Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Spring 2011: Mojave National Preserve and area bicycle camping / Day 12: Five-springs hike in the northern Mid Hills/New York Mountains, Mojave National Preserve 90
- A sandy wash near my tent makes for a nice place to dig my morning cat hole, but of course I won't disturb this chia sage
I woke up many times last night with weird dreams, none of which I remember. Perhaps it was the occasional strong winds that woke me. I was tired enough that I fell back asleep easily. - Light clouds moved in overnight, attenuating the morning sun and allowing me to sleep in until 9h30, wow!
It's cool and breezy this morning, and quite comfortable inside the tent as I munch on breakfast: the usual granola, almonds, dried fruit, vitamin-C drink and instant Starbucks coffee. - The wind has picked up again, so I place large rocks inside my tent before leaving on today's hike
I don't want the tent to blow over while I'm gone for the day (which has happened before)! Tent stakes don't work very well in most desert soil, which tends to be either too hard or too soft. - I've been hearing occasional bluejay chirps all morning
There s/he is... - The Five Springs hike begins and I pass a blooming Goodings verbena as I walk away from my campsite
I've narrowly missed much of the spring flowering season here. Some areas of the Mid Hills and New York Mountains have a lot of these verbena flowers earlier in the year. - A couple of bluejays perch on a burned tree, watching my tent
Thank you, please defend my tent against any possible intruders while I'm gone hiking! - I start by walking up the road toward Howe Spring, spring #1 of 5 on today's hike
A few old junipers survived the 2005 brush fires here, even though much of the vegetation burned. - Approaching Howe Spring, I notice some old scrub oaks growing back from their burned structure
Turbinella oak (Quercus turbinella), I believe. - The old cistern at Howe Spring is dry, but there is some water in the adjacent hole in the ground
It looks like this was a well-maintained spring once upon a time. - The water at Howe Spring is quite stagnant!
A water filter would probably make this safe to drink, but I'm glad I've brought sufficient water with me today (6 litres). - I continue walking up the wash beyond Howe Spring toward the top of one of the forks of Butcher Knife Canyon
About 3/4 mile ahead, I'll start heading downhill. I've previously hiked the lower part of Butcher Knife Canyon, but not the upper area, so I'm excited. - I relax at the top of Hill 1751-T above Butcher Knife Canyon and try my cell phone before hiking down to the sandy wash below
I get some reception here at 5720 feet elevation, just enough to send a text message. I should have better reception later on around at the bottom of Butcher Knife Canyon. - The hike down into Butcher Knife Canyon starts off as a small, rocky drainage
Prior to the 2005 brush fires, this area would have been quite green and shady. - A few yellow Groundsel flowers and orange Desert mallows brighten up the burned area here
I wonder if these plants would have grown here before the 2005 brush fires... - Upper Butcher Knife Canyon just looks like a bunch of sand at first, but many little pincushion flowers grow here
Probably Chaenactis fremontii. - An instant later, I arrive near the top of Butcher Knife Canyon and start the downhill hike
I visited Butcher Knife Canyon back in 2008, but only hiked the lower areas. I'm looking forward to seeing the upper part of the canyon on the way down. - A little further down Butcher Knife Canyon, a green carpet covers the sandy ground
It's going to get greener as I descend further down the canyon. - I've just reached the really green part of Butcher Knife Canyon
I haven't seen another person today, so all is quiet, except for the wind. I think I can hear a trickle of water somewhere nearby. There's a reason that these plants are so green, despite being in the Mojave Desert! - Aha, a trickle of water passes by these Mimulus bushes (Monkey flower) and their yellow flowers in upper Butcher Knife Canyon
Water in the desert! - There's enough water here in upper Butcher Knife Canyon that the stream channel is quite brushy
Suddenly, hiking is becoming much slower as I attempt to avoid the densest brush. I encountered a rattlesnake in this canyon when I hiked here in 2008. - The stream in upper Butcher Knife Canyon is not big, but it is constant
Its gurgling is a soothing sound. - As much as possible, I try to walk along the rocky sides of Butcher Knife Canyon, instead of through the thick brush
I find myself often going from one side of the creek to the other because the canyon walls are too steep. - On the other side of Butcher Knife Canyon, I find myself on ground too steep (again), and have to climb back down to the stream
