada
- I stop briefly at an old corral behind which is an alternate old road leading to Malpais Spring
- Residual pavement exists here and there on Walking Box Ranch Road
- I pass the shot-up 5-mile marker on Walking Box Ranch Road
- A field of pinkish-white buckwheat flowers in the joshua tree forest on the west side of Walking Box Ranch Road
- A few more miles to go on Walking Box Ranch Road
- Stop sign in the desert: after 11 dirt-road miles, I reach the end of Walking Box Ranch Road
- Time to pack up and leave Malpais Spring; it has been a great three nights here and I didn't encounter any other visitors
- At sunset, I watch the sun go down and take dozens of photos to see what I get
- Feathery pinks and blues dust the sky looking northeast
- The sun has departed and the full moon is up; looking forward to a moonlit evening after a great day
- Elevation profile of Juniper Spring day hike from Malpais Spring, Mojave National Preserve
- Juniper Spring day hike route from Malpais Spring, Mojave National Preserve
- A third of a mile later, I arrive back at my campsite near Malpais Spring
- Quite a few thorns, probably from cholla cacti, are stuck to the bottom of my shoe and need to be removed (carefully)
- Back at Indian Spring for the second time today
- I manage to photograph this zebra-tailed lizard near Indian Spring before he scurries away
- Yellow desert marigolds and purple desert four o'clocks grow by this juniper near Indian Spring, New York Mountains
- I pass through one of the last groves of junipers on the way back down Indian Springs Road to my campsite
- A little further down Indian Spring Road, the junipers fade out, replaced by a fairly dense joshua tree forest
- I pass through "the barren area" again while returning to camp on Indian Spring Road
- I spot some kind of grasshopper in the gravel
- The mile-long hike from Vanderbilt Peak pass to Indian Spring rolls gently up and down across drainages
- I cross several small washes while hiking the plateau on the way to Indian Spring
- I follow the rockier stretches on the way up to the Vanderbilt Peak pass for better traction
- The pass by Vanderbilt Peak lies just ahead
- Now that I'm on the pass by Vanderbilt Peak, I have views southwest across the Indian Spring plateau to Castle Peaks
- In the northeast from Vanderbilt Peak pass, I can see over to Nevada's McCullough Mountain
- My next stop will be Indian Spring, to refill my water supply
- Plenty of cholla cactus also lives in Juniper Spring wash
- Fresh juniper berries
- I leave Juniper Spring wash below, and start climbing up a hill toward the Vanderbilt Peak area
- I head up toward a saddle near Vanderbilt Peak behind the tree at upper left
- A garden of Prince's plume and desert mallows grows in the rock on the way up to Vanderbilt Peak
- Approaching the pass near Vanderbilt Peak, straight ahead
- From the hill above Juniper Spring are nice views across Ivanpah Dry Lake with the Clark Mountains to the left
- I pass a couple more clumps of Prince's plume (Stanleya pinnata) on the way over the hill to Juniper Spring wash
- I start the walk back up Juniper Spring wash
- A patch of Evening primrose grows adjacent to a juniper tree
- Rhus trilobata is common in many desert washes like Juniper Spring wash
- Some stretchs of Juniper Spring wash are quite colourful
- Slowly, Juniper Spring wash rises; easy hiking
- I take a short break in an area with scattered flowers and junipers
- Purple sage in the foreground and bluer phacelias under a juniper tree
- I start walking up Juniper Spring Road
- Juniper Spring Road rolls up and down in the New York Mountains foothills
- Some Prince's plume (Stanleya pinnata) grows in the area of Juniper Spring, Mojave National Preserve
- Juniper Spring, Mojave National Preserve; it's dry
- Near the dry Juniper Spring trough is a pipe leading up a wash
- The pipe from the dry Juniper Spring trough leads me up to what may be the smallest pool of spring water possible
- Near Juniper Spring are a few small piles of tailings
- I decide to return to the Juniper Spring wash I descended for the return trip after considering other routes
- A preening bird in a tree above me seems oblivious as I walk up the narrow wash
- To get back to Juniper Spring wash, I climb over a hill with views across Ivanpah Valley
- I exit the Wilderness boundary, feebly marked by two nondescript, svelte posts, and arrive at Juniper Spring Road
- My text message doesn't want to be sent after I compose it, so I climb up the adjacent hill for better reception; away it goes
- I return to the wash and pass the big juniper that provided me with some nice shade for a few minutes
- On the way down through a floriferous area in Juniper Spring wash, I pass an especially bright juniper
- Juniper Spring wash is an easy descent as it winds down the north side of the New York Mountains
- A barrel cactus has detached from its hillside garden and tumbled down into Juniper Spring wash
