Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2010, Mojave National Preserve / Day 4: Pinto Mountain day hike, Mojave National Preserve 67
- I'm happy to wake up and find myself at Mid Hills campground, Mojave National Preserve
I lose a layer of dirt, sweat and sunscreen as I wash myself down for the first time since leaving Baker; it feels great. Always a nice place to wake up. It was cool overnight and I slept incredibly well. Other than some tired muscles from yesterday's climb up from Kelso, I'm surprised that I feel in good shape this morning. - A lizard on a rock near my tent says "Good morning!" as I step outside my tent after a relaxed breakfast
Breakfast is more of the usual works-for-me stuff: two cups of Starbucks instant Via coffee (black), a cup of vitamin C drink, tamari almonds, granola, dried apricots, dried coconut. - Some regrowth at Mid Hills campground, almost five years after the 2005 brush fires
Probably antelope brush in this case. - This old pinon pine near my tent at Mid Hills campground is in a green pocket that escaped the 2005 brush fires
The pine tree contrasts with a blooming red claret cup cactus and a banana yucca. - I do a test ride to a nearby campsite after fixing the bike's misaligned rear wheel; nice view of Cima Dome from this site
Expecting to replace a damaged axle, I find instead that the quick-release on the rear axle has loosened a bit. The spring on my rear brakes also seems screwy, so I try to straighten it out, but don't force it too much in case I make it worse. - As I ride the 3/4 mile out of Mid Hills campground, I stop to see if the water is better here than from the tap by my campsite
The water from this tap turns out to be pleasantly potable, and not over-chlorinated like the swimming-pool water from the tap by my campsite. I fill my bottles. This part of the campground burned heavily in the 2005 brush fires, but across the road from this charred landscape (far right), a stand of old junipers lives on. - Across the road from the washrooms, a patch of phacelias bloom amidst a stand of junipers, pinon pines and yuccas
Most of Mojave National Preserve's Mid Hills campground here looked something like this before the 2005 brush fires. - I ride two miles down Wild Horse Canyon Road, then ride north on Black Canyon Road
The downhill is nice! I stop here to check out an old cistern at my left. Private property (some of it for sale) lies behind the fence to my right. - The old cistern here by Holliman Well off Black Canyon Road, with Pinto Mountain in the background, is full
The water is looking a bit stagnant, but nothing that a water filter couldn't take care of, if necessary. Still, I prefer my chlorinated water from Mid Hills campground, if only because I'm too lazy to pump water unnecessarily. - Back on Black Canyon Road, I hear hissing, and see a bit of "Slime" oozing out of my front tire to prevent a flat
Something punctured my tube yesterday, but I only lost a little air while the "Slime" inside filled the gap and dried. Much better than a flat tire! Again, the hissing stops after a moment, puncture sealed, no flat. Thank you "Slime!" - A bit further north on Black Canyon Road, I reach my shortcut road over to Cedar Canyon Road and Pinto Mountain
I tried this short road last year on the way to Howe Spring in the northern Mid Hills, and it turns out to be an excellent mountain-biking road. - The shortcut road to Cedar Canyon Road is a good two-track for a short distance, up to a secluded campsite under an old juniper
People have chopped off parts of this juniper over the years as firewood, but some still remains alive. Since people can't resist, I expect to return one day and find no juniper in the middle of this campsite. - This is another area of the Mid Hills that was partially burned, but not completely, during the 2005 brush fires
A few trees around here escaped the flames. - Beyond the juniper campsite, the shortcut road to Cedar Canyon Road fades out somewhat due to lack of use
Many orange desert mallow flowers add colour to the landscape. The flowers are numerous, but small, which means that they are more visible to the human eye than a camera lens. - Off-camber stretches of the shortcut road toward Pinto Mountain make it unusable by low-clearance vehicles
... but it's perfect on a mountain bike. - The shortcut road descends to Cedar Canyon Road and then crosses it
I'll cross Cedar Canyon Road below, pick up a leftover alignment of the old Mojave Road, then stash my bike so I can start the hike to Pinto Mountain. - I stash my bicycle behind some dead trees near the old Mojave Road and start the hike to nearby Pinto Mountain
The backpack comes out of my saddlebags and gets filled with supplies for a few hours: epipens in case of yellowjacket sting, sweater (which seems unnecessary, but one never knows), Clif bars, full water bottles, GPS, and camera. - The Pinto Mountain hike starts by passing through the Wilderness-boundary markers
I'll approach Pinto Mountain from the back (left in this view) side. The front side is too steep for me, but might be fun for real mountain-climbers. - An old closed road beyond the Wilderness boundary on the west side of Pinto Mountain makes for a perfect trail
