Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2010, Mojave National Preserve / Day 12: Malpais Spring to Nipton by bicycle, plus Ivanpah Valley sunset hike, Mojave National Preserve 49
I wish I had time for another day at Malpais Spring. Instead, today I'll backtrack my bicycle route from a few days ago to Nipton and do a short hike in the creosote-bush flats in Ivanpah Valley at sunset.
27.2 bicycle miles, 1900 feet of elevation gain, 3500 feet of elevation loss, plus 4.4 hiking miles.
- Time to pack up and leave Malpais Spring; it has been a great three nights here and I didn't encounter any other visitors
It was a bit windy overnight, but perfect sleeping temperature; I slept really well. Granola, dried fruit and coffee went down well. All that's left now is the dirty work of packing up. - All packed up, I ride down the dirt road away from my Malpais Spring campsite
The upper part of the road here is in decent shape. Plus, it's slightly downhill, which usually makes the riding better. - About a mile down the road from my campsite, I approach the defunct water tank and windmill of Stagecoach Well
The road is rougher here, and I had to walk up it when arrived here, but it's an easy ride down into the wash, taken carefully. - I stop at Stagecoach Well when I hear a rubbing sound and, yes, my rear wheel is rubbing against the bike frame again
I loosen my rear quick release, which seems tight, adjust the wheel's position, and remount the bike. I can't seem to get the quick release tight enough to prevent movement under the weight of a swaying full load (my rear rack is axle-mounted). - I arrive back at the "main road," Walking Box Ranch Road, and begin the 11-mile ride to the Nevada 164 highway
I'm backtracking the route to Nipton that I followed to get here three days ago. I considered taking an alternate route via Ivanpah Road, but I've ridden that route more often than Walking Box Ranch Road. - After a mile, I pass the "stateline" sign on Walking Box Ranch Road; I'm leaving California and entering Nevada
I'll be in Nevada for a few hours until I reenter California this afternoon near Nipton. - I stop briefly at an old corral behind which is an alternate old road leading to Malpais Spring
For variety's sake, I probably should have taken that road today, since I have plenty of time. However, with the problems that my rear wheel is giving me, I've been having some fears of breaking down in a remote location. - Residual pavement exists here and there on Walking Box Ranch Road
Now that there is no longer much mining activity in the area, I'm guessing that the pavement is no longer being renewed. In my notes from my 2000 trip here, I recorded that someone called this an "oiled road," not a paved road. - I pass the shot-up 5-mile marker on Walking Box Ranch Road
...meaning that I have five miles to go until I reach Nevada Highway 164. Most of Walking Box Ranch Road is long, straight, and slightly downhill, but here is one of several spots where it dips down to cross a wash. - A field of pinkish-white buckwheat flowers in the joshua tree forest on the west side of Walking Box Ranch Road
The flowers were pinker on the way here three days ago. Today's high clouds whiten the flowers. - A few more miles to go on Walking Box Ranch Road
Long, straight, slightly downhill, and a bit bumpy. - Stop sign in the desert: after 11 dirt-road miles, I reach the end of Walking Box Ranch Road
I turn left here and begin the climb up paved Nevada Highway 164. I'm at about 3940 feet elevation here, and started out at 4600 feet earlier this morning, with numerous little ups and downs along the route. - I begin the gentle 900-foot climb up Nevada 164 between Searchlight and Nipton
There's not a lot of traffic here on this Thursday at mid-day, but all traffic here is high-speed. - I make a stop at one of the Wee Thump Wilderness signs along Nevada 164
I take a water-and-energy-bar break here and enjoy the scenery. Wee Thump Wilderness was designated in 2002. - Near the Wee Thump Wilderness sign is an old dirt road that leads inland toward the McCullough Mountains
I recorded the track of this dirt road on my GPS in case I had time during this trip to visit the McCullough Mountains, but I don't. Next time perhaps? - After my break, I continue riding up Nevada 164 toward Crescent Peak
Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness is at my right along this stretch, and McCullough Mountains are ahead in the distance. I keep looking at the mountains since they were a possible destination during this trip. - As I climb Nevada 164, I enter the land of desert mallows and joshua trees
A radio tower crowns a hill on the south side of Nevada 164 opposite the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness. - Yellow desert marigolds decorate the shoulders of Nevada 164 east of Crescent Peak
The climb up the hill is really enjoyable; slow, but not strenuous, with minimal traffic and a cool breeze today. - The south side of Nevada 164 is very much alive
Yellow desert marigolds along the highway give way to orange desert mallows and joshua trees behind, in front of the hills. - I park the 10-ton bike and go for a walk in the desert-mallow field along Nevada 164
Across the road beyond the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness are the mountains in South McCullough Mountains Wilderness, which I had hoped to visit on this trip. There's never enough time for everything. - Orange desert mallows bloom amongst the mature joshua trees across the road from Nevada's Wee Thump Wilderness
I don't think I've ever seen so many desert mallows in bloom up close. - Joshua trees grow quite slowly, so these big trees here along Nevada 164 must be quite old
The 10-ton bike hides in the shade of that large joshua tree; I stopped here a few days ago for a quick break on my way to Malpais Spring. - The trunk of this joshua tree near Crescent Peak on Nevada 164 is thicker than most
The Las Pilitas California Native Plant Nursery web site states that joshua trees grow to 20 feet tall (like this one), but not in our lifetime. So how old is this tree? - Back on Nevada 164, I cross Crescent Pass at about 4850 feet elevation, my high point of the day
It will be all downhill from here to Nipton at about 3000 feet elevation. Fun! - The eight-mile downhill to Nipton on Nevada 164 begins!
