Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2010, Mojave National Preserve / Day 7: Eagle Rocks day hike from Mid Hills campground, Mojave National Preserve 62
Today is a nice lazy day, a good break that I need. It's chilly enough up here in the desert mountains that I wear my sweater most of the day.
I was thinking of leaving Mid Hills today to go to Nipton for a shower, café food and beer. I'll put that off until tomorrow! 4.4 hiking miles and the GPS estimates 1100 feet of elevation gain.
- One of several juniper trees around my campsite at Mid Hills campground that has been chopped down by campers for firewood
It was chilly and windy last night, but I slept reasonably well and wake up later than intended. I was considering leaving Mid Hills today, but I think I'll stay an extra day, lazy camper that I am! - An elderly pinon pine near my tent at Mid Hills campground drools sticky and waxy
After vitamin C drink and two cups of instant Via coffee, I make a pouch of Mary Jane's Farms Kettle Chili. Really good, but I'd call it lentil stew, not chili. Then I try Natural High 3 Berry Cobbler, which also turns out to be good, but over-sweetened. I add some granola to it to cut the sugar and make it heartier. - I ride down to the entrance kiosk of Mid Hills campground to sign up for an extra night of camping and deposit my fees
It's a 1.2-mile round-trip ride from my campsite at the far end of the campground. - I start the short hike from Mid Hills campground over to Eagle Rocks and pass these diminutive flowers near the campground road
These might be fleabane (Erigeron concinnus). - Except for this campsite, Mid Hills campground is almost empty this morning, which is surprising for a Saturday morning
Mid Hills campground can be busy on weekends, but it looks like the cold weather system moving through the mountains here has kept people away. That's fine by me, and it's one reason I'm staying an extra night! - A few mariposa lilies bloom in a rocky area at Mid Hills campground
Here I leave the campground road and start hiking cross-country over to Eagle Rocks. - Reaching the turrets of Eagle Rocks from Mid Hills campground requires climbing down into an intervening wide canyon
I walk out to the edge of the plateau here to look for the easiest way down. - I choose to follow a drainage downward into the canyon below Eagle Rocks
It's a bit steep, but it provides fairly good traction for the descent. - I pass a patch of white thistles on the way down to the canyon below Eagle Rocks
I've noticed that these thistles, while blooming, always seem to have insects feeding on the flowers. - After crossing the canyon, I climb up the hill toward the Eagle Rocks turrets
I'll start by exploring the area of the turret to the north (right). - I passed the south end of Eagle Rocks while hiking to Chicken Water Spring last year, but didn't have time to explore the rocks
Looking ahead, I conclude that some of the rocks might be easier to climb than I first thought. - The big rock outcrop ahead at the top looks insurmountable to non-rock-climbers, but I'll continue upward to see how close I get
Scrambling over the rocks here is a lot of fun. I'm tired today after the all the hiking and mountain-biking this week, but I'm waking up now. - I turn around to take in the views northeast, toward Mid Hills campground on the first ridge, between a couple of rock piles
I can see to Pinto Mountain in the middleground, where I hiked a few days ago, and to the New York Mountains in the background. - I climb up the eroded rock in the upper area of the Eagle Rocks, Mojave National Preserve
A few plants grow in the tight spaces between the rocks. - Manzanitas, which are not usually a desert plant, grow here and there in the Eagle Rocks area
The 2005 brush fires burned most of this area; many manzanitas here have sprouted back from the roots after fire damage. - Also in the Eagle Rocks area are occasional patches of Palmer's penstemon
I'm a bit late in the season, but a few Palmer's penstemons are still flowering. - It looks like there's a saddle on each side of the Eagle Rocks pinnacle above
I'll climb up there and find out... - From this saddle in the Eagle Rocks, I look into the haze southwest across Mojave National Preserve
The tan patch in the distance is the Kelso Dunes, while the closer, pointier hills are in the Chicken Water Spring area, which I hiked last year. - Looking straight down from the saddle, instead of toward Kelso Dunes, reveals a rather steep drop
I think I'll stay up in the higher area here for now. - A boulder crowns other boulders at Eagle Rocks, Mojave National Preserve
Flat-topped Table Mountain sits in the distance on the far side of Gold Valley. - Rock-scrambling at Mojave National Preserve's Eagle Rocks can include scrambling under boulders, not just over them
Some of these dark nooks and crannies feel almost cave-like. - A manzanita grows out of a crack in the boulders at Eagle Rocks
It doesn't seem that there would be enough soil in the crack for a manzanita to grow, but apparently there is. - Well, here's a rock summit at Eagle Rocks that I don't think I can climb
It's fun to look at, however. - A Claret cup cactus blooms in a shady area of Eagle Rocks where I wouldn't expect to find one
It must get enough morning sun to keep it alive. This cactus appears to have suffered some fire damage during the 2005 fires here, but not enough it kill it. - I might be able to climb this Eagle Rocks pinnacle from the right side
Where to go next... - I reach a somewhat open area in the Eagle Rocks on the way to the next pinnacles
A few minutes of easy walking sans rock scrambling. - In the shade of some big rocks, I look up through the canopy of a couple of burned trees
Strong winds are blowing right now, and these winds must have propelled the 2005 fire in order to have burned so many trees here that don't even touch each other. - A substantial rock overhang at Eagle Rocks, Mojave National Preserve
When will this crack and fall? Hopefully not right now, as I'm about to crawl under it. - This area of Eagle Rocks is a lot of fun
I look up along another shady rock wall. - More burned trees at Eagle Rocks, Mojave National Preserve
I think these were pinon pines, but I haven't been looking too closely. - Under boulders at Eagle Rocks, I peer out toward the sunshine
I haven't seen any snakes yet hiding here in the shade from the hot sun. - I run across a patch of young Palmer's penstemons in the burned area on the way back to Mid Hills campground
These penstemons may be new seedlings, but there are plenty of dead stems nearby, which may have burned during the 2005 brush fires. - It's amazing how a few trees manage to grow in the cracks between rocks in the steep slopes of Eagle Rocks
From what I can tell, the trees furthest over in the rocks weren't subjected to the flames of the 2005 fires here like the one close to the camera. I can see Kelso-Cima Road down there in the valley! - I look up through another burned-tree canopy toward rock towers at Eagle Rocks
These scorched trunks remind me of the sycamores that grow in wet areas outside of San José, and which are also used as street trees in town. - Peering between boulders at Eagle Rocks, Mojave National Preserve
Just behind me are more boulders to crawl under. - I back up a few feet under a big boulder, still looking at the slot between the rocks in front of me
It's quite windy up here today, but the rocks provide serious shelter. - I haven't seen any large animals here today, but this scat shows that some are indeed here somewhere
Animals would presumably enjoy the shelter provided by all the rock formations here at Eagle Rocks. - A completely burned mound cactus at Eagle Rocks, Mojave National Preserve
This one didn't survive the 2005 brush fires! - I walk across this flat area, between cholla cactus skeletons, to the next pile of rocks
A few yuccas are sprouting back from the roots, but the cholla cacti here haven't regenerated after the 2005 brush fires. - This rock has teeth!
