Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2010, Mojave National Preserve / Day 11: Juniper Spring day hike from Malpais Spring, Mojave National Preserve 75
I don't know much about the Juniper Spring area, so today I'll hike over a pass in the New York Mountains and see it. Excellent weather, landscape and flower shows. 11 hiking miles round trip, over 2000 feet elevation gain.
I'm awake at 8h45, step outside my tent near Malpais Spring, and am greeted by a lizard
After breakfast I prepare my backpack and start the hike toward Juniper Spring around 10h15
The first part of Indian Spring Road leaving Malpais Spring is nicely camouflaged beyond the Wilderness boundary
On the way to Indian Spring, the road passes through a rather barren area above the Malpais Spring canyon
After two miles, I reach Indian Spring and filter drinking water for the day
Before leaving Indian Spring, I check the map for my route across the plateau toward Juniper Spring
Colourful scat, it's party time
I'll start by hiking 1.5 miles straight across the plateau and down to a wash which I'll follow to Juniper Spring
Peach cactus flowers on the plateau northeast of Indian Spring
A number of shallow dry washes need to be crossed as I hike "Indian Spring Plateau"
I pass a rock outcrop that's associated with the rocks down around nearby Malpais Spring
A miniscule pool of water holds out between some rocks on "Indian Spring Plateau"
I pass a cactus-pad patch and a scattering of barrel cacti amongst the junipers on "Indian Spring Plateau"
Here is the wash that I'll follow up through the New York Mountains and down the other side to Juniper Spring
A patch of barrel cacti grows along Juniper Spring wash
I reach a fork on the way up the wash to Juniper Spring; I check my GPS and take the left fork
On the way up Juniper Spring wash, I pass a really colourful area with Vanderbilt Peak in the background
The wash comes to an end; remnants of an old road rise the final few feet up to a pass in the New York Mountains
I pause in the shade of a juniper with its juniper berries at the pass in the New York Mountains
My text message doesn't want to be sent after I compose it, so I climb up the adjacent hill for better reception; away it goes
I return to the wash and pass the big juniper that provided me with some nice shade for a few minutes
On the way down through a floriferous area in Juniper Spring wash, I pass an especially bright juniper
Juniper Spring wash is an easy descent as it winds down the north side of the New York Mountains
A barrel cactus has detached from its hillside garden and tumbled down into Juniper Spring wash
Sporadic accumuations of juniper berries create dark spots on the floor of Juniper Spring wash
Views across Ivanpah Valley to the Clark Mountains present themselves as I approach the bottom of Juniper Spring wash
Near the bottom of Juniper Spring wash are a couple of old rusty cans attached to tree trunks
Bright-red Indian paintbrush near the bottom of Juniper Spring wash
I exit the Wilderness boundary, feebly marked by two nondescript, svelte posts, and arrive at Juniper Spring Road
I start walking up Juniper Spring Road
Juniper Spring Road rolls up and down in the New York Mountains foothills
Some Prince's plume (Stanleya pinnata) grows in the area of Juniper Spring, Mojave National Preserve
Juniper Spring, Mojave National Preserve; it's dry
Near the dry Juniper Spring trough is a pipe leading up a wash
The pipe from the dry Juniper Spring trough leads me up to what may be the smallest pool of spring water possible
Near Juniper Spring are a few small piles of tailings
I decide to return to the Juniper Spring wash I descended for the return trip after considering other routes
A preening bird in a tree above me seems oblivious as I walk up the narrow wash
To get back to Juniper Spring wash, I climb over a hill with views across Ivanpah Valley
From the hill above Juniper Spring are nice views across Ivanpah Dry Lake with the Clark Mountains to the left
I pass a couple more clumps of Prince's plume (Stanleya pinnata) on the way over the hill to Juniper Spring wash
I start the walk back up Juniper Spring wash
A patch of Evening primrose grows adjacent to a juniper tree
Rhus trilobata is common in many desert washes like Juniper Spring wash
Some stretchs of Juniper Spring wash are quite colourful
Slowly, Juniper Spring wash rises; easy hiking
I take a short break in an area with scattered flowers and junipers
Purple sage in the foreground and bluer phacelias under a juniper tree
Plenty of cholla cactus also lives in Juniper Spring wash
Fresh juniper berries
I leave Juniper Spring wash below, and start climbing up a hill toward the Vanderbilt Peak area
I head up toward a saddle near Vanderbilt Peak behind the tree at upper left
A garden of Prince's plume and desert mallows grows in the rock on the way up to Vanderbilt Peak
Approaching the pass near Vanderbilt Peak, straight ahead
I follow the rockier stretches on the way up to the Vanderbilt Peak pass for better traction
The pass by Vanderbilt Peak lies just ahead
Now that I'm on the pass by Vanderbilt Peak, I have views southwest across the Indian Spring plateau to Castle Peaks
In the northeast from Vanderbilt Peak pass, I can see over to Nevada's McCullough Mountain
My next stop will be Indian Spring, to refill my water supply
I spot some kind of grasshopper in the gravel
The mile-long hike from Vanderbilt Peak pass to Indian Spring rolls gently up and down across drainages
I cross several small washes while hiking the plateau on the way to Indian Spring
Back at Indian Spring for the second time today
I manage to photograph this zebra-tailed lizard near Indian Spring before he scurries away
Yellow desert marigolds and purple desert four o'clocks grow by this juniper near Indian Spring, New York Mountains
I pass through one of the last groves of junipers on the way back down Indian Springs Road to my campsite
A little further down Indian Spring Road, the junipers fade out, replaced by a fairly dense joshua tree forest
I pass through "the barren area" again while returning to camp on Indian Spring Road
A third of a mile later, I arrive back at my campsite near Malpais Spring
Quite a few thorns, probably from cholla cacti, are stuck to the bottom of my shoe and need to be removed (carefully)
At sunset, I watch the sun go down and take dozens of photos to see what I get
Feathery pinks and blues dust the sky looking northeast
The sun has departed and the full moon is up; looking forward to a moonlit evening after a great day
Elevation profile of Juniper Spring day hike from Malpais Spring, Mojave National Preserve
Juniper Spring day hike route from Malpais Spring, Mojave National Preserve