Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2009, Fall: Mojave National Preserve / Day 4: Hike to Cornfield Spring on the west side of the Providence Mountains, Mojave National Preserve 50
I camped here in May along Cornfield Spring Road amidst the warm rocks. Hot valley temperatures were setting in and I didn't make it to Cornfield Spring on a hike that I planned (I stupidly didn't carry enough water to get me that far).
On this late-November day, it's much cooler, and I will easily make it up to Cornfield Spring on foot. Great scenery, and I will filter fresh water from the spring there to get me through another day.
I won't see another person today. I'll drink a bit more than two litres of water and eat two energy bars during 9.5 round-trip hiking miles and 1838 feet of elevation gain. Temperatures recorded at Baker, CA today are 68F (high) and 34F (low).
- The suns feels good as it warms the chilly morning air on the fan near the former Kelso reservoir
The nasty cold I picked up two nights ago is still with me; sniffle, cough, extremely sore throat. It was chilly overnight, close to freezing but not quite. After sleeping in a bit and lazing around, I'm ready for the hike to Cornfield Spring by noon. - As I start the walk up Cornfield Spring Road, I stop at a concrete box that I missed when I camped here a few months ago
This is another part of the nearby extinct reservoir which used to hold water piped down from Cornfield Spring for the town of Kelso below. - A former road that connected the old Kelso reservoir to Cornfield Spring Road is still discernable
It can take decades for old roads in the desert to grow back in. Nice view of Kelso Dunes from here. - The exact location of Cornfield Spring Road has moved a few times over the decades
Two long rows of rock parallel to today's Cornfield Spring Road delineate former edges of the road, now somewhat grown-in with vegetation. - It looks flat, but the walk up the fan toward the Providence Mountains is a gentle uphill at about 4% grade
I hike briskly, enjoying the sunshine and the scenery, even though I feel like crap due to the flu-like symptoms of the cold I caught two nights ago. The sun is warm and I'm comfortable wearing just a T-shirt. - Looking back down to Kelso Valley, I watch a train slowly climb the Kelso-Cima grade
This historic train line can be seen or heard from many parts of Mojave National Preserve. - About 3 miles up Cornfield Spring Road from my tent, I pass an abandoned corral and the edge of the Providence Mountains block
Look closely and you'll see the road continuing beyond the corral. I turned back here at 3000 feet elevation on a hot May 2009 morning hike a few months ago because I foolishly wasn't carrying sufficient water. - Along the wash near the old Cornfield Spring Road corral is a rock wall with lots of mini-caves carved into it
I'm sure there's wildlife of some kind who is happy to find these holes in the wall. - Cornfield Spring Road climbs over a few big hills during its final two miles to avoid the flood-prone wash below the spring
Hiking up the wash instead of on the road would have been shorter, but much slower, due to the brush growing in the wash. I'm glad I didn't choose to do that, even though I considered it. - The soil on this steep stretch of Cornfield Spring Road has eroded over decades, leaving just a trail of rocks
I catch a glimpse of two bighorn sheep walking along the crest of this hill as I climb up, but they are gone when I reach the top. This road is still open for vehicular travel, and a few tire tracks show that the road is still driven occasionally. - From this hill at 3450 feet, Cornfield Spring Road zigzags down into a gulley and then up along the ridge of the next hill
I unintentionally scare away a couple of coveys of quail as I pass through this area. I still can't see Cornfield Spring itself, but it should be in the canyon at the top-left of the photo. - I'll follow Cornfield Spring Road around the sharp U-turn at the bottom of the hill just ahead
If I had more time today, I'd like to stray off the road and walk straight ahead up into that canyon which drains the west side of the Providence Mountains northwest of Edgar Peak. - Cornfield Spring Road's final switchback takes me up a hill and around a bend to this tripod-like end-of-road marker
I still don't see it. Cornfield Spring is somewhere in the canyon at upper-middle-right. It looks like there used to be a road on the other side of the wash. - I don't see Cornfield Spring yet, but following the old pipe should take me there
This is presumably part of the pipe system that leads down to the old Kelso reservoir near my tent. - Anticipation: Cornfield Spring is obviously somewhere down there at the upper end of the green area