- Sporadic accumuations of juniper berries create dark spots on the floor of Juniper Spring wash
- Views across Ivanpah Valley to the Clark Mountains present themselves as I approach the bottom of Juniper Spring wash
- Near the bottom of Juniper Spring wash are a couple of old rusty cans attached to tree trunks
- Bright-red Indian paintbrush near the bottom of Juniper Spring wash
- I reach a fork on the way up the wash to Juniper Spring; I check my GPS and take the left fork
- On the way up Juniper Spring wash, I pass a really colourful area with Vanderbilt Peak in the background
- The wash comes to an end; remnants of an old road rise the final few feet up to a pass in the New York Mountains
- I pause in the shade of a juniper with its juniper berries at the pass in the New York Mountains
- A miniscule pool of water holds out between some rocks on "Indian Spring Plateau"
- I pass a cactus-pad patch and a scattering of barrel cacti amongst the junipers on "Indian Spring Plateau"
- Here is the wash that I'll follow up through the New York Mountains and down the other side to Juniper Spring
- A patch of barrel cacti grows along Juniper Spring wash
- Before leaving Indian Spring, I check the map for my route across the plateau toward Juniper Spring
- Colourful scat, it's party time
- I'll start by hiking 1.5 miles straight across the plateau and down to a wash which I'll follow to Juniper Spring
- Peach cactus flowers on the plateau northeast of Indian Spring
- A number of shallow dry washes need to be crossed as I hike "Indian Spring Plateau"
- I pass a rock outcrop that's associated with the rocks down around nearby Malpais Spring
- I'm awake at 8h45, step outside my tent near Malpais Spring, and am greeted by a lizard
- After breakfast I prepare my backpack and start the hike toward Juniper Spring around 10h15
- The first part of Indian Spring Road leaving Malpais Spring is nicely camouflaged beyond the Wilderness boundary
- On the way to Indian Spring, the road passes through a rather barren area above the Malpais Spring canyon
- After two miles, I reach Indian Spring and filter drinking water for the day
- Elevation profile of today's hike to Malpais Spring, Indian Spring and Taylor Spring, Mojave National Preserve
- Route of today's hike to Malpais Spring, Indian Spring and Taylor Spring, Mojave National Preserve
- Red Indian paintbrush decorates the joshua tree forest on the old Indian Spring Road
- As I approach my campsite, I get a good view of Searchlight, Nevada down in the valley
- I enjoy watching the sun set from my tent near Malpais Spring
- I fill my pot from my big black water bag next to pink buckwheat flowers; I'll make my instant meal shortly
- The sun sets nicely behind the Castle Peaks
- Clouds beyond the Castle Mountains pick up the last sunlight of the day
- With sunset completed, it's time to boil water for tonight's instant meal and settle in for the evening
- Indian Spring Road skirts the ridge above Malpais Spring wash, so I walk over to see where I started today's hike
- The walls of the wash are steep and cactus-covered here at the fence line
- I arrive at a gravelly area on the plateau with an other-worldly purplish colour
- I dip down into this purplish and reddish wash
- A neato little slot to pass through in this unnamed wash between Malpais Spring and Taylor Spring
- A lone bird sits high up on a rock, twittering away
- Ha, foiled again! I'm back at another segment of that barbed-wire fence
- I climb the short, steep hillside up out of the wash and take a look back down
- My Malpais Spring campsite is not too far ahead, just in front of that large rocky hill
- I rejoin the old Indian Spring Road (now closed) for the final 1/3 mile walk back to the campsite
- A few miniature lupines grow in the gravel of Indian Spring Road
- I start walking down the wash below Taylor Spring in a random route back to my campsite near Malpais Spring
- Orange desert mallow flowers contrast with the greenery in this sometimes-wet drainage (but not today)
- Foiled! I reach a barbed wire fence across the wash below Taylor Spring
- This cactus is different from all the others that I've seen today
- I wonder what is this ghostly grey bush
- I walk down the wash toward Taylor Spring with Castle Peaks in the background
- Joshua tree fruits hang low at ground level
- Taylor Spring should be somewhere around the next bend
- I almost walked past this old, fallen-down, unhewn-wood fence around the Taylor Spring site without noticing it
- I walk up and down the wash a little and locate the Taylor Spring site
- I hike over several low hills and across drainages on my cross-country hike toward Taylor Spring
- I take a short energy-bar break on a big rock pile before hiking down the next wash on the way to Taylor Spring
- I look up to Castle Peaks again before I head down the wash toward Taylor Spring
- I stop to look at an old, dead yucca trunk laying on the ground
- An open area on the ridge is dotted with tufts of pink cactus flowers