Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2009, Fall: Mojave National Preserve / Day 1: Baker to east side of Devil's Playground, northwest of Old Dad Mountain, by bicycle, Mojave National Preserve 34
I was hoping to visit the Old Dad Mountain area while visiting Mojave National Preserve a few months ago, but hot weather was already setting in at the lower elevations.
20.8 bicycle miles with an average speed of just 6.1 miles per hour and elevation gain of 1560 feet. I left Baker with a full load of water to last two days (about 16 litres) and drank three of those while en route today, but probably could have drank more.
Temperatures recorded in nearby Baker, CA today were a high of 67F and a low of 38F.
- The 10-ton bike waits at the Amtrak bus stop at the San José train station
Yesterday morning I took Amtrak from San José to Baker, which involves a bus ride to Stockton, train to Bakersfield, then a bus to Baker. - Inside my room at Baker's Wills Fargo Motel last night, the 10-ton bike still waits patiently for today
Motel prices are a bit higher this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday this week. I eat a big roast-chicken supper at the Mad Greek and buy four 1.5-litre bottles of water and two propane bottles for the trip. If it were legal to carry propane on Amtrak, I would have bought my propane bottles in San José. The Country Store is out of propane bottles today, so I end up buying them at the much more expensive Baker Market. - Morning in Baker, CA after filling up on needed calories from the breakfast buffet at the Big Boy restaurant
The "world's tallest thermometer" looms behind me, showing off a balmy 50 degrees F. The breakfast buffet here isn't the most exciting, but it's fresh, ready and plentiful, and the fried potatoes are really good. - Across the road from the Big Boy restaurant sits the sprawling Mad Greek, where I had supper last night
It's a tacky 24-hour restaurant with decent food, but it is a bit overrated. - All packed up, I finally leave Baker and ride over the I-15 freeway and enter Mojave National Preserve in the brilliant sunshine
Mojave National Preserve is one of the largest parks in the USA, but isn't all that popular or well-known. Most of the traffic on the busy freeway here speeds by oblivious to the Preserve en route to the Los Angeles or Las Vegas areas. - The Mojave National Preserve entrance sign just outside Baker is my first stop
My odometer is not working, which turns out to be due to interference from my GPS, mounted next to it. I'll keep the GPS unit in my rear pocket for the rest of the trip to prevent this. So much for the cool GPS mount I bought for my handlebars! - About a mile into Mojave National Preserve, I pass a sandy unpaved road (Old Kelso Road) that goes where I'm going today
I'll be riding part of that sandy road later today, but I'm staying on the longer paved route (Kelbaker Road) as far as possible to avoid walking the bike through more sand than necessary. - I pause to stare toward today's destination: the Old Dad Mountain area on the east side of Devil's Playground
Old Dad Mountain is the tallest hill in the distance. Due to the searing heat in the area in late spring and summer, this is the best time of year to visit there on a bicycle. - A sign on Kelbaker Road alerts me to watch for tortoises
I haven't had the privilege of seeing one of the endangered tortoises out here yet. - It's a long, mostly straight, 10 miles from Baker to the hills ahead of me, where Kelbaker Road turns sharply to the right
The road gains 1000 feet of elevation during those 10 miles, even though it looks rather flat. - I take a short break and sit in the middle of Kelbaker Road for a few minutes to assert my sovereignty over the road
I've only seen a couple of motor vehicles since leaving Baker over an hour ago. - I'm getting close to "10-mile bend" on Kelbaker Road, where the road turns sharply right after the little dip ahead
The day has been warming up rapidly, and it's probably around 70 degrees F now. - I take a break at Kelbaker Road's "10-mile bend," entering the hills of Mojave National Preserve, sweating lightly
I often take a short break here to eat an energy bar. It's an easy 1000-foot "climb" from Baker to here over 10 miles, but on the first day of a trip, loaded down with supplies and extra water, it always feels good to reach this point. - From "10-mile bend" on Kelbaker Road, I can see the dust from four-wheel-drive vehicles travelling the old Mojave Road
I'll be riding down that way shortly. The old Mojave Road crosses Mojave National Preserve and has become quite popular for four-wheel-drive excursions, especially on weekends. - About 1.75 miles past "10-mile bend," I turn right at the blink-and-you-miss-it dirt road to 17-Mile Point
No more pavement today (nor tomorrow). I'm at about 2100 feet elevation now, the high point for today, and have a few hundred feet of gentle downhill ahead (to be followed by a bit more uphill). - I haven't been down this road before; I'm ready to ride down to 17-Mile Point (the near hill at left)