Hiking always looks easier on the other side of the stream, no matter which side I'm on! - Nice, a little pinyon pine growing on the side of Butcher Knife Canyon
After the brush fires of 2005 killed so many of these around here, we need more of these young ones. - I come around a bend in Butcher Knife Canyon and get my first view out toward Cima Dome
I'm hitting another loose section of rock on the side of the canyon here, so I have to climb back down. - I have more patches of brush to cut through or circumvent here in Butcher Knife Canyon
I'll cross over to the other side of the stream to see if I can avoid this. - I've seen a few penstemons blooming here in Butcher Knife Canyon today
Palmer's Penstemon. - I climb up some rocks, but it's a dead-end, so back down to the Butcher Knife Canyon stream I go
It's an easy staircase to climb down, with a trickle of water running in one of the crevices. - I'm getting close to the mouth of Butcher Knife Canyon now
...but I do have to climb back down to the stream again. - There's enough water at this spot in Butcher Knife Canyon for a small pool to form
This is the same rocky area where I saw a rattlesnake on my 2008 Mojave National Preserve trip. - This is my official photo of Butcher Knife Spring, spring #2 on today's five-spring hike
Of course, I passed the actual spring source a while ago further up Butcher Knife Canyon without noticing it. - Exiting the mouth of Butcher Knife Canyon, erosion in the sand shows that there's quite a bit of water here from time to time
...but not today, not in late May. - I'm finally out of Butcher Knife canyon and walking down an easy-to-hike sandy area
It's always nice to find water in the desert, so the peaceful hike in Butcher Knife Canyon was enjoyable and leisurely. However, it took more time than I anticipated. - A few verbenas are still flowering in the mouth of Butcher Knife Canyon
Gooding's verbena, the last of the season. - The road up to Butcher Knife Canyon is just outside the Wilderness boundary, beyond which vehicles are prohibited
I'll make a left turn just ahead and start hiking cross-country toward Cottonwodd Spring, spring #3 on today's hike. - Ah, an old Gordon's dry gin bottle...
There are some small, defunct mines in this area, so it was once lightly inhabited, at least temporarily. - I hike across an area with a lot of Fremont pincushion flowers
I remember this area, and these Fremont's pincushion flowers, from my hike here in 2008. - Cottonwood Spring is only a bit more than a mile away
It's off to the left in the slot in front of the low mountain ahead. - Burned joshua trees are scattered across this plain, but fragments of the old juniper forest survived the 2005 brush fires
On the other side of upper Ivanpah Valley are the Ivanpah Mountains, which I haven't explored, and the Clark Mountain Range pokes up in the background. - There's quite a bit of Paperbag bush growing on the burned plain between Butcher Knife Canyon and Cottonwood Spring
Salazaria mexicana, a very cool plant. - I'm always happy to pass flowering Desert sages (Salvia dorrii)
Even if they're not flowering, they still smell great. - Other animals before me have carved a bit of a path in the stiff blackbrush on the the plain
It's impossible to hike here in a straight line due to the brush, and occasional cholla cacti. - There's never a shortage of rock formations to amuse one's eyes while hiking in the Mid Hills and New York Mountains
This one might be a bird, with its head drawn in toward its body, just barely poking out. OK, I've been out here for almost two weeks now, and I'm starting to see things... - I locate the stream that emanates from Cottonwood Spring and start following it upstream
I'm not seeing water yet, but there is enough residual moisture for one to know that water was flowing here recently. - I arrive at what appears to be the source of Cottonwood Spring, spring #3 on today's hike
I check my GPS and realize that I must be at a nearby seep, and not at Cottonwood Spring itself. Well, it has water, so I'm happy to see it. - I figure that I might as well walk over the hill to the real Cottonwood Spring as marked on my maps, since I'm in the area
I find a bit of moisture there too, but not a whole lot. - My next goal is to climb over those hills and arrive at the Cabin Springs area, spring #4 of the day
Cabin Springs is a bit more than 1.5 miles cross-country away over these hills. - Part of the hillside leaving Cottonwood Spring is covered in sagebrush, and a few pinon pines
I seem to have a bit of an animal trail that I can follow here, at least briefly, which makes hiking easier. - I stumble across a small prospect above Cottonwood Spring, Mojave National Preserve, not marked on my map
Apparently, no valuable ore was discovered here, since there's no mine immediately nearby. - One of the hilltops between Cottonwood Spring and Cabin Springs is topped with numerous flowering cacti
