Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2009, Spring: Mojave National Preserve / Day 8: Live Oak Spring hike from Mid Hills campground, Mojave National Preserve 67
Live Oak Spring is one of the springs in the northwest Mid Hills that I haven't seen yet. Today is my chance; this should make for a good hike.
It will be good for my knees to be off the bike and just walking for a day. It will also be good for the eyes. One sees more when walking compared to bicycling. Equally important is that one sees more while bicycling compared to driving a car.
I bring six litres of water and drink 4.5 of those. I'll also eat two Clif bars and one Larabar. 14.1 hiking miles with 2585 feet of elevation gain (and drop).
- While eating breakfast in the tent, I study my maps in preparation for today's hike over to Live Oak Spring
I get up shortly after 9h to rather grey skies, which allowed me to sleep in. Breakfast is a typical sampling of items in my black bag (tamari and cajun almonds, dried plums and pears), plus hot tea and blueberry electrolyte-replacer drink. - After a half-mile ride down to the kiosk to pay for one more night camping, I return to site 22 and lock the bike to a juniper
I've never camped in one place in Mojave National Preserve for six nights consecutively, but the perfect weather up here at Mid Hills campground is a relief from the heat down below. - At noon, I start walking down the hill behind Mid Hills campsite 22
Though still a bit grey, it's an incredibly nice 70 degrees right now. I'll drop 1350 feet during the first four miles to the lowest point of the day. - I follow a sometimes-shady drainage that leads northwest down the hill from my campsite
This drainage will lead me down to the wider unnamed wash that heads northeast from Eagle Rocks. - Some cactus, and a few other flowers, are still blooming in the relative shelter of this area
The lichen on the rocks is as colourful as any of the few flowers down here. - The drainage "trail" will end just ahead at the base of the small mountain
I'll turn right and head down the Eagle Rocks wash (away from Eagle Rocks) when I get there. - A patch of fluffy pink seed heads greets me as I approach Eagle Rocks wash
That little straight line off in the distance is Cima Road rising up toward Kessler Peak. - A tall, lone pinon pine grows in Eagle Rocks wash
The 2005 fires heavily burned everything on both sides of the wash, but spared this big pine tree growing in the wash. I see a roadrunner and a black-eared jackrabbit in this area (not together). - A BBQ grate hangs from that lone pinon pine in the wash
This area feels rarely visited, but people have obviously camped here before! In fact, the USGS maps show this wash as hosting an old "drive-in road." - Cedar Canyon Road is now visible: that horizontal line down below
I enjoy starting a hike with a good downhill to get warmed up, and good views, to get inspired. Some people I know greatly prefer saving the downhill for the end of a hike. - On my way down the wash, my nose keeps picking up a highly aromatic scent that isn't sagebrush
I think it might be this plant, which I'm not familiar with. - Before it joins Cedar Wash below, Eagle Rocks wash narrows and curves through an opening in the hill
Though it's dry today, it's easy to imagine a temporary river rushing down this wash after a rainstorm, carrying sand and rocks. - I reach Cedar Wash, cross it, then climb up the other side and look back across Cedar Wash to the south
I'm at about 4525 feet elevation and have expansive views down toward Kelso Dunes, that tan patch in the distance. The pointy ridges just below my hat brim are around Macedonia Canyon and Chicken Water Spring, where I've already hiked on this trip. - When I reach Cedar Canyon Road, I stop to check my GPS for directions
I'm either just east or just west of Death Valley Mine Road (marked Cima Road on some maps), which is my next "trail." Cima Dome, that gentle curve on the horizon, is a prominent feature in views from this area. - I cross Cedar Canyon Road, which I rode up last week, and start walking up the lesser Death Valley Mine Road to my right
Cedar Canyon Road is a "main road" in this part of Mojave National Preserve, but no cars pass by while I'm here. I've never seen a pedestrian on Cedar Canyon Road. - A bird flies past and lands in this cholla cactus
He seems undisturbed by my passing, probably knowing innately that I have no way of bothering him through all the thorns! - Death Valley Mine Road, Mojave National Preserve (marked as Cima Road on some maps)
I've ridden this road twice before, but this is the first time that I've walked it. Most of the road is fairly sandy, but rocks rise to the surface along this stretch. - I turn left into the old driveway leading down to Thomas Place, that abandoned building ahead
Thomas Place is a good place to take a short break. My cell phone hasn't had any reception for a few days, but it works here, so I make a call to change my outgoing message so callers know I'm not lost or missing. - At Thomas Place, I take a break and relax by the fire ring for a moment
I make my cell-phone call here by the abandoned corrals, the only place where I'll have reception today. I drink a bunch of water and eat a blueberry Clif bar and some almonds. - I walk over to the old building here at Thomas Place
Most of the grey clouds from this morning have dissipated and it's quite a bit warmer down here in the sun at 4280 feet elevation, the lowest point of today's hike. I'm sweating. - A dugout at Thomas Place, Mojave National Preserve
