Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2007: Death Valley National Park bikepacking / Day 8: Bike ride from Emigrant Campground up to Aguereberry Point and back 23
36.2 bicycling miles, without my camping gear (yay!)
After much morning indecision, I opt for a day ride up Wildrose Road to see some of the area up there, with no specific destination planned.
It's a fairly hot morning here. However, it's usually a bit cooler higher up, so I bring a sweater with me, just in case. And lots of water, of course!
I'm happy that I can leave my camp site at Emigrant Campground at 2000 feet feet intact and not ride with all the weight of my gear up the hills today.
I end up riding to Aguereberry Point at 6400 feet, not expecting anything too special, but the views there turn out to be quite spectacular.
- Breakfast at Emigrant Campground
My picnic table after a simple breakfast of coffee, granola, almonds, dried apricots and instant miso soup with seaweed; and more coffee. I had even more coffee earlier with Phil and Renée at the camp site across from me. They showed me where crows pecked a big hole through the plastic container of water that they had left outside on their picnic table overnight. Phil also had some extra replacement bolts to offer me for my bike rack, in case my temporary bolt fails. It's only 9h00, but it's a hot day already. As usual, my sleep was abruptly terminated this morning by the hot sun making it extremely hot inside my tent. The first thing to do after opening one's eyes is to open the tent as quickly as possible to get some air inside! I'm feeling a bit tired, both muscularly and sleep-wise, but that won't stop me. I consider a hike across the fan and up Lemoigne Canyon a few miles in the background, but I instinctively want to go higher up into cooler air today. I haven't figured out yet whether hiking or riding would be best for my sore knee. - Emigrant Campground as seen from the public washrooms down the road at the rest stop
Looking southwest on Highway 190 up toward Towne Pass. I consider riding in that direction today, as I'd like to see Panamint Valley on the other side. Or, I could just ride south up Wildrose Road. - The old stone washrooms at the rest stop near Emigrant Campground
Looking northeast down Highway 190 toward Stovepipe Wells. - An old, unused stone park office sits across the road from the Emigrant rest stop
The old park building isn't being used anymore, but there is still a functional pay phone out front--a nice touch since cell phones don't usually work out here. Out front, a sign warns drivers of the long grade from here down to Stovepipe Wells that I trudged up early yesterday evening. - I choose to ride up Wildrose Road today instead of heading up Highway 190 to Towne's Pass
Wildrose Road climbs away from the Emigrant Campground area and passes through scenic Wildrose Canyon. I seem to have the wind behind me, which is always nice. - More rock textures along Wildrose Road
There's more to look at here in Wildrose Canyon than I expected. An unusual pink and blue rainbow-like reflection in the swirl of white clouds above the hill is invisible in the photo. - More rocky stuff along Wildrose Road
My eyes are so busy looking at all the rock everywhere that I'm barely aware how slowly I'm riding up the hill. - I stop to investigate a trickle of water that I notice about five miles up Wildrose Road
I get out my map, which indicates that this is probably Emigrant Spring. There's only a bit of water here right now. The trickles flow over the green algae on the rocks and give it a shiny appearance under the bright sun. A concrete retaining wall and a pipe direct the flow of any water that accumulates here. - After rising out of Wildrose Canyon, Wildrose Road crosses a plateau called Harrisburg Flats
After all the natural-rock beauty on the way up Wildrose Canyon, I feel somewhat uninspired by this wide-open plateau. However, my sore knee is happy that I've reached flatter land. It's hurting more than on previous days, despite the many breaks that I've given it on the way up the hill. I've ridden almost 12 miles so far today and climbed 3000 feet (I'm at 5000 feet now). It's time to choose a final destination for the day with a finite distance; I can't be indecisive forever. I could ride another mile and a half to Emigrant Pass and see what the view is like from there, but the sign to Aguereberry Point wins my interest. It's "only" six more miles to Aguereberry Point. I've only seen a few cars on the way up Wildrose Road. - I am happy when I discover the old Aguereberry cabin site two miles up the road.
I love walking through old buildings. - The Aguereberry cabin and outbuildings are in fairly good condition
Especially considering that they've been abandoned for quite a while. A great site that really demonstrates the isolation of the miners who lived out here. - The rear of the Aguereberry cabin
The road to Aguereberry Point heads off to the right. - The kitchen in the Aguereberry cabin
The refrigerator adds a modern touch. - A shower stall in the Aguereberry cabin
A shower stall is really a modern amenity for a place like this. - Five-panel wooden doors inside the Aguereberry cabin
Just like the ones that my circa-1900 house was equipped with when it was built. - Beyond Aguereberry cabin, the road to Aguereberry Point crosses the plateau and snakes up through the mountains
My sore knee is still bothering me and I take many short breaks as the road rises. I only have a couple miles of pedalling left, but it's slow-going. I really like this part of the road. For a while, beyond each curve between hills is another curve between hills. Only one car has passed me so far on this dirt road. - I finally reach the Aguereberry Point summit, and meet a family of French tourists there
This is one of those remarkable locations where all tourists have to take photos. I get to speak French again, which produces an odd feeling of déjà-vu because I rarely speak French any more. - Me, contented tourist, at Aguereberry Point
Us tourists take turns passing our cameras to each other so we can have photos taken of ourselves. The cool mountain wind coupled with the fact that I'm no longer pedalling and generating heat means that I need to put my sweater on. But it's probably 90 or 100 degrees down below on the valley floor right now. - A different view across Death Valley from Aguereberry Point
Furnace Creek, where I camped several nights ago, is the small greenish area straight ahead on the floor of Death Valley, I think. Monarch Canyon, where I camped just two nights ago, is probably up in the slightly darker area of mountains just to the left of my head. Should I say "cheese" or "fromage?" - Down the back side of Aguereberry Point, looking toward Harrisburg Flats, from where I just came
I'm really looking forward to the ride back down, since it will be almost 4500 feet of downhill and won't require much more effort from my sore knee! - I start coasting back down, and enjoy winding through the high-mountain canyons
The road is heavily washboarded, so I can't allow myself to go quite as fast as I'd like, due to the discomfort. But it's a beautiful ride. - Back on paved Wildrose Road again, it's a blast riding back down through the canyon.
I don't see any cars on the way back down to Emigrant Campground. Best of all, I hardly ever have to pedal, so I can rest my sore knee in a position where it is comfortable. - I enjoy the scenery all the way back down to my camp site at Emigrant Campground
Though a couple of hours of daylight remain, the lower parts of Wildrose Canyon are already shielded from the sun by the adjacent hills. Back at my camp site, I discover that the crows have ripped apart the bag of laundry detergent that I left on my picnic table. I guess they didn't like the contents once they found out what's inside. I too hate the stuff, which is why I left it outside, not wanting the smell of Tide to permeate my tent, but it was the only brand of detergent available in small packages at the Furnace Creek general store.