Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2008: Mojave National Preserve Mountain-Bike Camping and Hike / Day 3: Six-mile day hike from campsite to Bolder Spring, then over ridges to old mine site off Globe Mine Rd 68
I won't see any people today again. I have just enough water to stay at my campsite another day, so I'll hike over to probably-dry Bolder Spring, about two miles away, just to explore, and to see if any extra water exists over there.
I'll leave camp around 11h and get back around 16h30. My daypack includes the usual items, including my Camelbak and two 1.5-litre bottles of water, which turns out to be adequate, but not optimal. I'll eat two Clif bars and a couple of handfuls of dried apricots during the day.
Because it's not so windy this morning, it's fairly noisy around the tent while I make coffee due to humming insect life, none of which seems much interested in me--fortunately.
- Morning #2 at my campsite off the middle fork of Globe Mine Road, I repeat the ritual of making coffee in the shade of my tent
I'm up a little earlier than yesterday because the morning sun is too hot and I can't sleep. Ironically, just before dawn, I woke up because I was too cold and had to pull the hood of my sleeping bag up over my head. I'm very stuffed up this morning and feel like I may be getting a cold or sinus infection. Ugh. Hopefully it's just me adapting to the low humidity out here. Breakfast is two cups of coffee, dried apricots, dried cherries, tamari almonds, granola and some freeze-dried bananas (not sure I like these). For some reason, the rear tire of my bicycle lost half of its air overnight. I pump it up and hope that it holds. - After breakfast, it's that wonderful moment I've been waiting for: digging a cat hole
There's often sand on the surface in these parts, but the soil just beneath tends to be almost rock hard. It sometimes takes longer than one might think to find a good spot to dig a hole. - I'm off early (for me) on today's hike to the Bolder Spring area, which begins with a 1/4-mile walk down Globe Mine Road
I'm not counting on finding water at Bolder Spring, but I'm carrying my water filter and an extra water bottle in my daypack just in case I do. - I arrive at "sand-pit junction" again, where the shortcut road joins up with the middle fork of Globe Mine Road
I'll walk just a little further down Globe Mine Road in the direction of Kelso-Cima Road, and then head north cross-country across the fan toward Bolder Creek. - OK, I guess this is a good place to stop descending Globe Mine Road and start hiking north across the fan toward those hills
The old road to Bolder Spring should be in the drainage just below the distant hills in the middle of the photo, about a mile away. - As I hike across the fan, I rise slowly and can see Kelso Dunes down below when I look behind me
I'm noticing that it feels a little warmer today than yesterday, but maybe that's just because I'm walking slightly uphill at a decent pace. - This mistletoe is covered with bright red berries
Some birds should be very happy with these. - Parts of this fan host fewer creosote bushes than usual, allowing many tufts of ankle-low grasses to grow
These open areas are easier to hike across since there's less vegetation to avoid. The old road to Bolder Spring should be just in front of those hills ahead. - And voilà, here it is: what's left of the old road to Bolder Spring
I'll head east up the road toward the mountains. Bolder Spring is located somewhere about a mile up the road. This road is in a Wilderness area, not open to motor vehicles, and hasn't been driven in years. - Some of the buckwheats growing around here look rather old
The gnarled trunk of this specimen wouldn't look like part of something alive if it weren't for the green growth coming out of it. - It's hard to resist touching (carefully) the hard spines of a barrel cactus once in a while
This is one of those plants that feels more like a sculpture than a living thing due to its external armour of spines. - I'm starting to see a few purple blooming sages in this area like the ones I saw yesterday on the way to Tough Nut Mine
This is probably salvia dorrii and I'd love to have it in my garden. The scent of this plant is amazing! - Naked buckwheat (eriogonum nudum) is fairly common around here
I like this plant for its unusual stems and lack of leaves. - Glancing north, I see a piece of the north fork of Globe Mine Road slithering around a hill
Once behind that hill, the Globe Mine Road heads east (right) up into the mountains toward Globe Mine. I'll be on the other side of that hill later this afternoon. Part of the curve of Cima Dome is visible ahead in the background. - Fire ring along the former road to Bolder Spring
With grass growing in it, and no ash residue from previous campfires, it doesn't look like this fire ring has been used in quite some time. - The former road to Bolder Spring is being erased by the forces of nature
The road is still visible at this point, but it drops into a wash a few hundred feet from here, and that's pretty much the end of it. - At the base of these yuccas is a pile of twigs covered with gravelly rock
It could be that the twig pile was originally built for nesting or cover by critters. A flash flood passing through the area at a later date may have deposited the gravel layer on top. - This nearby rock outcrop will serve as a nice spot for a short break
I enjoy a Clif bar here and the view of the Kelso Dunes below. - More white-flowered buckwheat
The old trunk of this one is pretty old and dead-looking, despite the healthy plant it supports. - I continue walking up the wash toward Bolder Spring
The old road that used to be in this wash has been washed away during years of non-use. - The old road to Bolder Spring is leaving the fan in favour of the foothills, and the scenery is becoming more intimate
I take a short walk up this narrow side wash which has obviously hosted a lot of flowing water during the years. - I return to the main wash and follow it further upward as it carves its way slowly into the base of foothills
I do see some greenery ahead, so I'm watching for signs of Bolder Spring, in case it actually has some concealed water to offer. - The "road" to Bolder Spring narrows
It's fun to look at a wash like this and imagine a primitive road located here. Of course four-wheel-drive vehicles can still drive "roads" like this today, but regular transportation vehicles cannot (and this route was likely used for transportation, not recreation). - Time for a map-and-compass check to see if I can figure out where Bolder Spring is supposed to be
The whole area is looking pretty dry, despite some green patches, so I'll be surprised if I find any water around here. - Well, there are some water-indicating grasses growing here...
