Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2010, Mojave National Preserve / Day 6: Beecher Canyon and north Providence Mountains day hike, Mojave National Preserve 62
I got my first glimpse of the peaceful Beecher Canyon area during last year's hike up to Wild Horse Mesa. Perfect weather today. 15.7 bicycle miles with 1800 feet of elevation gain and 5.3 hiking miles with 2050 feet of elevation gain.
- A lizard greets me as I step out of my tent for a short walk after breakfast at Mid Hills campground
I slept in nicely this morning after a chilly night (slept wearing shirt, socks and long underwear). The warmth of the morning sun feels good up here in the mountains; it's probably baking hot down in the lower desert below. - Two campsites away in the near-empty Mid Hills campground is a cute and cuddly wooden bear at the fire pit, a tad burnt
Must be made of very hard wood, since the other wood in the fire pit has turned to ash. - I pack up my bike and ride out of Mid Hills campground on my way to Blue Jay Mine, from where I'll hike into Beecher Canyon
After 0.6 miles, I pass Mid Hills campground's entrance kiosk, and then head down Wild Horse Canyon Road toward the Providence Mountains. - Wild Horse Canyon Road is always so scenic as it rolls gently downward toward the Providence Mountains
I end up riding this road at some point on most of my Mojave National Preserve trips. It's hard not to: it's a superb mountain biking route. - As I pass Macedonia Canyon Road, I notice that it has a nice new gate and is signed now, with a rather large sign
The new gate is a nice addition, but I think I preferred the road unsigned. I thought Mojave National Preserve was going to keep most things unsigned, to preserve the sense of discovery. I visited Macedonia Canyon down there last spring. - I pass a field of orange desert mallow flowers on lower Wild Horse Canyon Road
I saw a lot of desert mallow flowers yesterday as well while riding across Gold Valley. I don't think I've ever seen so many. I don't know if there are more this year due to the late-spring rains, or if my past visits simply haven't been timed right. - I see my first pink cactus bloom of the day, with Wild Horse Mesa in the background
Last year I hiked up to the top of >Wild Horse Mesa (the flat top straight ahead). Today, I'll hike in the area to the west (right) of that. - The 1.5-mile-long road to Blue Jay Mine rapidly deteriorates, but makes for a fun ride on a mountain bike
I walk the bike up the end of the rough road. - At the end of the road, I lock my bike in a ditch, then start hiking up the hill above the Blue Jay Mine tunnel
The 2005 fires burned all the trees here. I'm carrying 4.5 litres of water and three energy bars for sustenance. - I climb up the hill above Blue Jay Mine toward Hill 1713 at 5575 feet elevation
Just a few hundred feet above me... It's steeper than it looks. - I enjoy the views across Kelso Valley to Cima Dome as I get closer to Hill 1713 in the Providence Mountains
Hey, I've been over there before! - From my privileged position on Hill 1713, I take a short break to enjoy the vistas on all sides; this view looks southwest
In the distance at the right I can see the Kelso Mountains, where I hiked a few days ago. At left in the distance is the Kelso Dunes. - Southeast from Hill 1713 in the Providence Mountains are great views across nearby Wild Horse Mesa and the Beecher Canyon area
I hiked up to Wild Horse Mesa and back last year, but one could easily spend a whole day hiking around on the windswept Wild Horse Mesa plateau. - I decide to hike along the ridge toward nearby Hill 1625 in the Providence Mountains and cross through an old ranch fence
Despite the modern addition of barbed wire, a few very old wooden fence parts survive. At the far right beyond the mountains, I can see Globe Mine Road. - From Hill 1625 in the Providence Mountains I look down a wash that leads into Beecher Canyon
The high points of the Providence Mountains loom in the distance: Edgar Peak and Fountain Peak. I haven't hiked up to those places yet. - I decide to head down the wash to Beecher Canyon
If I had started this hike earlier, I would continue ridge-running for a while toward Summit Spring. However, I have no idea how long it might take to climb out of Beecher Canyon once I get down there. - As I walk down into Beecher Canyon, I look up at the hilltops above
Gee, I was just up there a short while ago... - On the way down into Beecher Canyon I find myself approaching a steep rocky drop-off
Hmmmm... what's the best way to climb down this drop-off? - At the drop-off into Beecher Canyon, I spot a historic stack of rocks that once shored up a bypass road around the drop-off
How old is that pile of rocks? A century? I walk over that way for the lazy way down around the drop-off. - I walk down into Beecher Canyon on what's left of the old raised road that someone carefully constructed perhaps a century ago