After about half a mile, the old road merges into Cedar Wash, and then disappears. - White thistle in Cedar Wash on the way to Pinto Mountain, Mojave National Preserve
I'm looking for a drainage area ahead on my right that should lead me up to Pinto Mountain without too much slip-sliding steepness. - Still in Cedar Wash, to my right is one of two locations I marked on my GPS unit as a possible route up Pinto Mountain
I turn right here and look forward to what I will discover... Hopefully I won't hit a vertical wall on the way up. - Bright red hummingbird flowers growing in the gravelly drainage west of Pinto Mountain
From what I've read, this looks like Ipomopsis arizonica. - I climb past a few junipers on the way up the drainage area to Pinto Mountain
I'm not seeing any human footprints here, so I guess this isn't a frequently traveled route. Traction isn't the firmest, but it's not dangerously slippery like some slopes. - Steep uphills are always satisfying when one turns around to see how much one has risen in such a short time
Effort pays off! - A few patches of verbena are still flowering in the semi-shady drainage as I rise up the back of Pinto Mountain
I'm here a bit late in the season; a month ago, there were probably many more verbena flowers. - Also still blooming on the north side of Pinto Mountain are a few tufts of phlox
They seem to prefer the gravelly soil just above the drainage. - I'll keep hiking up to the top of the semi-barren slope, and then I should be at the top of Pinto Mountain
The slope here up the back (north) side of Pinto Mountain doesn't resemble the steep escarpment of its front side at all. - At the crest of Pinto Mountain, the southward views of Round Valley are excellent, as one would expect
Flat-top Table Mountain is a dominant feature to the south and it's fun to see Cedar Canyon Road from above, snaking across Round Valley. Due to vertigo, I can't get too close to the edge! - It's a steep drop down the front of Pinto Mountain to Round Valley
This part of Pinto Mountain is not much more than 600 feet above Round Valley, but the steepness of the mountain face makes it dramatic. - I look over to Purdy Peak, the highest point in the Pinto Mountain formation
I probably won't climb Purdy Peak, but I will mosey on over in that direction shortly as I explore more of the mesa here. - A glance to the west shows how the slope up the back of Pinto Mountain ends abruptly at the steep escarpment
I'll walk over there shortly; I'm walking in the opposite direction right now. - Orange desert mallow blooms splash some colour on the view toward Mid Hills campground and Eagle Rocks, Mojave National Preserve
A lot of desert mallow is growing between the rocks at Pinto Mountain. The pinnacles of Eagle Rocks are clearly visible from here, though Mid Hills campground isn't. - Northeast of Pinto Mountain are views across Pinto Valley to the New York Mountains
There's a lot to explore in the New York Mountains... - Close-up of Purdy Peak, Pinto Mountain, Mojave National Preserve
I could probably climb up to Purdy Peak on the back side, but I'm not sure how much better the views would be from there, compared to where I am now on Pinto Mountain. - I take a break on a hill on Pinto Mountain at about 5870 feet elevation, munch on an energy bar and enjoy the views
I could spend all day up here, climbing over the next hill, and then up to Purdy Peak. But I also want to go back toward the western end of the mountain, which is easier. So I turn around and start heading west again. - It's really windy up here on Pinto Mountain, so I often find myself holding my hat straps to help keep the hat on my head
Despite the hot sun, the wind is keeping the temperature down in the 70s up here. - As I walk along a hillside on the north side of Pinto Mountain, I almost step on this low cactus which camouflages nicely
The area is mostly grassy, so I'm not watching much for light-coloured cactus, even though I'm mostly looking down while hiking. Note to self: pay more attention! - Great views eastward from the west end of Pinto Mountain
Those burned juniper trees on the Pinto Mountain crest look so small from here. - From Pinto Mountain, I can see the jagged edges of the Providence Mountains in the distant blue
I'll be hiking in that area tomorrow or the next day (I haven't decided yet). Just below me here sits a low mesa with an outline like a limp pancake. - Another great view across Round Valley from Pinto Mountain through a slot in the rocks
Again, the Providence Mountains ridge line peers through the distant blue, while the jagged Eagle Rocks dominate the Mid Hills ridge line at the right. - After an hour on Pinto Mountain, I start my way back down to the valley on the easy north side through a boulder patch
Further down the hill are still-green juniper trees that escaped the 2005 brush fires here, while those closest to the camera did not. - Close-up of the barberry bush on the north side of Pinto Mountain
Some of the stems look rather old; perhaps this plant burned during the 2005 brush fires and has regenerated. - I stumble upon what I think is a barberry (berberis) bush on the way down the north side of Pinto Mountain