These are the same grasses that were growing around the well in the wash below Tough Nut Mine. - I'll make a guess that Bolder Spring is here to the left of those bones somewhere
Of course, it doesn't matter much today where the spring is if it's dry... However, for the sake of closure, I do need to assign a location to it. This is one of the greener spots around, and there aren't a lot more of those water-indicating grasses past here. - A few more bone pieces
Perhaps these are bones from an animal with poor map-reading skills that was dying of thirst while trying to find Bolder Spring. - Beyond the dry Bolder Spring, the old "road" doesn't get any better
In disused locations like this, I always wonder how long ago the place was last used. I'm not seeing any human footprints around here at all. - Desert mallow growing in the Bolder Spring wash
Orange-flowered desert mallow is one of my favourite desert plants. - Blue flowers in the Bolder Spring wash
I think these are a phacelia species. I'm seeing quite a few of them around sometimes, but they're not as common as the more greyish phacelias that I'm also seeing around here. Maybe they're both the same plant. - I hike a little further up Bolder Spring wash and reach a fork
Oh, a decision to make. My main goal of the day was to check for water at Bolder Spring, and now that's done. I could climb the right fork into the mountains and make my way back to camp that way. Instead, I decide to head left up over a ridge of hills that overlook the north fork of Globe Mine Road. - Climbing out of the wash, I look back and see the crevice that I just hiked cutting across the foothills
I can even see the lower part of Globe Mine Road down in the distance from here. - As I approach a saddle on the hills, a large rock along the way invites me to sit on it a rest for a few minutes
I haven't planned my hike from this point on, so a few minutes spent here will help me prepare my route improvisation. I might as well eat another Clif bar while I'm seated here. - I've decided to aim for the top of the unnamed hills ahead between Bolder Spring wash and the north fork of Globe Mine Road
To get from this saddle over to the summit on the top right, I'll need to drop down into the drainage in front of me and climb upward from there. - Decomposed cactus remains, apparently
For some reason, a spiral pattern has formed in this debris. - I make it to the summit of "Hill 1161" (as labelled on my map) at 3700 feet and look to the north toward Cima Dome
I spend some time roaming on the summit, enjoying the views up above it all. My map indicates an old mine shaft up here, but I haven't seen it yet. - View to the northwest from the summit of hill 1161 near Globe Mine Road, Mojave National Preserve
The great thing about being atop an area summit is that the views are fantastic in all directions, even though I'm only up at 3700 feet. Kelso-Cima Road traverses the flat-looking area below, while the Marl Mountains provide a backdrop. - View to the east from the summit of hill 1161 near Globe Mine Road
Even though these rolling hills look rather bleak from a distance with their green-olive-brown overtones, it's probably still an interesting area to hike through. Globe Mine Road rises up toward the Providence Mountains through the slot between the hills at the middle left and would probably make an excellent day hike. - Looking southwest from the top of hill 1161 along a saddle that I'll follow to the next high point of the ridge
Kelso Dunes rest in the background. - Looking straight down into Bolder Spring wash from above around hill 1161
When I was hiking up that wash down there a couple of hours ago and looking at these hills, I wasn't thinking that I might find myself up at the top a while later (this part of today's hike was unplanned). - I pick my way along the ridge line, avoiding barrel cacti and other pricklies
The animal trail up here helps, but it's slow-going due to the thorns and the slippery gravel on the surface. With each step, it's important to position oneself to avoid the possibility of falling into a sharp cactus should one slip and lose balance. - A pink-flowering buckwheat attracts a butterfly
These pink-flowering buckwheats seem to grow only up in the higher areas; I didn't notice any down below. - I'm having a great time up here on the ridge top; the only question is how I'll get down
As is required during desert hiking, I'm often paying less attention to the views than where I'm walking. I'll continue on over to that pile of boulders at the upper-right and start looking for a route down. - Northwest view through the boulders on the ridge
The terrain is quite steep beyond the boulders; my map suggests that I skirt around the left side of the boulder pile to a less-steep descent. I see a train climbing the Cima grade down in the valley below. - Skirting around the boulders and barrel cacti
To get around to the other side of the boulders, I walk very carefully on slippery ground around that patch of baby barrel cacti. - Lots of scat around these boulders
Presumably, this comes from the same critter that made the animal trail that exists in places along the ridge. - I've found my route down: I'll tiptoe down the hill on the left side of the drainage in front of me