This well-built structure was most likely a place to store food and other items away from the direct rays of the sun. - I take a peek inside the dugout at the old Thomas Place homestead
As I approach the dugout, a large bird flies out, but the interior is unusually free of debris for a wild place. I wonder if someone comes by and cleans this out from time to time? - Thomas Place, Mojave National Preserve
Due to its state of decay, it's hard to tell if this structure was just a garage or perhaps a garage combined with lodgings. I don't get too close because a lot of yellowjacket wasps are buzzing around and appear to have nests in the broken stucco walls. - I leave Thomas Place and walk straight ahead up the road toward Live Oak Spring, crossing Death Valley Mine Road on the way
Four-way intersections on your Mojave Desert maps often look like this in person: no stop signs here. - I walk a couple of miles up Live Oak Spring Road on a gentle uphill grade
I cross some old pipe that probably used to lead down to Thomas Place, which I believe was supplied with water from Live Oak Spring. - The road comes around a bend and heads southeast toward the Mid Hills and Live Oak Spring
Live Oak Spring must be one of those green patches at the centre-right. The whole area is rather green, so it's hard to tell from here where the spring might be, without checking my maps. - I stumble across two campsites near the end of Live Oak Spring Road, Mojave National Preserve
This one is my favourite campsite of the two and is a possible candidate for a future bikepacking trip. - After checking my maps, I realize that I'm not quite at Mojave National Preserve's Live Oak Spring
I climb up a small hill, walk a bit, and find an animal trail that presumably leads up to Live Oak Spring. - I find myself in a narrow, shaded drainage
According to my GPS, this looks like it should be the wash that leads out of Live Oak Spring. - I know I'm at Live Oak Spring when I come across a wilderness camera
I still don't see any water, however, nor even any mud. - I look into the brush at which the wilderness camera points and discover a dribble of water on the ground
Live Oak Spring is almost dry right now, but not quite. The tiny quantity of available water is that purplish reflection on the ground beneath the brush. - OK, I've checked out Live Oak Spring; now I'm going to try walking over the hills toward Mid Hills campground
I hope that by following some drainage areas on my maps I'll be able to make it down the other side of the hills and avoid the many treacherously steep areas of the Mid Hills. - Climbing up the hill above Live Oak Spring turns out to be not so difficult
The cacti and rock demand all my attention, but the rock isn't as loose and slippery as I feared it might be. - Gaining height in the Mid Hills, I look northeast toward the hills that host Cabin Springs
Now that I've seen Live Oak Spring, Cabin Springs is the only spring area on the northwest side of the Mid Hills that I haven't seen yet. - On the way up the hill above Live Oak Spring, I turn back and get one of the better views of Cima Dome that I've had
Cima Dome is such a subtle formation that's it's only visible from a distance. When hiking in the Cima Dome area, you tend to just notice the joshua trees. - I pass some very interesting boulders above Live Oak Spring
Were these designs on the rocks produced by lichen? - Still heading uphill, I'm almost at the top of the hill above Live Oak Spring
The upper part of the climbing to this unnamed summit is fairly easy, but I keep wondering what I might encounter when I attempt to descend the other side. Hopefully I won't be forced to turn back and retrace my route. - I'm not sure what these red flowers are, but they look like something that hummingbirds would be happy with
These remind me of keckiella flowers... - I reach the unnamed pass in the Mid Hills above Live Oak Spring and get a glimpse south across Round Valley to Table Mountain
I hope that hiking down the other side toward Cedar Canyon Road and Mid Hills campground won't have too many obstacles! - I've arrived at the top of the wash that I identified on my maps and start walking down toward Cedar Canyon
Lots of footprints here, but I don't think any of them are from humans. - I pass through a green area with low shrubbery
The brush isn't so thick as to require bushwhacking or climbing out of the wash to avoid it. - I figure I have about 1.5 miles of descent ahead of me in this little canyon
This area is untouched by the fires that burned much of the Mid Hills back in 2005. Pristine! - There's a lot of interesting rock in this canyon
There's also a lot of rock to avoid while walking... - Some of the rocks need to be hopped over
However, nothing in this canyon yet requires mountain-climbing skills. - I notice a few moist spots here and there as I climb over the rocks in what I've decided to call Seep Canyon
The moist spots aren't big enough to be considered as springs, so it's no surprise that they're not indicated on my maps. - I continue the scenic descent down Seep Canyon
Walking here can be almost dizzying at times as I try to watch for obstacles on the ground and enjoy the texture festival around me at the same time. - I look back at another pile of rock that I just climbed down in Seep Canyon
I see another moist spot in a shady crevasse in the rocks. - A patch of grasses grows in a muddy spot in Seep Canyon like the ones at "real," identified springs
