Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Fall 2012: Mojave National Preserve bicycle-camping and hiking, Lanfair Valley loop / Day 2: Slaughterhouse Spring hills and old Ivanpah railway bed hike 59
My energy is low again today, but the Slaughterhouse Spring canyon makes for an inspiring day hike. I had hoped to hike this canyon during my May 2012 trip. 13.8 hiking miles and about 1500 feet of elevation gain (and loss). I see no other people today.
- Nice, almost warm morning near Slaughterhouse Spring; I wake up baking in my tent around 8h30
I'm surprised at the expiring Desert senna flowers here and there; I didn't realize they can bloom in autumn. My energy is still a bit low this morning, but I head out on today's hike after breakfast anyway. - My first stop of the day is to see see what's at Slaughterhouse Spring
I haven't been here before. I've heard that there's no water available here, so I'm not expecting any. - Slaughterhouse Spring, Mojave National Preserve
As I expected, there's not much water here. But there is a little, perfect for use in case of an emergency! - It was fun checking out Slaughterhouse Spring; time to continue up the old road on today's hike
The old road passes through a gate as it leaves the area. - I pass a few buckwheat blossoms along the old road near Slaughterhouse Spring
They look fairly fresh, and I'm not expecting to see that out here at this time of year. A result of the recent big rains in the area? - Looking back behind me, I have a view of the old Goldome mine buildings off in the distance on the other side of Ivanpah Rd
I take note of the Bathtub Spring Peaks above it all, where I hiked in May 2011. - The old road here that serves as part of today's hiking route rolls up and down, and is rocky in places
A view of the New York Mountains peaks entertains me as I continue ahead. I quickly realize that I'd like to camp out in this area. - Nice views down to Ivanpah Valley behind me as I hike up the old road
Down in the distance is Primm, Nevada, where I started the night before last after getting dropped off by the Amtrak bus. - I run across some ruins on the way toward the canyon
An old corral? An outbuilding? - I think these old flowerheads in the wash are from last season's Cliff roses
I'm almost at the end of the dead-end road here, and there are even a few human footprints here in addition to the tire tracks. - Rock piles along the wash attract my attention
In particular, I notice the etching-like horizontal lines in one rock at centre-left. Hmmm. A pinon pine grows on top of the rock pile. - At the bottom of this pile of rocks is what I call the flat-foot rock toes
... or maybe it's knuckles on a fat hand? - I enter the canyon, and some of it is really narrow, at least at first
Cool and damp in the shady areas populated with small willow trees. It's a hidden world back here with no human footprints. What else is to come? - I encounter a small dry waterfall in the canyon
- A narrow spot in the canyon, with willows growing in the canyon floor
This keeps getting more interesting. - I like this canyon so far: a few more boulders to climb over ahead
I'm still not seeing any human footprints anywhere here. - Willows and mini dry waterfalls in the canyon
I push through the willows and arrive at another small dry waterfall. I can make it up this one too. - Dry waterfall: a bigger one this time!
This one I cannot climb up! However, I look around and decide that I should be able to climb up the east side of the canyon here. - Before I start climb up the adjacent hillside, I notice what I think is a young Palmer's penstemon sprouting in the canyon floor
... OK, time to climb up that hill. - It's a short steep climb out of the canyon, but I'm not experiencing any vertigo yet, which is good!
My footing is fairly firm for the most part, and I enjoy climbing up places like this, as long as I don't have to climb back down. - While climbing up the rocky hillside, I plow through a spider web by accident and have to brush this unusual spider off me
I don't think I've seen this kind of large spider before. It camouflages with the rocks. I think I also lightly poked my hand with a small cactus needle on the way up the hill and am hoping that I was not bitten by this spider! - On top of this hill above the canyon, I now have a clear vista across Ivanpah Valley
I can even see the straight line of part of Ivanpah Road stretching across the valley. - I like being up on my hill here, but there's more canyon down there for me to hike up
However, I think I stay up on the rolling hillside here for a little longer, in case there's another impasse waiting for me down in the canyon. - After 20 minutes of hiking near the ridge line, I still have nice views down into the canyon
There's no obvious route to follow up here: I'm constantly climbing up and down a little on this rugged hillside. - Once the canyon rises higher into a less rugged area, I decide to try continuing my hike in the canyon again
The canyon is more sandy than rocky up in this area. - Oh, a balloon in a remote location where people never go!
... and it is even printed with a nice rose pattern. I wonder what the bighorn sheep around here think about this design? - I'm now near my high point for the day (5000 feet elevation); Lecyr Spring should be not too far ahead
It's nice to be up high enough now to be in a forest of pinon pines and junipers. - I arrive at Lecyr Spring
To my surprise, there's not much more water here than there was when I visited a few months ago. It's fun to observe the water cycles of nature in this dry land. - Upon leaving the Lecyr Spring area, I can see across the upper part of Lanfair Valley to the Castle Mountains
I'll probably ride over to that area of Mojave National Preserve tomorrow. Much of today's hike will be downhill for the rest of the day as I walk across the valley ahead. - I hike down Lecyr Spring Road, which is quite eroded in places
High clearance required here! - I check out this guzzler not too far away, curious as to whether it contains water or not
Well, it contains no fresh water, but its water tank is nearly full of water, which seems rather stagnant. Again, useful in an emergency, but not my first choice for water. - I hike cross-country a while across rolling Joshua-tree-and-juniper forest in the Trio Mine area
It's not quite as a dense as the Joshua-tree forest near Cima, but many of the Joshua trees are mature and display the usual array of interesting shapes. - Hmmm, a skull
Non-human, fortunately (this time). - I'm getting hungry; time for an energy bar while hiking across the rolling highlands here
I'm still enjoying the junipers, Joshua trees, and the gentle ups while hiking across the plateau. I love this area and hiked nearby during my May 2012 trip as well. - Old rusty cans: That means I've arrived in the area of a former settlement!
