Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Spring 2011: Mojave National Preserve and area bicycle camping / Day 14: Cliff Canyon Peaks hike, New York Mountains, Mojave National Preserve 71
From down below (in Ivanpah Valley), I've looked up at this part of the New York Mountains and wondered what's up there. It's much easier to get to from where I'm camped near Pinto Valley, which is partly why I'm here. 9.3 hiking miles plus about 1700 feet of elevation gain.
- Sleep, I don't want it to end!
But I have a nice hike ahead of me today in the New York Mountains, so it's time to start thinking about trying to get up. The wind this morning is keeping the tent cool inside, making it easy to sleep in late. - Breakfast this morning is a hot meal, not my usual routine of granola, dried fruit and nuts
Mountain House Beef Stew, one of my favourite add-boiling-water-to-bag meals. I fear it might be a heavy start to the day, but it turns out that I really need a bigger meal than usual. - Today's New York Mountains hike starts by walking up the road toward Howe Spring
My five-springs hike two days ago started this way too, but I turned left toward Howe Spring in front of the hill ahead. Today I won't. - I pass a Scrub oak growing in a crevice in the rocks near Howe Spring
There must be some soil in there somewhere for the oak's roots! - From here, I get a northeast view toward the highest peaks of the New York Mountains
Instead of heading in that direction, I'll hike off to the left (north), toward the lower New York Mountains peaks that overlook the Cliff Canyon Spring area. - Near some patches of Fleabane (I think) is a bright yellow flower that I haven't seen before
It looks like a Mariposa lily, but it's not orange like the ones I usually see. Lee suggests that this is a Munz' mariposa lily (Calochortus kennedyi var. munzii): thanks for the ID! - I stop to take a closer look at the Munz' mariposa lily
The orange Mariposa lilies are really orange, and this yellow one is really yellow. I notice several of these scattered around this area. - I arrive at a fork in the old roads in the New York Mountains foothills
I follow the track to my right. - Wilderness markers delineate the end of the old road for cars and bicycles
Hikers can proceed further, of course. I've recorded a couple of possible routes on my GPS for my hike up into the New York Mountains hills ahead. It's time to decide which route I'm taking! - No human footprints are found in this sandy wash as I continue my hike up into the New York Mountains
I like this feeling. - I pass a patch of bunch grasses in the New York Mountains foothills
This reminds me of the Muhlenbergia grass that I planted in my backyard. - I continue walking up the wash and am amazed when I reach a small stream
I had no idea there might be water here, since no springs are indicated here on my maps. - A thin cascade of water flows over the rocks in this unnamed New York Mountains stream
For an unnamed desert spring, this is a substantial amount of water. Many Mojave springs that have been deemed worthy of being named are dry right now. - Further up this unnamed spring, the water flow thins out a little, but I'm still surprised to discover this
There's enough water here that it could be filtered for drinking, but I have no idea if water is here most years. - I decide to climb up out of the wash onto the ridge at my left for easier hiking
The little ribbon of green down in the wash suggests that the spring which feeds this stream is a little further up. - I take a look behind me to see that I'm quite a few feet above Pinto Valley now
I'm now at about 5875 feet elevation, more than 500 feet above where I was a while ago. Those are the Hackberry Mountains way off in the distance. - I pass through a minimalist desert garden as I hike up the rocky New York Mountains foothills
Yellow Groundsel flowers, orange Desert mallow flowers, and light-blue Delphinium flowers. Just a few of each. - I'm just high enough now that I get perspective on most of my Butcher Knife Canyon hiking route two days ago
The sandy canyon at the distant centre-left is where I descended into upper Butcher Knife Canyon, whereas the sandy canyon at the right is where I exited the canyon later. - I've been noticing a few ladybugs on my way up the rocky terrain
.. here's one. - I take an energy bar (mmm, chocolate) break behind a boulder pile; it's really windy up here at 6015 feet elevation
.. and I'm not even close to the top yet! Gee, I thought it was windy down at my campsite... And the wind is rather chilly too. - I'm high enough now to see all the way across the west end of Ivanpah Valley
Out there in the haze is the gentle curve of Cima Dome. Butcher Knife Canyon is just down below at the left. - I hike up the rather barren hill toward the overlook above the Cliff Canyon Spring area
I have another 300 feet or so of elevation gain until I reach the top there. I'm finding that it's not quite as steep as I was expecting. - The top of the hill is really windswept, but a scattering of junipers seems to live just fine up here