Down on a hill on the right side of the drainage is an old mine shaft that I don't see on my map. - Partway down the hill, I look behind me and see that I've already dropped below that mine shaft over on the other hill
It might be worth climbing up to that old mine shaft, but my real reason for descending the north side of this hill here is to visit two small mine relics below just off the north fork of Globe Mine Road. - A desert dudleya (perhaps Dudleya saxosa) pokes out from behind a rock on the way down the hillside
From what I have seen so far, these aren't very common in this area. I almost didn't see this little guy; he's so tiny. - Scattered flowers add some color to the descent toward Globe Mine Road
Areas that look brown from a distance sometimes have many flowers blooming. - Toward the bottom of the hill, I approach the first of two unnamed mine sites just off the north fork of Globe Mine Road
The second mine site is visible in front of the hill a little further beyond. - A tunnel at the first unnamed mine site off Globe Mine Road
The track to the tunnel is quite grown in with grasses. - Mine shaft at the first mine site
The wood is still in pretty good condition. - A lonely flower near the mine site
A Mariposa lily, I think. It looks lonely to me because the plant seems to have no leaves. - I walk over to the second mine site, closer to Globe Mine Road
The old road leading up to the mine is still quite visible. - Two large timbers span the opening of a shaft at the second mine site
This is another of those big holes that I don't think I'll get too close to. - I'm finished browsing mine remnants, so it's time to begin the hike back to my campsite
I rise up to the top of the low hill behind the mine and start walking down to the fan. I can see lower Globe Mine Road from here heading down the fan to its beginning at Kelso-Cima Road. - I come across a number of old cans as I hike over the little hill and leave the mine area
This flat can reminds me of a cat-food can, or some similar meat or fish product. - I drop down onto the fan and head south toward Kelso Dunes
My campsite is about 1.5 miles away, beyond the first low hill protruding onto the fan and to the left. I try my cell phone here and it works, so I call in and change my outgoing message to let callers know where I am. The only areas around here where my phone has worked are high on the fan, like right here, but not much higher. I have no phone reception back at my campsite. - The hike across the fan back to camp is fast and easy compared to the ups and downs of today's hike into the hills
I'm almost out of water now, and the little that remains in my Camelbak is very warm. Maybe some of my water back at camp will be a little cooler than this, but I'm not counting on it. The heat of the day, probably high 80s, is getting to me a little. This probably just means that I didn't drink enough water today. - On the way across the fan, I cross the old road to Bolder Spring again
I stop for a moment to look up the road in the direction that I hiked several hours ago. My map indicates that there's a corral somewhere around here, but I haven't run across it. - Continuing my hike across the fan, I walk past a couple of hills and arrive in the "valley" where I'm camped
I'm again passing through that area which has lots of low grass, but fewer creosote bushes than usual. - Close-up of one of the small grasses that populate this area
These grasses are distinguished by their horizontal, needle-like parts. They aren't as thorny as they look, but some of them have gotten stuck in my socks. - I get back to camp around 17h and happily find that my bicycle is still here waiting for me to use it tomorrow
The air I added to my half-flat rear tire this morning seems to have stayed. Good! I didn't drink quite enough water today and feel a bit headachy. However, I still have a couple of hours of daylight left, so I take a short rest at the tent, then go for a walk up to the Good Hope Mine at end of the road to shoot a few photos to replace some overexposed ones from yesterday. - On the way back to camp from the Good Hope Mine, I notice a cactus that has green flowers
Relatively few plants have noticeable green flowers, so this one stands out for me. - Time for another picture-perfect desert sunset near Globe Mine Road
My third and final night up here off the middle fork of Globe Canyon Road. I'm running a little low on water, so I'm being careful about how much I use this evening. After sunset, I make tonight's meal: Backpacker's Pantry Kung Pao Chicken and Rice. It's OK, but despite the promising name and the slight heat added by the chillies, this meal is actually rather bland. I'll try to remember to not buy this one again. For dessert, I eat a 3.5-ounce pouch of Trader Joe's buffalo jerky: tasty. I'm thinking I might visit the Coyote Springs area tomorrow on the other side of Kelso Depot, which I originally scheduled for the end of the trip. Something to think about tonight while I write in my journal and browse the photos I took today... - Bolder Spring hike route viewed in Google Earth
- Mojave National Preserve map, Day 3: Globe Mine Road campsite to Bolder Spring day hike