Probably Opuntia basilaris (Beavertail cactus). - The hills between Cottonwood Spring and Cabin Springs are high enough to provide great views
...and the hiking is steep in places too, though not quite as difficult as I expected. - This open hillside in the Mid HIlls boasts a few delphiniums and Desert sage flowers between the junipers and pinon pines
There's even an orange Desert mallow blooming here! - Hmmm... a pink ribbon tied to a tree branch, marking a hiking route in this remote part of the New York Mountains
... and here I thought I was the only one who had ever hiked here. Perhaps the animal-trail fragments I've been seeing here and there have been used by humans more often than I thought. - More awesome zoom-in views across Ivanpah Valley from the hills between Cabin Springs and Cottonwood Springs
Some of the brown stuff down there is Ivanpah Dry Lake, near Primm, Nevada, where I started this trip 11 days ago. - I'm on a little plateau now, headed toward the Cabin Springs area
This area of mixed joshua-juniper forest was spared by the 2005 brush fires here, and is still green. Typical scenic rocky New York Mountains landscape. Beautiful and serene. - That rock outcrop on the ridge line at far left looks like a hawk's head
I see two eyes and a beak. Do you? Gotta love the Mid Hills and New York Mountains for this kind of scenery. - This views down the hill toward Cima Dome across upper Ivanpah Valley are quite nice
... of course! - I keep looking at the hawk-head rock formation as I walk past the hills near Cabin Springs
One could easily spend a couple of hours just there, climbing the rocks. - I reach a sandy wash near Cabin Springs, so I walk down it briefly
I keep checking my GPS so as to not go too far. - More rocky ridges near Cabin Springs
The ridge line here is much more jagged, and probably less accessible, than in the Butcher Knife Canyon area where I hiked earlier today. - I arrive at a stream flowing down from Cabin Springs and follow it for a short distance
Cabin Springs, spring #4 on today's hike. I wish I had more time to continue upstream and explore Cabin Springs, since this is my first time here. But it's already almost 16h30. - It's past 16h30 now, and I realize I have to climb up over the ridge and skip a side trip to Live Oak Spring
This was going to be a six-springs hike, but I guess it will just be five. A steep 600-foot climb up over the ridge here will get me over to the other side of the mountains where I'm camped. - To my surprise, out here in the middle of nowhere in the New York Mountains, I come across a rock cairn
After studying my maps a few minutes ago, I concluded this would be the easiest route over the trail-less ridge. I guess the others who came here before me would concur with that! - The hill above Cabin Springs that I need to climb is fairly steep
I hope I don't run into any impassible spots. I realize that with all the rock accumulations around here, I might have to take a detour at some point. - I have good footing on this hill, but have to be careful not to get to close to those yuccas in case I slip!
Yucca leaves are like pointy knives! - Just look at the rocks and keep climbing upward!
...and be careful where you put your hands, in case of snakes... - More rocks, and even a few old fallen trees, to climb over on the way up the hill above Cabin Springs
No major obstacles yet! - As I reach the top of a rock staircase above Cabin Springs, the views begin to open up behind me
The temperature is a pleasant mid-70s F today, and the shade here in the juniper forest is helping to make the uphill climb here easier than I expected. - I'm getting closer to the ridge, near one of the spires that tower over the Cabin Springs area
I was down below looking up at these rock formations a short while ago. - As I get close to the New York Mountains ridge, I can now see all the way across Ivanpah Dry Lake in the distance
When the hills are steep, it only takes a few minutes for the views to change significantly. It's very rewarding. - I reach the crest of the New York Mountains; my world suddenly changes with views to the other side
In the distant right are the hills around the Mid Hills campground, where I just spent four nights. Flat-topped Table Mountain is unmistakable over on the left side of Round Valley. - The route back to my Pinto Valley campsite will be cross-country, with lots of little ups and downs
I still have about four miles of hiking ahead of me. I start by dipping down into a shady wash, which I follow for a hundred feet or so. It's easy to imagine a vigourous stream of water here in the sand. - I cross over to another small drainage, then follow it uphill a short distance
I need to cross over the hill on my right, so I don't follow the little wash too far, as tempting as it is. - The wash I'm following enters a semi-moist, shady area, so I climb up out onto the hill alongside it; where to go next...