It's always fun to search for natural water in the desert, but today I do need to filter some extra drinking water, unless I want to do an unplanned visit to Kelso Depot visitor centre tomorrow. - I climb down the steep hillside and notice the remnants of a switchback road on the other side of Cornfield Spring wash
OK, I'll cross the wash here, and maybe the old road will take me directly to the spring. A lot of work went into building those stone walls that are still keeping the road somewhat intact. - I push my way through rabbitbrush and other plants to get across Cornfield Spring wash
There's no water in the wash right here, but there should be some nearby, somewhere. Cornfield Spring is said to have water all year long. - There's no water in the wash right here, but there should be some nearby, somewhere. Cornfield Spring is said to have water all year long. - Coming up what's left of the old switchback road at Cornfield Spring
The terrain is steep and the road is grown-in. - I'm not sure where the old road went because it's grown-in, but I can now hear a trickle of water down in Cornfield Spring wash
Thick brush conceals the steepness of the terrain alongside the wash and the stream itself. Getting to the water is awkward. It's hard to see how far each step drops down, and if there is solid footing below or not. Not a good place to fall and get hurt! - The source of Cornfield Spring is just ahead; I keep getting scratched by catclaw bushes when I try to climb down to it
Now that I've located the stream from Cornfield Spring, I just need to locate a good spot to filter water. - I turn back and notice a grown-in, but relatively flat, spot near the still-invisible stream that I can hear
If I climb under this tree to get past it... - Yes, that should be the stream from Cornfield Spring, that green patch right there
I can hear it! I had been expecting a semi-developed spring here with few challenges; the challenge of getting to the water has proven to be a fun exercise. - I step across some rocks in a patch of plants (maidenhair ferns, I think) under which a dark blue stream trickles vigourously
A big smooth rock here provides a convenient place to sit. I get out my filter and quietly, meditatively, pump enough water to almost fill my 10-litre water bag with the cool water from the Cornfield Spring stream. - Sitting here in deep shade pumping water from Cornfield Spring makes me feel like I'm somewhere other than the Mojave Desert
It smells green and moist here. A few hundred feet away is typical parched and rocky Mojave Desert terrain. Photographs don't capture how it feels to simultaneously experience these two contrasting landscapes; you have to be there. - After filtering 10 litres of Cornfield Spring water in the shade, it's time to climb under that tree again and out of the wash
I've been here for a peaceful 20 minutes or more. I once heard some noise in the brush while filtering water, but have no wildlife sightings to report. - Cornfield Spring canyon here is already in the shade; it will be dark by 17h, a bit before I make it back to my tent
One thing I've noticed here in Cornfield Spring canyon is that creosote brushes grow fairly close to the stream. They aren't riparian plants, but I have seen them flourish in semi-moist washes at other locations also. - Rock wall at Cornfield Spring, Mojave National Preserve
I'm not sure if this is part of the old switchback road near the spring or independent of that. - Remnant of old switchback road near Cornfield Spring, Mojave National Preserve
The old rock wall supporting the 360-degree turn in the road at the lower-left of the photo is still intact. Creosote bushes grow in the old roadbed today. - Looking north from the south side of the wash near Cornfield Spring, toward the old water pipe that leads to Kelso
I'm going to follow that old pipe back to Cornfield Spring Road and return to camp the same way I arrived. I would like to explore the remnants of the old road on the south side of the wash, but it gets dark early at this time of year. - As I leave Cornfield Spring, I think about camping up here some day here instead of pitching my tent so close to Kelso
When I reached Kelso Depot at 18h yesterday, I was quite tired. I probably could have pushed myself and the 10-ton bike a bit further up Cornfield Spring Road, to allow for more hiking hours today, but that wasn't important to me at the time. - I follow the old pipe away from Cornfield Spring and back to the road
On the way to Cornfield Spring, I learned that the land around the pipe is quite eroded, so I'm trying to stay well above the pipe on the way back. - Excellent end-of-day light on the Providence Mountains as I walk up a steep hill to avoid one of the switchbacks on the road
