Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2007, Christmas: Mojave National Preserve Mountain-Bike Camping / Day 6: Late-morning hike up Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve 20
On my fourth trip to Mojave National Preserve, I'm finally doing the popular Kelso Dunes hike. It's not a long hike, but it will break up the short winter day such that I won't have time for a longer day trip afterwards.
I'm camping just down the road from Kelso Dunes, so it's easy to get there, but it will break up the short winter day such that I won't have time for a longer day trip afterwards (which is why the dunes hike never got scheduled into my previous trips).
- Awake, I peer out the back of my tent to see a sunny day, Kelso Dunes, and a creosote bush poking me in the face
I slept really well last night despite the cold and the dampness that seemed to collect in this valley. Water on my bicycle tire and tent roof tells that heavy frost set in earlier this morning. - I take a short walk to warm up and get used to today's surroundings (it was dark when I got here last night)
I'm hungry from yesterday's calorie-burning, so it's time to make coffee and have a usual simple breakfast of dry granola, tamari almonds, dried apricots, dried cherries and some beef jerky for dessert. The built-in filter on my coffee-dripper apparently fell out and got left behind yesterday at Kelso Depot when I was adding newly purchased batteries to my saddlebags. In lieu of a filter, I try using toilet paper, which works surprisingly well! - Large dry clumps of animal dung are everywhere around my tent
I don't know what animal here produces these grey blobs, but the interesting thing is that they are completely dried out and almost weightless, like Italian meringue cookies. I suppose I could have been more picky about where I set up my tent in yesterday evening's darkness... - I ride back up the road 1.25 miles to the Kelso Dunes trailhead
Most destinations within Mojave National Preserve are quite spread out, so it's odd to have such a short ride to get where I'm going. The ride is so brief that it would be a waste for me to drive a car from the campsite to the trailhead if I had come here here by car, with bicycle in tow. - Near the Kelso Dunes trailhead, I pass an unoccupied roadside campsite
I remember seeing this campsite during my Spring 2006 visit here, but I didn't notice it on the way in yesterday evening in the dark. - A nice touch at the Kelso Dunes trailhead is a modern outhouse that's even equipped with toilet paper
So I don't need to dig a cat hole this morning, yay! There's no running water for drinking or washing, nor flush toilets, but it's a real convenience if you've been camping backcountry-style. - I lock the bike to the fence at the Kelso Dunes trailhead
I'm glad there's something to lock my bike to. Sometimes in the desert, there's nothing, and the best bet is to lay the bike on the ground behind a few creosote bushes where it will likely go unnoticed (just don't forget where you stashed it!) - I begin the walk toward Kelso Dunes
The Kelso Dunes sand piles rise about 600 feet at their highest point; they're a bit taller than they look. - There are a number of people hiking Kelso Dunes today
Unlike the earlier part of this week's trip, today is not all about solitude. There are several cars at the parking area by the outhouse. - The Kelso Dunes sand is soft, and one does sink in with each footstep, but it's not as difficult as I thought it might be
The juxtaposition of the soft sand dunes and the rugged Providence Mountains in the background is striking. - Excellent perspectives of the surrounding mountains come into view as one climbs higher up Kelso Dunes
Often in the desert, everything is gently tilted. The slope that Kelbaker Road slowly climbs for miles in front of the Providence Mountains behind me is quite evident here, exaggerated a bit by the camera angle. - Approaching the top of Kelso Dunes, this final stretch is the steepest part
With the bright light reflecting off the light-coloured sand, I feel like I'm climbing a big snow bank. Except for the fact that I'm sweating enough to be wearing just a T-shirt and a sweat band. It's probably close to 60 degrees F here today. - Kelso Dunes feels very sculptural as one approaches the summit
I see someone up on the peak ahead of me. - On top of Kelso Dunes, I'm taking in the views of this end of Mojave National Preserve
The white surface of Soda Lake sits off in the distance to the north. Soda Lake was also visible from the Devil's Playground and Indian Springs areas that I visited earlier this week. My Devil's Playground campsite from a couple of nights back would be somewhere behind those low mountains at the centre-right. - To my northeast is Kelso Valley, with Kelso Depot just barely visible in the middle
Up here on top of Kelso Dunes, I've been chatting with a guy from Saskatchewan (Canada), a flat prairie. He's used to these expansive views back home (I'm not) and notices how mountains here break up the otherwise endless views and block the sunset, making it seem earlier. - Looking down toward my campsite at the the end of the road from the top of Kelso Dunes
Bristol Mountains sit big in the backdrop; they would make an interesting hike. - Getting ready to climb down the steep face of Kelso Dunes, with Granite Mountains in the background
Kelso Dunes are supposed to be special because the sand can make a booming sound while going down. - I figure I might get a better experience if it sit and slide down the Kelso Dunes as if I were on a toboggan
To my surprise, I sink into the sand and don't slide down all that easily, so I propel myself down with my hands. I should have brought a toboggan! - I'm coming down! The guy from Saskatchewan ran all the way down the dunes ahead of me
I can hear the booming or singing sound of the sand when I move through it quickly, but it's not as pronounced as I was expecting. The sand isn't slippery and treacherous after all, so I get up and run the rest of the way down the steep hill. - Heading back to Kelso Dunes trailhead, I have time for a short day ride; I randomly choose Coyote Springs as the destination
I didn't expect to finish the Kelso Dunes hike so soon; it only took me about 45 minutes to reach the top. I'll ride back to my tent and prepare a day pack. I don't know if there's anything worth seeing at Coyote Springs, but I'll find out. Coyote Springs is in the lower part of the Granite Mountains (middle-right in this photo) and I've never come across much information about it, not that I've looked very hard. On the other hand, there's plenty of information to be found about the more popular upper parts of the Granite Mountains. I would like to go higher in the Granite Mountains, but won't have time today.