The people who built this road to bypass the drop-off probably never imagined that it might be used as a hiking trail decades later. - Once down in Beecher Canyon, I look up at distant rock formations in the Providence Mountains in the area around Summit Spring
Looks like an enticing hiking destination. Maybe next year? I plotted a hiking route on my GPS that would take me over there, just in case I had time today (I don't). - Pink cactus flowers and desert dudleya blooms push out of rocks in Beecher Canyon
Pink on grey... - Patches of orange desert mallow flowers abound as I drop down into Beecher Canyon
Compared to the breezy hilltops above, it's noticeably warmer down here in the canyon. I hope it doesn't become super-hot like it did when I was in Woods Wash yesterday. - Also still blooming in the lower north fork of Beecher Canyon are a few phacelias
Most of the phacelias I've seen so far on this trip are drying up and not as fresh-looking as these. - When I reach the junction of the north and east forks of Beecher Canyon, I turn left and start walking up the east fork
I know it will be steep as I head up the canyon back toward my bicycle, but I don't know if I will encounter any major obstacles or not. - As I begin my way up the east fork of Beecher Canyon, I take note of a steep bluff that I circumvented on my way down
A few purple sages and yellow flowers dot the canyon floor here. - I hear some noise while starting up the east fork of Beecher Canyon and notice a herd of cows in the distance, scurrying away
I've been seeing a lot of cow patties in the canyon, some of them quite fresh, but I'm somehow surprised when I actually come across cows. This doesn't feel like a cow-friendly landscape. - Many large rocks are strewn about in the east fork of Beecher Canyon
It must be dramatic when one of these big rocks gets pushed down the canyon in a flash flood, or falls down from one of the steep adjacent hills. - To my surprise, I arrive at a small spring and pool of water in the east fork of Beecher Canyon
A trickle of water drips down peacefully out of the rocks above the pool. Silence otherwise. This spring isn't marked on any of my maps. A lone bird flaps away noisily upon my approach. - Climbing up the steep hillside to get around the spring in Beecher Canyon is challenging but I eventually find myself above it
I first tried climbing high up the hill on the south side of the spring, but it got too steep. However, I managed to backtrack and drop back down and land at a point above the spring. - It looks like the climb up the east fork of Beecher Canyon above the spring might be relatively obstruction-free
I've been seeing lots of orange desert mallow flowers today, but there aren't many in this part of the canyon. - More rock ahead in the east fork of Beecher Canyon...
Actually, it's a dry waterfall. It must look very different here during a rainfall. - This dry waterfall in the east fork of Beecher Canyon is steeper than it looked from a distance
At first, I think I might not be able to get past this obstacle, but it turns out that I can climb it carefully. - I take a short break after climbing the dry waterfall in Beecher Canyon and look back down at my progress
I'm pleased that the climb here worked out because a detour might be even more difficult given the steep terrain on each side of this part of the canyon. - I'm getting close to the top of Beecher Canyon, check my maps, and decide that it's time to turn left (north)
I want to climb over the hills and drop down later at the Blue Jay Mine site where I left my bicycle. It's steep, but should be doable: I've made it this far! - Just a few more boulder piles to climb before I'm completely up out of Beecher Canyon
I stick my hand in a patch of dried phacelias on the way up here. Ouch! They're not thorny, but they have tiny hairs that are as irritating as thorns. Then I stab a finger with three cactus spines. Sloppy hiking! - Near the top of the hill above Beecher Canyon I pass by a few junipers growing in limestone-like soil
It's still uphill, but after the ultra-steep climbs behind me, it feels like the terrain is leveling out. - Just when I least expect it, I pass a small pool of water here way above Beecher Canyon
Since there doesn't seem to be a spring here, this looks like residual water from spring rains. - Now up out of Beecher Canyon, views across the contorted landscape to the distant Providence Mountains peaks unfold behind me
I'm happy that I didn't run into any insurmountable obstacles on my route. I would like to have ventured further down the canyon, but I wanted to give myself extra time in case I were forced to turn back and retrace my route, or part of it. - On a fleeting rocky plateau above Beecher Canyon blooms a small garden
