Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Spring 2011: Mojave National Preserve and area bicycle camping / Day 13: Bicycle ride to Keckiella Rocks, Mojave National Preserve 33
- The wind wakes me up at 5h15, in time to see the sunrise, but it's too early for me, so I go back to sleep
Being a late sleeper, it's a treat to see a sunrise like this once in a while. However, I've been tossing and turning all night, so now that morning has broken, I'm ready to sleep! - After a few more hours of sleep, I'm up and enjoying the surprisingly warm morning here in Pinto Valley
The typical chilly wind up here is completely absent this morning. Therefore, the sun bakes me in my tent as it rises higher. The heat makes me feel like I've woken up at a hotter lower-elevation area somewhere else. - After breakfast and coffee, my task is to walk the 3/4 mile over to Bathtub Spring and filter more drinking water
A few Wallace's woolly daisies (Eriophyllum wallacei) and some Desert sages (Salvia dorrii) grow in the old road, which is now an unofficial trail. - A claret cup cactus grows in a boulder pile near Bathtub Spring, Mid Hills, Mojave National Preserve
The cactus stays dry up in the rocks while water flows down the sandy wash during wet times. - I arrive at Bathtub Spring and find quite a few of these little white butterflies playing in the moist area by the spring
I've seen these around Mojave Desert springs before, possibly Northern White-Skipper butterflies. - There's not much surface algae in the basin at Bathtub Spring, but there is a lot of heavy, slippery growth deeper in the water
It's harder to scoop out of the spring basin than I expect; much of it slops back into the basin as I try to scoop it out! - I get on with the business of filtering enough water for a couple of days from Bathtub Spring
My MSR Sweetwater filter is having problems again, acting like the filter is clogged, even though the filter is quite new. I think I'll replace this with a different brand of water filter for my next trip. - I persevere with my ailing MSR water filter and manage to fill my water bag with clean, tasty water from Bathtub Spring
This big 10-litre MSR water bag is great, but it does impart an unpleasant plastic taste to water left in it for a few days. I'm glad my water filter hasn't completely stopped working (I've brought chlorine tablets in case that happens). - Time to go for a bicycle ride, without the added weight of all my camping gear!
I take a short break by a juniper tree in Pinto Valley. I see a car in the distance (not in the photo), the only one I'll see today. Some wind has kicked in, and it no longer feels like a hot day. - Back on a road, I ride for a while, then stash the bicycle in the brush and go for a hike to a rocky area
There's a lot to look at here, in addition to the scenery itself. - Graffiti
- Patterns
- Butterfly
- After a bit more hiking, I arrive at more rocks
- Flower
- Squiggles
- Bird
- Tic-tac-toe
- Bulb
- Sunshine
- Smoke
- Cactus
- I pass some yellow-flowering bushes that I don't see often
Keckiella antirrhinoides (Chaparral Bush-beardtongue) - Close-up of Keckiella antirrhinoides (Chaparral Bush-beardtongue)
I planted one of these in my garden several years ago, but it got covered up by some nearby plants and didn't make it. - Helicopters
Hmmm... A pair of helicopters flew over me while I was hiking in the Providence Mountains last week as well... - I've seen so many of these Mojave ground squirrels on this trip, but never manage to photograph them
They scamper away so quickly; I'm surprised that I've managed to get this shot. - There's a lot of private property in some parts of Mojave National Preserve
- My favourite part of the ride back to camp is passing through Pinto Valley's sagebrush patches
The New York Mountains backdrop helps too. - Strong winds have picked up during the afternoon, blowing in some end-of-day haze
The great thing is that the wind is behind me, assisting my ride across Pinto Valley. - I take a look behind me and see that the haze is thicker than I thought
I can barely see across the valley to the Hackberry Mountains. From the look of it, I'm guessing this is Los Angeles automobile smog. It wasn't here this morning when there was no wind. - Sunset at Pinto Valley inevitably results in another tent-advertisement photo
Back at camp, the final day of bicycling without my gear has ended. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's New York Mountains hike as this trip slowly approaches its end. - The jays are still hanging out in the trees near my campsite at sunset
I've noticed bluejays there often, and they were quite noisy this morning. I guess they're always there, and perhaps they've lived here for generations. - Sundown at Pinto Valley means it's time for my evening meal; I'm really hungry
My tent bangs around in the evening's strong winds. Supper is Backpacker's Pantry Chicken Cashew Curry (why do I keep buying this?) which is better than I remember, probably because I didn't eat enough today. I normally hang my flashlight lantern from the ceiling of my tent as a reading light, but the swaying of the tent in the wind is causing the light to spin around; I almost feel seasick after a while! I step outside after dark for a short walk and notice a mouse. He's moving really slowly; perhaps he's cold! Around 1h15, I finally go to bed, tired of thinking, reading and writing in my journal. To my surprise, I fall asleep easily, despite the noise of the wind.