Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2000: Mojave National Preserve Bicycle Camping Trip #2 / Day 7: Keystone Canyon area (Trio Mine Road) to Hole-in-the-Wall Campground via Cedar Canyon Road 15
It was pretty cold last night up here near Keystone Canyon at about 5000 feet, with temperatures near or below freezing. I had a hard time sleeping, and I got up at 3h to make something hot to drink.
Toward the end of the day's ride across Cedar Canyon Road, approaching Mid Hills Campground (my original destination for the day), I notice a few light snow patches here and there that apparently didn't melt during the "warmth" of the day.
I decide it's going to be too cold up at Mid Hills, which sits around 5500 feet, so I ride past and drop down to 4500 feet at Hole-in-the-Wall Campground, hoping that it might be a tiny bit less chilly.
40.3 miles, 3:49 hours, 24.4 mph max speed, 10.5 mph average, all maintained dirt roads. From 5000 feet down to 4100 feet at the junction of Ivanpah Road and Cedar Canyon Road, up to 5400 feet near Mid Hills, then down to 4500 feet at Hole-in-the-Wall Campground.
Morning frost at sunrise at Trio Mine Road near Keystone Canyon
The frost is especially thick on my bicycle tires
After a hot ramen breakfast and fixing my flat tire, I go for a short walk in the area of my Trio Mine Road campsite
Trio Mine Road, on the way back to Ivanpah Road, 1/4 mile or so away
I ride down the almost imperceptible slope of Ivanpah Road toward Cedar Canyon Road
Street sign in the Mojave Desert at the junction of Ivanpah Road and New York Mountains Road
This very gnarled old tree on Cedar Canyon Road gets my attention
For about six miles, Cedar Canyon Road heads straight westward, after which several sharp corners appear in the road
Cedar Canyon Road crosses the historic Old Mojave Road
Taken east to west, Cedar Canyon Road is a slow route due to its occasional deep wash crossings, and ever-so-slight uphill
Kitty-litter sand and gravel on Cedar Canyon Road in the Watson Wash area
Further beyond Watson Wash, Cedar Canyon Road rides across firm ground again
Pinto Mountain decorates the views northward from Cedar Canyon Road as I enter the Mid Hills area
Patches of light snow survive from last night on the north side of hills facing Cedar Canyon Road in the Mid Hills
Sunset on Pinto Mountain, Mid Hills, Mojave National Preserve