The wide spacing between the junipers here is likely what allowed them to survive the brush fires that passed through here in 2005. - I reach Cliff Canyon Spring Peak #1 and take in the views from just under 6500 feet
Great views. It looks like it might be possible to hike down to Cliff Canyon Spring below (not today), which I thought would be too steep (and maybe it is too steep, in places). - I ramble along the ridge above Cliff Canyon Spring a bit, and send a few text messages to let folks that all is well
Cell-phone reception up here is not bad. I decide to take shelter behind an old barberry from the strong wind that's beginning to feel cold. The noise of the wind is making it hard to hear my phone messages! - There's so much wind that I've pretty much given up trying to wear my hat; it keeps blowing off my head
It's not for nothing that I wear a hat with a neck cord to help keep it from blowing away. - OK, it's time to come out from behind this big old barberry bush and walk up there to Cliff Canyon Spring Peak #2
It's just another 300 feet higher. - I come across another another one of those old rough-hewn wood fences that I always like
At first, I'm worried that I might not be able to get past it easily on the way to the next little summit. However, I quickly find an easy place to cross the barbed wire. - The old range fence crosses the view back down toward my Pinto Valley campsite
I can see all the way over to the easily recognizable landmarks that are Pinto Mountain and Table Mountain. - I keep looking back behind me at the saddle that leads down to Cliff Canyon Spring
Maybe vertigo-man here should just enjoy the views and not try hiking down those slopes. The haze out there blowing in from Los Angeles is quite remarkable. - Just a little further until I reach the top...
Many trees up here escaped the 2005 brush fires, but not all of them did. Perhaps the wind was blowing so hard that the fire didn't have a chance to burn everything it its path. - Up on Cliff Canyon Spring Peak #2 at about 6550 feet elevation is a claim marker and lots of low-growing cacti
That's Ivanpah Dry Lake off in the distance, nearly invisible from today's Los Angeles smog invasion. - From Cliff Canyon Spring Peak #2 at 6550 feet, I can make out Brant Road along the train tracks below, despite the visiting smog
I've explored a little down in that area in the past; very nice! - From here, I could continue downhill a few hundred feet and then up over to that next ridge in the New York Mountains
I think I'll leave that until next time. And no, I wouldn't have enough to go all the way to the New York Mountains peaks in the distance, even if this vertigo-man had enough daylight for that... - Up on Cliff Canyon Spring Peak #2 are a lot of ankle-high cacti
This makes for interesting "avoidance hiking," and I pick up a few needles in the soles of my shoes. - These burned tree skeletons near Cliff Canyon Spring Peak #2 don't care much about the strong winds up here!
Despite the smog, I can still sort of see Clark Mountain poking up in the distance. - Looking back toward my Pinto Valley campsite, I see a whole hillside that escaped the 2005 brush fires
Presumably, the hill protected the trees and allowed the wind to blow the flames right over them. - It's a clear sunny day above the smog layer that's blowing across the Ivanpah Valley below
When the wind dies down, will the smog layer dissipate? - I keep looking across upper Fourth of July Canyon at the New York Mountains peaks
If I had started today's hike a little earlier, I would have time to explore over that way a bit. - This pinon pine tree appears to have burned a bit during the 2005 brush fires, but not enough for it to die
Hopefully, it will drop enough pine cones to start a few more trees. They grow so slowly. - Several Claret-cup cacti up here on the Cliff Canyon Spring Peaks are blooming
Way off in the distance, I can see the high points of the Providence Mountains poking up behind the Cabin Springs Peaks. - I decide to follow the old range fence for a while as I start my way back down to Pinto Valley
I'm following a different saddle on the way down. With so much to explore out here, there's no point following the same route back to camp that I used to get up here. The New York Mountains peak on my left is Drum Peak. - I pass by a few junipers and see that I'm descending into an unusually green-looking little upland valley
Actually, it's yellowish green. - At the bottom of the valley, an uninterrupted patch of grey-green bunch grasses grows
The soil here is cracked, which suggests that the valley holds water for extended periods of time. - On the edge of the now-dry wet area are lots of tiny yellow flowers
At first I thought these are Goldfields, but I'm not sure what they are. - A few larger flowers also grow in this valley, which I think are Desert dandelions (Malacothrix californica)