Anything else of interest here? - I wonder if this collapsed structure was once a house
... or just an outbuilding of some kind. - Ah, there's an old-style water heater
So those ruins are most likely former living quarters... - And there's the old stove...
Old stoves like this sometimes burned wood, sometimes stove oil (like one in an antiquated rental house where I once lived), depending on the region. I wonder which fuel burned in this stove... - Once in a while, one stumbles across old abandoned vehicles in remote desert locations, like this one
A mostly buried carpet straddles the old road here, if you look closely. - Not sure what model of old car this is; it's van-like
... and it's really shot up (it seems that all abandoned cars in the desert are well shot-up!) - Merle Norman: I take a look at the partially buried carpet waste nearby
Looks like someone renovated a Merle Norman store somewhere and dumped the old worn carpet here. Pretty photos on the Merle Norman web site are quite different from this ugly view of the shop's garbage dumped in the Mojave Desert. - A family of small birds (probably Cactus wrens) flies away as I hike up the grown-in remains of an old desert road
A family of small birds (probably Cactus wrens) flies away as I hike up the grown-in remains of an old desert road The road hasn't been used in such a long time that it's basically invisible and doesn't even serve as a trail. It's fun to explore this short route by GPS, the only possible way, since I can't even see most of it! - My short hike up the invisible road ends and I begin hiking down a gently sloping wash toward Ivanpah Road
I pass the rusty leaves of several Rhus trilobata bushes on the way down the wash. - I encounter no other human footprints as I hike down this wash toward Ivanpah Road (and I haven't seen any other humans today)
Late-afternoon arrives early at this time of year in California, so I see both shade and yellow sunlight, depending on my exact location. - Salvia dorrii: I thought I detected the distinctive smell of desert sage earlier, and here's some
Possibly I've also been walking on Chia sage to produce the aroma; I've seen a few of those today as well. - Just before arriving at Ivanpah Road, I walk past a low rock wall with lichen growing on it
Great colors here; landscape-painter's delight! - The wash I've been following arrives at Ivanpah Road, so I cross it, and begin hiking the old railway grade
Looking forward to hiking this segment of the old railway grade, which I haven't hiked before. - Oh, another stray balloon, but this one is different!
Someone put a rock on this balloon to keep it from blowing away. I usually retrieve these stray balloons and throw them in the trash, but I may not pass by a garbage can for several more days, so I leave it here, under its rock. - I hike the 1.5-mile-long stretch of the old Ivanpah railway grade northbound to the Bathtub Spring area
Several slots were blasted through the rocky hills 100 years ago to create a fairly flat railway bed. The Bathtub Spring Peaks in the background, where I hiked in May 2011, pick up the golden pre-sunset light. - A lot of fill was used to build up the Ivanpah railway bed across low-lying drainage areas like this one
After 100 years, some of these fill areas are eroding significantly. - Today's Ivanpah Road, an important north-south corridor in the Mojave National Preserve, is visible behind me
I've often looked up at this old railway bed while riding up Ivanpah Road, but never got around to hiking it until today. I did hike a piece of it north of Bathtub Spring in my May 2011 trip out here. - Here's another slot blasted through the hill for the old Ivanpah railway
A Cholla cactus and a Desert Almond grow in the middle of the old railway bed here. The old railway bed is badly eroded at this location. - This stretch of the old Ivanpah railway bed is really returning to nature
You'd never know that trains rode straight ahead here 100 years ago. - Sunset approaches as I hike the old railway bed toward Bathtub Spring
- I'll hike through this one last blasted slot through the rock before reaching the Bathtub Spring area
- Imagine a train passing through here 100 years ago!
Joshua trees are growing here now. Bathtub Spring should be just up ahead. - I arrive at Bathtub Spring shortly after sunset and finally figure out how to get through the fence that protects the spring
Yes, there's even a bathtub here, a spring true to its name! (Bathtub Spring in the Mid Hills does not have a bathtub.) It's not obvious at first how to open the fence, but I persist, knowing that there must be a way to get to the water that I need. - I finish filtering water at Bathtub Spring just as it gets dark; I close the gate and hike the 3.5 miles back to camp
A few doves seem annoyed that I'm here at this crucial time of day for them, but, OK, I'm leaving. There's just enough moonlight for me to hike without my flashlight as long as I stay on the fairly wide Ivanpah Road. No cars pass by: true solitude. Another quiet evening and I make Mountain House Sweet and Sour Pork with brandy for dessert. A distant owl makes cooing sounds and a mouse plays with the side of my tent again later in the evening. I sleep well, perhaps finally catching up on the sleep deficit that I had when I started this trip. - Slaughterhouse Spring hills hike, elevation profile
13.8 hiking miles and about 1500 feet of elevation gain (and loss).