... or is it a necklace? - At the south end of Eagle Rocks sits a patch of blooming desert mallows
From a distance like this and looking toward the sun, the desert mallow flower wands glisten, their bright orange radiance attenuated. - Desert mallow close-up at Eagle Rocks, Mojave National Preserve
I've seen so many of these flowers during this trip (and I'm only at the halfway point) that I think I'll subtitle this as "the desert mallow trip." - I'm at the south end of the Eagle Rocks now, looking southwest toward the pointy hills around Wildcat and Chicken Water Springs
This is roughly where I passed Eagle Rocks last year during my hike to the Chicken Water Spring area, visiting Wildcat Spring and Coyote Spring along the way. - What's that red speck poking out of that boulder?
I think I get a little closer to find out... - Somehow, a Claret cup cactus is managing to eke out an existence in that crack in the boulder
Minimalism defined. - I'm constantly fascinated by the ability of some trees to grow in the upper reaches of the boulders, where soil is almost absent
A few of those trees might have escaped the 2005 brush fires due to their remote location. - I take a final look up at the Eagle Rocks before starting the hike back to Mid Hills campground
I've been scrambling around Eagle Rocks for almost three hours, but didn't visit the far north end of the formation. I haven't seen any eagles yet either. - Just east of the south end of Eagle Rocks, I head east (right) across the broad canyon
Heading straight ahead down the canyon would take me to Cedar Canyon Road after a while. Mid Hills campground is off to the right on top of the hills. - Instead of climbing straight up the hills back to Mid Hills campground, I head south briefly on an old road
The old road is a "cherry stem" with official Wilderness on both sides, so it can be driven legally for anyone who dares. - The old road that heads south from Eagle Rocks passes through an area that escaped the 2005 brush fires
The lush dark-green of a few mature junipers cheer up this largely burned area. - When I reach a patch of mature, unburned sagebrush, I turn east (left) and begin hiking cross-country to Mid Hills campground
The sagebrush is delightfully fragrant as I brush against it. The old road here sports plenty of footprints, but, surprisingly, no fresh tire tracks. - On the way back to Mid Hills campground, I reach an open area with views spanning all the way down to Wild Horse Mesa
I was hiking down in that area yesterday, in Beecher Canyon below the mesa. - Hiking cross-country back to Mid Hills campground, I exit the boundary of the unburned area
There probably won't be any more blue-green sagebrush bushes from this point onward. - Five years after the 2005 brush fires here, many of the burned trees are finally falling down
Is there anybody around to hear the sound of the trees falling down? - A mound cactus and a desert four o'clock grow in the burned area near Mid Hills campground, Mojave National Preserve
Five years after the brush fires are a few signs of regeneration. So little, so slowly. - Hurray, this might be a pinon pine seedling growing in the burned area of Mid Hills campground
... with a yucca behind it sprouting from a fire-damaged base. I make it back to camp shortly after 18h. - I walk up the hill near my tent to catch another great sunset from Mid Hills campground
Here I'm looking at the north end of Eagle Rocks, which I didn't visit today. I guess I have a reason to do another hike in the Eagle Rocks area one day... - Eagle Rocks pinnacles at sunset, from Mid Hills campground, Mojave National Preserve
The light is changing by the minute, so I snap a lot of photos with my inexpensive pocket digital camera to see what I get. - Close-up of sunset behind Eagle Rocks
The pinks and purples are starting to fade. In a few minutes, I'll walk back to the tent and make tonight's instant meal: Mountain House Sweet and Sour Pork with Rice. I'm hungry! - Brrr! It's really cold up here at Mid Hills campground tonight
I had been worrying that this trip might be too hot to enjoy! I wear my outer shell over my sweater to stay warm, but it's not really enough. A bandana substitutes for a warm hat that I didn't bring. The high winds aren't quite as menacing and constant as last night. I write notes in my journal and sip a bit of brandy during the evening. I fall asleep in my sleeping bag with all my clothes on, during a silent moment between howling wind gusts, hoping that I'll stay asleep. - Eagle Rocks hike from Mid Hills campground elevation profile
4.4 hiking miles and the GPS estimates 1100 feet of elevation gain. - Eagle Rocks hiking route from Mid Hills campground
4.4 hiking miles and the GPS estimates 1100 feet of elevation gain.