Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Spring 2011: Mojave National Preserve and area bicycle camping / Day 7: Castle Peaks Road to Mid Hills Campground, Mojave National Preserve, by bicycle via Lanfair Valley 71
Another perfect day, temperature-wise, though a bit windy at times. I pack up and move camp over to the Mid Hills area for a few days. 42.5 slow dirt-road bicycle miles plus about 2300 feet of elevation gain.
- It's warm in the sun this morning, so I move everything into the shade of my juniper tree while I pack up camp
- I hate packing up, but it went reasonably well, and now I begin the ride down Castle Peaks Road
- Approaching the dry reservoir on Castle Peaks Road, I see more of my bicycle tracks from three days ago
- Today's ride will be to the other side of Lanfair Valley, roughly as far as the eye can see here
- It's fun riding down this little hill on Castle Peaks Road on the way out of the New York Mountains foothills
- Riding a winding road in a quiet joshua-tree forest is always enjoyable
- Castle Peaks Road ends after 30 minutes; I start riding the Barnwell-Searchlight railway grade and find this stray balloon
- I have a slight headwind, so I don't hear the six 4WD vehicles sneaking up behind me on the Barnwell-Searchlight railway grade
- After 3 miles on the Barnwell-Searchlight railway grade, it ends by an open area, where the next road on my route should begin
- With assistance from my Delorme GPS, I locate the old road that I'm hoping to follow; it's nearly invisible!
- After about 100 feet on this old grown-in road, I decide to turn back and take the longer, but easier, Hart Mine Road instead
- Hart Mine Road is a rough dirt road that rises about 250 feet in 2.5 miles on my detour route via Barnwell
- As I approach the former settlement of Barnwell, Mojave National Preserve, I pass an old windmill and water tank
- Across the road from the old Barnwell water tank is a corral and another windmill
- That old house at Barnwell that I always notice with all the junked vehicles around it: the gate is open
- It might be interesting to count how many old cars and trucks sit on this Barnwell property!
- This old house at Barnwell, Mojave National Preserve looks like it was once well cared for
- The old house at Barnwell has a stone chimney
- Behind the main house at Barnwell is a smaller, more modest, "guest-quarters" house
- Hart Mine Road ends at Barnwell, so I turn south on Ivanpah Road, with the New York Mountains peaks in front of me
- From the top of Ivanpah Road near Barnwell, I can still see over to Castle Peaks, but this view won't last long
- Ivanpah Road rolls over a pass in the New York Mountains and then descends slowly into Lanfair Valley
- I locate a berm of earth, part of the old Ivanpah railway grade and the "invisible" road I wanted to ride earlier
- With relatively few wildflowers along Ivanpah Road, this little garden against a New York Mountains backdrop gets my attention
- Ivanpah Road rides ever so slightly downhill across Lanfair Valley
- The 10-ton bike takes a break at the junction of New York Mountains Road so I can check out an old OX Ranch corral
- A couple of old water tanks and a windmill sit near Ivanpah Road at the OX Ranch site
- One of the buildings remaining at the OX Ranch site is this mobile home
- A bit beyond the OX Ranch site is a private, by-reservation-only campground called 'Mojave Desert Outpost'
- I know I'm getting close to the junction of Ivanpah Road and Cedar Canyon Road when I see power lines along the road
- I've been riding Ivanpah Road for over two hours; I'll turn right onto Cedar Canyon Road just ahead
- The junction of Ivanpah Road and Cedar Canyon Road is my low point of the day, at about 4050 feet elevation
- Riding up Cedar Canyon Road, I spot an abandoned house, so the 10-ton bike pulls over to allow a few minutes of exploration
- At first, I think the house has been vandalized, then I think maybe it's in the process of being demolished
- A pile of debris sits in front of the little house on Cedar Canyon Road
- Behind the little house on Cedar Canyon Road, some of the old fake-brick tiles are neatly piled
- I peer through a broken window at the disarray inside the house
- Near the old house, a bird lands atop a joshua tree
- Some stretches of Cedar Canyon Road have significant sand accumulation, in addition to being washboarded
- I can zoom in for good views of the Hackberry Mountains while riding Cedar Canyon Road
- Long stretches of Cedar Canyon Road are perfectly straight, but there are some curves and even a few 90-degree corners
- I'm intrigued by this sign for Ashwell Road, since there's not much of a road visible here
- A short distance ahead is another modest old house along Cedar Canyon Road, against a Hackberry Mountains backdrop
- Oooo, a car is approaching on Cedar Canyon Road!
- In this part of Lanfair Valley right now are some wide expanses of small yellow flowers
- The 10-ton mountain bike slowly gains altitude on Cedar Canyon Road
- I'm riding a curvy stretch of Cedar Canyon Road now, heading straight toward Pinto Mountain for a few minutes
- As I approach Watson Wash on Cedar Canyon Road, I pass a turn-off to an old alignment of the 4WD Mojave Road
- I rattle my way across the part of Cedar Canyon Road that crosses Watson Wash
- After crossing Watson Wash, I turn off Cedar Canyon Road to visit the Bert Smith rock house
- The Bert Smith rock house has an excellent view from the front door
- To my surprise, the door to the Bert Smith rock house is not locked like it was when I last visited
- The Bert Smith rock house has a low ceiling and dark-colored surfaces
- The little windows that flank the fireplace in the Bert Smith rock house are hinged on the top
- A small kitchen hides behind these built-in shelves; interesting joint in the beam
- After my visit to the Bert Smith rock house, I continue riding westward on the washboard of Cedar Canyon Road
- Cedar Canyon Road bends again and heads toward Pinto Mountain for a few minutes
- I like this old range fence off Cedar Canyon Road in front of Pinto Mountain
- I reach my shortcut road that connects Cedar Canyon Road with Black Canyon Road
- As I climb the gentle hill, I reach a part of the shortcut road with far fewer tire tracks
- The shortcut road is only 3/4 mile long, but it's nice to be off the main roads for a few minutes
- Hey, a fresh bicycle track on the shortcut road, and it isn't mine!
- I'm back out on a main road now (Black Canyon Road this time) and pass the windmill at Holliman Well
- At the junction of Black Canyon Road and Wild Horse Canyon Road, I decide to turn right toward Mid Hills campground
- A couple of short steep hills on the final stretch on Wild Horse Canyon Road toward Mid Hills campground always get me
- I check out the view behind me while walking the 10-ton bike up the little hill
- I make it up to the crest of Wild Horse Canyon Road and a few orange desert-mallow flowers say "hello"
- The Providence Mountains often catch a bit of pink light at the end of the day
- I arrive at the Mid Hills campground entrance kiosk; I'm happy to be back for yet another visit
- Bicycle route from Castle Peaks campsite to Mid Hills campground via Cedar Canyon Road
- Elevation profile of bicycle route from Castle Peaks campsite to Mid Hills campground via Cedar Canyon Road