Nice view towards Mojave National Preserve's New York Mountains as I start to lose 1800 feet of elevation. (Will it be hot down there?) - I take a break from speeding down Nevada 164 toward Nipton to look at a dirt road that leads into the hills
A network of old dirt roads here leads to the Juniper Spring area of Mojave National Preserve, where I hiked yesterday. - I continue zooming down Nevada 164 toward Nipton, California: miles of excellent downhill riding
Mojave National Preserve's Ivanpah Mountains, which I've barely explored, jut upward on the other side of Ivanpah Valley. - My eight miles of zooming downhill on the highway is about to end as I arrive at Nipton, that tuft of trees a mile or two ahead
My brief visit to Nevada has concluded and I'm back in California. It's amazing how quickly a drop of 1800 feet elevation can occur on a bicycle! - At the Nipton store, I check in for another night of tent camping, chat a bit, and buy some beer and salty potato chips
I often complain about over-salted food, but I always seem to crave extra salt after a few days on a bicycle-camping trip. - I'm looking forward to a big meal at the Nipton café in a few hours, the building next to the store with the big covered porch
I've arrived here at Nipton a bit earlier than expected, so I'll have time for a short sunset hike later amongst the creosote bushes on the floor of the Ivanpah Valley. - I set up the tent in the shade of Nipton's eucalyptus trees by the train tracks, like I did a few days ago
Due to the lower elevation, it's predictably warmer down here than it was up at Malpais Spring, but still comfortable at around 80 degrees. I'm lucky because it's often hotter at this time of year. - After a filling steak supper at the Nipton café and some socializing, I look across the train tracks; time to go for a walk
The New York Mountains take on a blue hue in the end-of-day sunlight. - I cross the train tracks at Nipton for a short sunset hike (four miles round-trip) and enter Mojave National Preserve again
I don't usually hike after a huge meal like I just ate at the Nipton café; I can feel its weight in my tummy! - Walking westward through the creosote bushes of Ivanpah Valley, I find myself between two power lines
The power lines on the right are along busy Nipton Road, while the ones on my left cut across the roadless open desert. - Most of Ivanpah Valley is dominated by creosote bushes, but here I pass through an area of small rounded shrubs
Distances are deceiving out here in the open desert. I'd like to walk down to the bottom of Ivanpah Valley ahead, but I doubt I'll make it that far before sunset. - I pass two small hills that seem out of place in the wide-open Ivanpah Valley, and a pile of old barbed wire
A nearby barbed-wire fence is mostly still extant; perhaps this abandoned wire comes from parts of that fence that have been taken down. - I pick up an animal trail through the creosote-brush scrub as I head down into Ivanpah Valley
Yep, I definitely won't make it to the bottom of Ivanpah Valley before the sun goes down. As usual, I should have started my hike earlier! - I discover an abandoned, deflated balloon under a creosote bush in Ivanpah Valley, not far from Nipton Road
Happy something to someone somewhere! Earlier today, I saw a ribbon along a road, but with no balloon attached; this is my first balloon sighting of the day. - The sun is dropping and the first glimmers of sunset in Ivanpah Valley are hitting my beard
It's time to turn around for the two-mile hike back to my tent at Nipton, and enjoy the Ivanpah Valley sunset. - A glance back toward Nipton, two miles away, reveals pink-orange hills
I start walking back toward "town," and my tent. - The orange glow cast across Ivanpah Valley hits the Lucy Gray Mountains in Nevada, just north of Nipton
The olive-green of the creosote-bush landscape is quite a contrast against the orange sunlight. - I still have another mile ahead of me before I reach the city lights of Nipton, and my tent
Spectacular sunset tonight! - Pink-orange stripes crown the New York Mountains on the southeast side of Ivanpah Valley
Those distant sharp points in the mountains are the Castle Peaks, which appeared prominently in views while hiking and camping around Malpais Spring during the last couple of days. - It's getting darker (and redder) by the minute as I follow a small drainage in the creosote-bush scrub on the way back to Nipton
I follow the "drainage trail" until it turns in the wrong direction, and hike cross-country between creosote bushes after that. - Mojave National Preserve sunset looking up Ivanpah Valley toward the Cima Dome area
Sunsets up at Cima Dome are often memorable. - The end of sunset behind the Clark Mountains, viewed from Ivanpah Valley, produces a nice yellow glow
It's getting dark and I walk the final 20 minutes back to Nipton with the aid of my flashlight. I heat up the outdoor hot tub, but I have cell-phone reception here, make a couple of calls and have no time left for a soak in the tub under the stars and the full moon. My tummy is still fat with food and sleep comes easily. - Ivanpah Valley sunset hike route from Nipton
4.4 hiking miles with 300 feet of elevation loss. - Malpais Spring, Mojave National Preserve to Nipton bicycle route elevation profile
27.2 bicycle miles, 1900 feet of elevation gain, 3500 feet of elevation loss. - Malpais Spring, Mojave National Preserve to Nipton bicycle route
27.2 bicycle miles, 1900 feet of elevation gain, 3500 feet of elevation loss.