The road looks rideable from here, especially because it's downhill, but I never expect these back roads to be rideable for long on a fully loaded bike. We'll see... - I notice a berm of sorts along part of the 17-Mile Point Road, so I climb up it to shoot a photo of the area
This berm doesn't seem natural... - Further inspection shows that the berm is indeed not natural
A lot of natural rock appears to have been cemented together here in an attempt to protect the road below it from washing out. It seems to have worked, somewhat, but the sandy soil beneath the berm is now eroding away. - Near 17-Mile Point (the big hill at left) are a few stretches of old pavement that haven't yet returned to nature
Of course, I like these brief hard-surfaced stretches, since I'm expecting some sand ahead which may require that I hike the 10-ton bike. - At 17-Mile Point, my road meets up with the old Mojave Road
A series of heavy posts help keep road users on the open Mojave Road and out of the adjacent Wilderness area that is closed to mechanized vehicles, including bicycles. - Looking back at the hill called 17-Mile Point as I pass by
Four-wheel-drive parties sometimes camp here while travelling the old Mojave Road. It's quite sandy along here and I have to hike the bike sometimes rather than ride it. - A group of dirt (motor)bikers catch up to me on a sandy stretch of the old Mojave Road and they stop for a chat
Touring the old Mojave Road by dirt bike sounds like a lot of fun, but I don't think I'd enjoy the noise that accompanies it. Sometimes I find my bicycle to be too noisy in this wilderness! - After 5 miles of dirt road and Mojave Road, I take an energy-bar break at the junction of the Old Kelso Road
I'll leave the old Mojave Road here and head south toward Old Dad Mountain on the Old Kelso Road that I saw earlier today near Baker. Hopefully it won't be too sandy. - Off in the distance, down toward Soda Lake, I can see dust plumes from the dirt bikers that passed me a while ago
They're probably down by the Mojave River by now, which, I was told, has about two feet of water in it to drive though (there is no bridge over the river there). - Old Kelso Road along the east side of Devil's Playground gets mixed reviews for bikepacking
Some of this road is more rideable than expected, but some of it has just a bit too much sand on the surface for my old muscles. It would probably all be an enjoyable ride on a day excursion without the heavy load that I'm carrying. - Sundown approaches early at this time of year; in 30 minutes it will be almost dark
Cowhole Mountain sits in the background absorbing the last rays of day as I start looking for a good place to pitch my tent. - A Wilderness marker blocks errant tire tracks on the approach to Old Dad Mountain on Old Kelso Road
Sunlight is dimming quickly. I was hoping to get a bit closer to Old Dad Mountain than this in preparation for tomorrow's hike, but I need to look for a good campsite now while a bit of light remains. - I ride a little further south on Old Kelso Road in the red light of sunset and stop before reaching the next dry wash
Maybe a good place to camp along here on high ground. - The brilliant pink Mojave Desert sunset is reflecting in the clouds to the east of me
Now that the sun is going down, it seems that the temperature has already dropped five or ten degrees. - This Devil's Playground campsite is perfect near Old Kelso Road, with pointy Cowhole Mountain in the background
I dismantle the 10-ton bike here, walk my bags to the top of the mound, stash the bike behind some bushes (it's not allowed in Wilderness areas), and set up camp for the next two days. - Devil's Playground sunset completed, the tent is set up for the next two days
The small blips of light in the background are the "city lights" of Baker, CA some 15 miles away; and yet I'm in the wilderness here with a view of "civilization." My cell phone works here! - It's a chilly evening already, and I'm boiling water for tonight's add-water-to-bag meal
Supper is Mountain House Sweet and Sour Pork. Yum. Followed by a few swigs of Presidente brandy for dessert. As the evening progresses, I add a few extra layers of clothing: long underwear, sweat pants, a sweat shirt and a hooded sweater. I curl up in my sleeping bag wearing all these items hoping to stay reasonably warm in the 40-degree weather. The lights of Baker twinkle in the distance, but all is quiet out here, not a soul around but me. I step outside the tent a few times during the evening to enjoy the silence and stare at the hundreds of stars in the clear night sky, under the light of a waxing half-full moon. - Bicycle route from Baker to Devil's Playground campsite northwest of Old Dad Mountain
20.8 bicycle miles with an average speed of just 6.1 miles per hour and elevation gain of 1560 feet. - Elevation profile of bicycle route from Baker to Devil's Playground campsite
20.8 bicycle miles with an average speed of just 6.1 miles per hour and elevation gain of 1560 feet.