I have another hour of excellent end-of-day light ahead of me, which always makes for rewarding hiking in the Mojave Desert. - A few barrel cacti dot the hills near Cornfield Spring
I'm almost at the top of this short steep hill. I climb steep hills quite well and enjoy it, but I get vertigo too easily to do mountain climbing in exposed areas. - Now at the summit of Cornfield Spring Road, I have a nice partial view across to Cima Dome on the other side of Kelso Valley
It's all downhill from here, and downhill can be quite scenic at sunset. - I can see Kelso down in the valley, and I'll be staring at it for the rest of my hike down Cornfield Spring Road in the sunset
The light is pale yellow right now, and will metamorphose into gold, then orange, and then pink, as darkness arrives. - A final glance at the little valley near Cornfield Spring, and the unnamed canyon beyond that I was hoping to have time to hike
Maybe tomorrow, maybe next year, maybe never. Maybe only bighorn sheep ever walk in that unnamed canyon. Maybe that's why the canyon doesn't have a name. - I'm coming dowwwn Cornfield Spring Road
I'm at about 3400 feet elevation here and my tent is down toward Kelso at about 2300 feet, about 3.75 miles down the road. - Parts of Cornfield Spring Road are quite rideable; perhaps I could have used my bicycle for part of today's hike
But then I reach one of these rocky segments of the road and am glad that I'm hiking instead of biking. Besides, as much as I love bicycling, good scenery is best when experienced as slowly as possible. - Passing the Cornfield Spring Road corral again, I exit the Providence Mountains for the day
Now that my water supply has been replenished, I may come back up this way tomorrow for another hike. I'll think about that later tonight while in my tent poring over my maps. - Behind me, sunset smears reddish light over parts of the Providence Mountains as I walk back down Cornfield Spring Road
It will be dark in half and hour, and the dimming sunlight changes almost by the minute in intensity, hue, and angle. - Walking down Cornfield Spring Road toward Kelso at sunset, Mojave National Preserve
From here I can see the silos of Kelso down in the valley, and a typically great sunset of course. - I can't stop myself from constantly looking behind me to see the newest lighting effects on the Providence Mountains
The Providence Mountains are so photogenic at this time of day. - A soft glow illuminates the Providence Mountains behind me as sunset fades away
This flat light is all that remains after the oranges, pinks and reds have faded out. - It's getting dark, and I can see that the lights are already on down at the village of Kelso
I get out my flashlight, since I'll probably need it for the final half hour of my walk down Cornfield Spring Road, which has plenty of small rocks to trip on. The waxing moon should provide some light, but probably not enough. - One last glance back at the Providence Mountains at dusk before there's no light left at all
It's already dark enough that a few dusk-loving animals are probably out exploring by now. - Sunset went away half an hour ago, and I arrive back at the tent just past 17h30
The past half-hour of hiking down Cornfield Spring Road in the dark and quiet by moonlight and flashlight was quite pleasant. I haven't seen another human since about this time yesterday when I stopped at Kelso Depot. - I settle in for the evening and am surprised to hear a small moth outside flitting against my tent
I've seen very few insects on this trip so far, except for a couple of yellowjackets, which always seem to find my tent and I. It seems like they know I'm allergic to them and like to torment me. - I boil some water for a cranberry vitamin-C drink, which will hopefully help combat my cold; supper is next!
There's more traffic than usual over on Kelbaker Road this evening, about 1.5 miles from my tent. A lot of the noise is recognizable as the kind that comes from vehicles that intentionally make more noise than necessary. I guess some people are actually impressed by that kind of thing. I put on extra clothing layers as the temperature drops and enjoy my supper: Mountain House Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Rice, which is a bit spicy and pretty darn good for an add-water-to-bag meal. At this campsite one can also occasionally hear a dog barking, or music playing, from Kelso, almost two miles away. It's amazing how easily sound travels in the wide-open desert when there aren't many other sounds to compete with. I have a hard time falling asleep. - Cornfield Spring hiking route, Mojave National Preserve
9.5 miles round trip, 1839 feet elevation gain. - Elevation profile of Cornfield Spring hiking route, Mojave National Preserve
9.5 miles round trip, 1839 feet elevation gain.