I've never thought before about what makes a marginal spring worthy of being identified and named. Some named desert springs don't even have this much vegetation. Perhaps nobody knows that this meagre spring exists? - There's even a small pool of water here in Seep Canyon
Actually, this is more water than I found at Live Oak Spring earlier today. A bit stagnant, but I'm sure the wildlife likes it. - I near the bottom of Seep Canyon and the canyon widens a bit
Cedar Canyon Road should be not far ahead down below in front of the hills ahead. - I stumble upon that abandoned alignment of the old Mojave Road again just before arriving at Cedar Canyon Road
Some of the dark clouds have returned. I rode a piece of this road a couple of days ago on the way to Howe Spring. I'll walk a short distance up this road before beginning the climb back up to Mid Hills campground. - I walk across Cedar Canyon Road, then Cedar Wash, then climb up the hill on a trail-less route back to Mid Hills campground
The easiest, but longer, route from here back to Mid Hills campground would be to walk up Black Canyon Road. However, I want to explore a little and hike the hills in front of me instead. I eat a Larabar apple pie bar on the way up the hill. - A joshua tree sprouts in the heavily burned hills south of Cedar Canyon Road
The joshua tree sprout looks tender, but I learned that it's as tough as a nail by riding over one (and getting a flat tire) near Keystone Canyon during my 2000 Mojave National Preserve trip. - A burned joshua tree in the Mid Hills a couple hundred feet above the south side of Cedar Canyon Road
It will be quite a few years before this burned landscape grows back to be as green as the areas around Live Oak Spring and Seep Canyon that I hiked earlier today. - From almost 400 feet above Cedar Canyon Road, I have a nice view to the north across to Seep Canyon, which I just hiked down
Seep Canyon is the downward indentation straight ahead and a bit to the left in the green hills in the background. Live Oak Spring is beyond that, at the bottom of the other side of the hill. - The northeast view from this vantage point provides an overview of Cedar Canyon that I haven't seen before
The view extends well beyond Cedar Canyon across the northern Mid Hills toward the Howe Spring area that I visited a few days ago. - I head southwest across the burned Mid Hills plateau back toward the campground, with Eagle Rocks in the distance
I have a panicked moment when I set my orange GPS unit on the ground and have a hard time finding it again because it blends in so well with the gravelly soil here. I walk around in circles until I relocate it. - Desert four o'clock flowers brighten up this brown landscape northeast of Mid Hills campground
I keep walking, enjoying the views, but these last few miles feel a bit longer than expected, perhaps because it's still often gently uphill and I'm getting tired. - The luminosity of sunset starts to set in on the Mid Hills, with Eagle Rocks in the distance
Mid Hills campground should be over on the middle ridge ahead of me, somewhere to the left. - The challenge right now is to hike to my left and get over to that middle ridge without descending down into Eagle Rocks wash
Great view from here across Kelso Valley and over to Cima Dome. - In front of a Providence Mountains backdrop, I can see one of the toilet buildings at Mid Hills campground in the distance
Obviously, I won't be able to walk in a straight line from here to there due to the steep intervening drainages, but I'll try to make up a reasonably direct route as I go. - Despite my plan, I end up dipping back down into a drainage wash a bit north of my Mid Hills campsite
I resign myself to one last short steep down and up for the day. After 14 miles, and 2400 feet of elevation gain, a little more won't hurt me! - I walk up the drainage to the campground and almost resurface at the back of the wrong campsite at Mid Hills
Approaching the campsite, which I can't see due to the trees, I hear voices, realize where I am, and make a quick detour over to my own campsite. The campers probably hear me and think I'm an animal in the brush. Maybe I am. - Back at Mid Hills campground, 7.5 hours after starting today's hike, I settle in for my sixth and last night here
What a great day it has been. It's still 73 degrees, absolutely perfect weather! I have a lot of stickers to remove from my socks tonight. - I take in my final sunset from Mid Hills campground toward the Clark Mountains the distance, where I hope to be in a few days
Tomorrow I'm headed down to Nipton in the hotter valley below, whether I like it or not. I need a shower. Badly. And I also need to do a laundry. And drop the mortgage payment in the mail at the Cima mail box. Supper tonight is Mountain House Chicken Teriyaki with Rice, which is delicious. I eat it a little too quickly. Being Saturday night, I have neighbours again at Mid Hills campground, but they are more pleasant than last night's, and they go to bed early. Sleep comes easily tonight. - Round-trip hiking route from Mid Hills campground to Thomas Place, Live Oak Spring and "Seep Canyon" (Day 8)
14.1 hiking miles and 2585 feet of elevation gain (and loss). Follow the route in the clockwise direction. - Elevation of round-trip hike from Mid Hills campground to Thomas Place, Live Oak Spring and "Seep Canyon" (Day 8)
14.1 hiking miles and 2585 feet of elevation gain (and loss).