I didn't map out this part of the hike very well, so I'm spending a lot of time guessing to best cross the endless little hills and dales on the way back to my tent. - I find myself on a open area of the New York Mountains from which my eyes can follow Black Canyon Road across Round Valley
I've ridden that road many times on my bicycle, both in daylight and darkness, but I've never seen it before from this perspective. - I check the GPS and decide to head for the slot between those two hills, then turn slightly to the left
I've been constantly checking the GPS during the past half hour, since this area is rather confusing with its constant ups and downs. - From here, I can see all the way to the Providence Mountains if I zoom in hard enough
I was hiking down there a few days ago. - After another GPS check, I see I need to climb over this little hill ahead, to the left of the pinnacles
With the impending sunset, the lower areas between hills are starting to be in shade. Bathtub Spring is somewhere over there! - I'm almost back to Pinto Valley, but not the part where I want to be (Bathtub Spring)
So instead of walking down the sandy drainage here, I continue cross-country to my left, over another hill or two. - OK, Bathtub Spring should be over that way, beyond the hills just to my right
It would be fun to deviate from my plan and explore those pinnacles over there, but I'm hoping to get out of these hills and back to camp by dusk. - I start hiking over and around this pile of rocks, aiming at Bathtub Spring
The most direct route over to Bathtub Spring looked too steep on my maps, so I decided to try this slightly longer one. In this rugged landscape, it can be hard to tell exactly where one is: the GPS unit really helps a lot! - From this hill, I get a good look at the back (north) side of Pinto Mountain, part of which I hiked last year
It's so much more rounded in this view, compared to the eroded escarpments that one sees on the other side from Cedar Canyon Road. - I'm between a few hills, and I should find myself overlooking the Bathtub Spring area once I reach the top
I find myself hiking rather briskly now, in a race with the fading daylight. I have to be careful to not be too inattentive in my haste; this is not a good place to break an ankle! - I get a decent view from these hills of Drum Peak as the sun goes down
My tent should be down there somewhere in the middleground, though I can't locate it. - I start my final descent for the day, into the little valley where I should find Bathtub Spring
Bathtub Spring should be up there where the sandy wash starts to disappear in front of the hills. - I arrive at Bathtub Spring at sunset, which is not the same Bathtub Spring where I hiked last week
Two springs in Mojave National Preserve are called "Bathtub Spring", not far from each other, so this one is sometimes referred to as "Bathtub Spring Mid Hills," to differentiate it from "Bathtub Spring New York Mountains." - Despite some algae, the water quality here at Bathtub Spring is quite good this year, but my MSR water filter is having problems
A reliable source told me to expect good water here this year, and I thank them greatly for that! I filter a couple of litres of water in the fading sunlight before returning to camp and ending the day's hike. - My camera and I catch some nice sunset colours on the way back to my tent; I arrive around 20h15
A really windy evening; silence alternates with strong wind gusts that hit my tent hard. Supper around 22h is Natural High Honey Lime Chicken with a bit of wild rice, which is tasty and slightly tart, but a bit on the light side (only 400 calories when I eat "both" portions [it supposedly serves two], not quite enough for a hungry hiker). Silence arrives suddenly around 1h and then I fall asleep. A beautiful day finally ends. - Five-springs hike in the northern Mid Hills/New York Mountains: route
12.2 hiking miles and about 2300 feet of elevation gain. - Five-springs hike in the northern Mid Hills/New York Mountains: route
12.2 hiking miles and about 2300 feet of elevation gain.