Pink cactus flowers and desert dudleyas, and orange desert mallows of course. - Lots of rock on this plateau above Beecher Canyon
It's funny how mentions of the desert conjure up images of sand, not rock. - I consult my GPS and find that the next step in getting back to my bicycle is to climb over the ridglet ahead
One lone tree manages to grow up there on the ridge. - I pass through another field of orange desert mallow flowers on the way over the ridge back to the Blue Jay Mine area
I've never seen so many desert mallow flowers as I've seen here this spring. - I've crossed the ridge; Blue Jay Mine and my bicycle are down below
I'll edge my way awkwardly across the steep slope to reach the mound ahead where I'll rejoin the old trail leading back down the hill. - I pass some purple desert four o'clock flowers and more orange desert mallows on the way down to Blue Jay Mine and my bicycle
It's all downhill hiking now until I reach my bicycle below. - I return to my bicycle by Blue Jay Mine after the hike in Beecher Canyon
Good timing! I'm back from the hike just in time to ride the almost 8 miles up Wild Horse Canyon Road to Mid Hills campground during the sunset hours. - Near Blue Jay Mine are a few ruins of the former Winkler's Cabin that burned during the 2005 brush fires
Tom Schweich's web site has a good photo of Winkler's Cabin before the 2005 brush fires. - Blue Jay Mine Road is slightly downhill during most of its 1.7 miles back to Wild Horse Canyon Road
Fun mountain biking! Slight downhill with just enough sand, ruts and rocks to require attention while riding, but not so much that it makes travel difficult. - At the bottom of Blue Jay Mine Road, near Wild Horse Canyon Road, the road is almost flat
The harsh end-of-day sunlight casts strong shadows. - A few desert four o'clocks bloom near the junction of Wild Horse Canyon Road and the road to Blue Jay Mine
Patches of orange desert mallow flowers and Wild Horse Mesa form a backdrop. - The ride up the final six miles back to Mid Hills campground goes really well
About 800 feet of elevation gain, no traffic, pleasant temperatures (high 60s), great scenery, and the inspiring light of sunset. - As I climb Wild Horse Canyon Road, I pause to look back toward the glowing hills around Macedonia Canyon
The peaks of the Providence Mountains rise in the distant haze. - A lone cow darts off into the sunset when he sees me near Wild Horse Canyon Road
The rest of the herd must be somewhere nearby, but this is the only one I see. - I pull over along Wild Horse Canyon Road to collect a stray balloon for later disposal
Maybe I should start keeping count of how many stray balloons I find in remote areas... - Behind me as I climb Wild Horse Canyon Road is a dramatic view of the peaks of the Providence Mountains
I've approached the Providence Mountains on all sides over the years, but haven't gotten close to any of the peaks yet... - On the upper stretches of Wild Horse Canyon Road, one can see across Gold Valley to Table Mountain and Twin Buttes
I was over in that area yesterday on my ride to Woods Wash. - I approach Mid Hills campground on Wild Horse Canyon Road at sunset
Eagle Rocks, which I'll hike tomorrow, are the rocky outcrops at centre-left. The early evening wind is feeling rather chilly. - Just before 20h, I pass by the Mid Hills campground entrance kiosk and ride the final 0.6 miles to my campsite
As soon as I get back to camp, I put on my sweater and settle in for an evening of high winds that threaten to blow my tent apart, and which make boiling water for my instant meal a slow process. Supper is Mountain House Beef Teriyaki with Rice, always delicious. A few shots of Korbel brandy help me to fall asleep in the noisy flapping tent around 1h. However, I wake up cold several times during the night, despite sleeping with all my clothes on. The temperature seems to drop to about 40 degrees F. Such is life in the desert mountains... And what is that grinding noise that I hear off and on overnight when the wind picks up, adding itself to the howling wind that interrupts the silence that would otherwise dominate the night? It sounds like a semi-broken windmill somewhere nearby, being forced by the wind to turn more quickly than it is able. - Bicycle route elevation profile from Mid Hills campground to Blue Jay Mine via Wild Horse Canyon Road, Mojave National Preserve
15.7 bicycle miles with 1800 feet elevation gain. - Elevation profile of hiking route in upper forks of Beecher Canyon from Blue Jay Mine
5.3 hiking miles with 2050 feet elevation gain. - Hiking route in upper forks of Beecher Canyon from Blue Jay Mine
5.3 hiking miles with 2050 feet elevation gain. - Bicycle route (in red) from Mid Hills campground to Blue Jay Mine via Wild Horse Canyon Road, Mojave National Preserve
15.7 bicycle miles with 1800 feet elevation gain.