I'm wondering what those little yellow flowers are... - After crossing the little valley, I take a look back up toward the Cliff Canyon Spring Peaks to look at its banded appearance
In the foreground is the band with little yellow flowers, then the grey-green band of bunch grass (which looks almost like sagebrush from here), followed by a band of juniper trees. - Some yellow Groundsel flowers also decorate the saddle I'm following back down to Pinto Valley
I find myself wondering what I always wonder when I'm out on these hikes: "When did someone last hike here?" - Well, I've just passed through some yellow; now it's time for some purple
After two weeks in the muted colours of the Mojave Desert hills, this purple patch seems so bright. - I'm not sure what these purple flowers are
Some kind of phacelia, perhaps? - It's interesting to find so many of these purple flowers on just this one hillside in the New York Mountains
I haven't seen these blue/purple flowers elsewhere in the area today, at least not yet. - I'm tempted to climb down into the sandy wash as I get closer to Pinto Valley
... but I still have a few more panoramic views ahead of me, so I'll stay up on the saddle. - As I hike downhill toward home, I see that some of the smog haze has blown into Pinto Valley as well
... but not nearly as much as what I saw looking down into Ivanpah Valley from the Cliff Canyon Springs Peaks a while ago. - I'm officially at the bottom of the New York Mountains foothills now
The familiar Howe Spring pinnacles are not all that far ahead now, and I'm hiking on what's left of the old road here. - One bush that I encounter occasionally in the Mojave Desert Mountains is the Barberry
Even the leaves on this guy are hard and sharp, though not quite like a cactus. Best of all, many of them have sprouted back after being burned by the 2005 brush fires out here. - I'm back down in Pinto Valley earlier than expected, so I go for a walk up a barely visible old road on the way back to camp
The road is returning to nature and isn't always easy to follow. - A few stretches of the old road here on the other side of Howe Spring are still well-defined
And a few more old juniper trees in the area here survived the 2005 brush fires. - I decide to go climb a few boulders over on the nearby rock pile
Who knows what I might find there on my way back home! - It's fun to hike over the rocks in this quiet corner of Pinto Valley
I don't stumble across anything special here, but the endless lines and textures are a pleasure to explore. - Looking back at the New York Mountains foothills, I realize that today's hike was not too difficult, and worth the effort
The Cliff Canyon Spring Peaks up there are about 1000 feet higher than here. Effort and some fitness is required, but you don't need to be an athlete to do this hike. - As I walk around the rocks near Howe Spring, I reflect on how I haven't seen another human for almost 4 days
Solitude! - This pile of rocks reminds me of a rabbit viewed in side profile, with its head facing toward the right
Yes, I've been in the desert for two weeks now... - Front-on, these rocks look like a twisted, drunken face
Popeye would be proud of this rock outcrop. - Nearby is another interesting rock outcrop
Rocket-launch rock. - This part of Howe Spring Road follows a sandy, eroded wash
Judging by the erosion along the road, this might look like a small river during heavy rainfall. - I pass yet another sculptural pile of rocks in Pinto Valley on the way back to my tent
The rolling hills in the background are the north side of Pinto Mountain. - As I get closer to my tent, I notice my tire tracks and footprints from the past few days here in Pinto Valley
I guess no one else has come up this road since I've been here... - Arriving back at my tent, I take note of the patch of pink Desert primroses near the fire ring
There's almost as much wind down here by my tent as there was up in the New York Mountains hills (as you can see by the leaning flowers and grass). - I'm going to boil water for supper on this side of the tent, to shelter my gas flame from the wind
Supper will be Backpacker's Pantry Kathmandu Curry (vegan and tasty), plus my last few pieces of buffalo jerky. I have very little food left, but tomorrow I'll be riding back to Primm, Nevada to end this trip. - One last sunset at Pinto Valley
Despite the clear skies, it's incredibly windy tonight (again). At this point, the tent is trying to lift off and blow away. The big rocks I placed in the tent are keeping it down, but they're starting to wear through the tent fabric. I hope I can get enough sleep inside the noisy tent. I'm tired, so I manage to fall asleep easily around 23h30, despite my tent flapping in the gusty winds, but I keep waking up during the night for extended periods of time. - Cliff Canyon Peaks hike, Mojave National Preserve, hiking route
9.3 hiking miles plus about 1700 feet of elevation gain.