Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2007, Christmas: Mojave National Preserve Mountain-Bike Camping / Day 0: Baker, California, gateway to Mojave National Preserve, Xmas Eve 13
Mojave National Preserve has numerous entrance points, but Baker, California is the only one served by public transit.
I arrive from San José on Amtrak at 20h30 and spend the evening at the el-cheapo Royal Hawaiian Motel, as I often do. I'll head out into Mojave National Preserve, just on the other side of the freeway, tomorrow.
My pile of supplies and gear dumped in the spare bedroom the night before leaving home
The 10-ton bike and I are ready to leave downtown San José and head to Mojave National Preserve again!
My Amtrak bus out of San José leaves me at Stockton, where I transfer to an Amtrak train to Bakersfield
Across the tracks from the Stockton Amtrak station is an old house that looks abandoned, but isn't
I spend 4.5 hours on the Amtrak San Joaquin train, occasionally staring at the tray-table instructions in front of me
The Amtrak bus leaves me at Baker, California at around 20h30, gateway to Mojave National Preserve
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 Royal Hawaiian Motel is the cheapest motel in Baker, and for good reason (at $49/night it's not exactly cheap, however)
Even the message telling the visitor that this heater is no longer in use appears to be many years old
Overview of my room at the Royal Hawaiian Motel
The stained ceiling in the bathroom tells a story of a shower in the room above that leaked
The particle-board door on the bathroom has never been painted
Fluorescent bulbs above the beds (and almost everywhere else) create a retro 1970s fashion