I have a couple of barberries growing at home (of a different species), so the spiky dry leaves look quite familiar. - A bit lower down Pinto Mountain, under a canopy of burned trees, are a few flowers here and there
Orange desert mallows, lavender verbenas, and a few white thistles. - I follow a different mini-canyon on the lower part of the return to Cedar Wash and pass under the remains of an old fence
A large twig tangled up in the barbed wire increases the fence's visibility. - The dappled shade cast by old pinon pines and junipers makes for a nice walk down this little wash north of Pinto Mountain
This area seems to have been mostly spared by the 2005 brush fires. - The mini-canyon arrives at a steep drop-off just before reaching Cedar Wash
This should be fun to descend! Now I see why this canyon hasn't wasn't losing elevation as quickly as I thought it should. - Partway down the rock pile leading to Cedar Wash, I turn back to look up at my descent route
It has been fun so far zigzagging down the rocks. With luck, I won't reach any drop-offs below that are too steep to scramble down comfortably. - It doesn't take long to reach the bottom of the rock pile where it spills out onto the edge of Cedar Wash
That was so much fun that I wish it would last a bit longer. - I walk back down Cedar Wash toward the road where I left my bicycle
It's wide-open and a bit downhill here, so the I move quickly along. - A few bugs enjoy this white thistle flower in Cedar Wash, Mojave National Preserve
I often see these little bugs in the white thistle flowers around here. - I reach the old closed road leading out of Cedar Wash, marked by rocks that were perhaps placed there 100 years ago
The old road probably once ran right up Cedar Wash, but it would have been washed away after not so many years. - Along the old road into Cedar Wash grow a few of these bright-green plants
The bright-green foliage and vivid yellow flowers seem out of place in the muted tan of the Mojave Desert. - I cross the Wilderness boundary (no mechanized travel allowed on this side of it) and turn left to fetch my bicycle nearby
I'll be riding up that dirt road straight ahead shortly to get back to my campsite at Mid Hills campground, Mojave National Preserve. - I reach the trees off the old Mojave Road under which I stashed my bicycle, and voilà, it's still there
I transfer my backpack contents, then the backpack itself, into my bike's saddlebags, eat an energy bar, and begin the five-mile return ride up the hill to Mid Hills campground. - The shortcut road up to Black Canyon Road is a good ride (without a heavy load), about 3/4 mile long
I see some tire tracks, but I haven't yet encountered a motor vehicle on this rough road. - The shortcut road rises up through a patch of desert mallow flowers just before it reaches the Round Valley plateau
Before I know it, I'm back at Black Canyon Road. - I ride two miles on Black Canyon Road on the way back to Mid Hills campground, Mojave National Preserve
My bones rattle while I absorb the road's washboard texture, but sometimes I can avoid it by riding at the right edge of the road, or in the middle of the road. - The two miles and four hills up Wild Horse Canyon Road are much easier than last night when I was carrying a full load
The loose gravel on the road here is what makes these short hills tough on a heavy bicycle; traction and balance are constantly being defeated. - Happy insects of some kind have made webs in a bush along Wild Horse Canyon Road
I'm almost back at Mid Hills campground now. - When sunset approaches, I walk up a hill near my site at Mid Hills campground to take in the views
The parts of the campground that were denuded by the 2005 brush fires look better under the golden glow of sunset. - Awesome sunset view from Mid Hills campground over to the subtle slope of Cima Dome
Kessler Peak rises up from Cima Dome at the right. - To the north are excellent views down to Cedar Canyon Road, which I rode up yesterday, and far beyond
The Clark Mountain Range, which I visited briefly last year, presides in the background. - I saunter back to my tent past a vacant campsite at Mid Hills campground and wind down for the evening
The campground is almost deserted tonight; just the way I like it. Weekdays here rule. The temperature drops again, but it's not chilly like it was last night. I'm inspired by today's hike and feel like I'm gaining some strength. Supper is Mountain House Rice with Chicken. Always good, but heavy, so best saved for when one is hungry, like now. Best of all, there's almost no wind tonight, so I can hear a few birds fluttering around. - Pinto Mountain bike route elevation profile from Mid Hills campground (Day 4)
11.6 bicycle miles with a bit over 500 feet elevation drop (and gain). - Pinto Mountain hike route elevation profile from Cedar Canyon Road area (Day 4)
4.1 hiking miles and about 800 feet of elevation gain. - Pinto Mountain bike and hike route from Mid Hills campground (Day 4)
Bike route is red, hike blue. 11.6 bicycle miles and 4.11 hiking miles.