Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Spring 2012: Mojave National Preserve Bicycle-Camping and Hiking / Day 10: Mountain-bike ride from Twin Buttes to Fenner and Essex on historic Route 66 via Woods Wash Valley dirt roads 56
My buddy calls this the 73-mile beer run (I'll buy beer at the Fenner store). I explore some of the expansive cattle-grazing country in the Woods Wash Valley. High of 102F in the Essex area. 73 bicycle miles and about 3500 feet of elevation gain.
- I leave camp before 10h and ride past the Woods Mountains, at first on the way to Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Centre to get water
After the usual coffee, almonds, granola, dried fruit and vitamin C drink for breakfast, I pack up the mountain bike for a day ride without all my gear that will turn out to be longer than expected. - I pause briefly at the high point of Woods Wash Road to check out remnants of barbed-wire removal
Many former ranching fences in the Preserve have been removed to facilitate movement of wildlife and hikers. - More remnants of barbed-wire removal along Woods Wash Road, with Table Mountain and one of the Twin Buttes in the background
- After 5 miles, I arrive at Hole-in-the-Wall Campground and go for a short ride, noting that it's nearly deserted today
Next, I head over to the visitor centre, closed today, for water and to recharge my cell phone: it seems to be becoming my main camera. My regular Canon pocket camera won't shoot still photos any more, but it still sometimes will shoot video. - Lots of bees at the water spigot the Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Center
It's been like this for as long as I can remember! - I go for a walk on the nature trail by Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Centre and pass a Cactus wren nest in a cholla cactus
All you need to do is fly into that little hole. Time to walk back to the visitor centre; my cell phone should be fully charged shortly... - I ride down a short section of pavement on Black Canyon Road southbound from Hole-in-the-Wall
It will be less than a mile when I leave pavement again, but it feels so smooth and fast since I've hardly ridden on pavement for over a week now. And it's downhill too! - I try riding a half-mile down a really sandy road near Rustler Canyon, but it doesn't work out and I decide to backtrack
There aren't even any tire tracks on this road! Instead, I decide to try another open nearby road (thanks to my map), which proves to be more serviceable. - This better, unnamed road in the Woods Wash Valley is also rather sandy, but it is rideable
I quickly learn that this is heavy cattle-grazing territory, in addition to being designated Wilderness on both sides of the road. - Cow shit everywhere here in the upper Woods Wash Valley; 4WD required, I only have two (but I do have two feet in addition)
As long as the road doesn't get any more sandy than this, I'm fine. But this sign worries me a bit... I continue onward, slightly downhill. - I notice a small water tank on the roadside and it's full of fresh, clean water
Nice to know, in case I should ever need it! - I go for a short ride up a side road, wondering where it leads, and it ends near a guzzler, which is dry today
Hmmm... I can't imagine there's a lot of wildlife in this area due to the hordes of cattle roaming around. - I'm intrigued by a cow carcass that I discover along the road
I don't think I've ever seen one of these before. - Smile for the camera!
The carcass still smells a bit, but there's no meat left on it. I'm sure some vultures and yellowjacket wasps have been happy with this find. - Ah, a view of Tortoise Shell Mountain in the Woods Mountains, where I hiked yesterday
From this angle, it's easy to see why the hill is called "Tortoise Shell Mountain," owing to its shape. - Woods Wash Valley Road continues through remote territory
...but it doesn't feel as remote as it might due to the presence of so many cattle. - Riding across Woods Wash Valley, cattle-grazing land, I come across another of several water tanks
- Bees in a water tank along Woods Wash Valley Road
- Cow shit everywhere, I'm getting used to the smell in the hot sun!
- As the road crosses Watson Wash ahead, I run across a rancher in a pick-up truck on the way up that hill over there
He's the only traffic I stumble across on today's dirt-riding. We have a good conversation and he warns me that there's a very sandy stretch ahead. - I pause to shoot photos at another water stop along the route, more cow shit everywhere of course!
- I take a short energy-bar break in a sandy wash in Woods Wash Valley just before reaching the powerline road
I take a short energy-bar break in a sandy wash in Woods Wash Valley just before reaching the powerline road I'll find out later that the temperature here is in the 90s, not the 80s. My drinking water has become quite hot, blech! Of course, the rancher I met earlier was correct; this is the sandy area he warned me about. - The road quickly gets better and I pass another functional corral just before I arrive at the powerline road
Yeah, no more deep sand, for now at least! - Next, I have a nice 3.5-mile eastward ride on the powerline road across Woods Wash Valley and toward the Fenner Hills
I seem to have a nice tail wind, and the surprisingly smooth (comparatively speaking) road surface makes these 3.5 miles drive by really quickly. - Just before I leave the powerline road for Fenner Hills Road, I spot the remains of a balloon
I wonder where this one blew in from... - Just before I leave the powerline road for Fenner Hills Road, I spot yet another balloon, near the one I just saw
This one is in better condition, for what that's worth... - After about 25 miles so far today, I get excited as I start riding the almost 9 miles down Fenner Hills Road toward Fenner
I've never explored this area and the road seems quite rarely traveled. Nice country as the road follows the Fenner Hills. It will be a gradual downhill, from about 2850 feet elevation down to about 2075. - After a few miles, the rough Fenner Hills Road passes by a small hill on the right
Barrel cacti! - On some parts of Fenner Hills Road, rocks provide the surface for short stretches
- Some stretches of Fenner Hills Road are just a weak track through creosote-bush scrub
It doesn't look like this road gets traffic every day. This looks like a cool place for a campsite. - My Fenner Hills Road route crosses the (gas) pipeline road, both roads lightly traveled
I stop to take a look down the pipeline road toward Foshay Pass, that dent in the Providence Mountains over there. The pipeline road and the powerline road almost meet each other in that area. - Fenner Hills Road crosses a wide gravelly area thst was apparently once cleared of vegetation
Perhaps this was once a mining spot, or a landing pad? My maps don't offer any additional information. - Ugh, Fenner Hills Road passes through a couple of sandy stretches where I can barely ride my bike.
I have to get off and walk the bike for a few minutes, nothing too serious, yet. - Out of the last sand-trap on Fenner Hills Road, the road briefly crosses a gravelly area, then returns to a soft earth surface
- Occasionally, Fenner Hills Road almost fades away, in the gravelly stretches
- It seems that riding down Fenner Hills Road is getting slower and slower, even though I'm riding mostly slightly downhill
... or maybe I'm just getting impatient. It's a great ride, regardless, but I've decided that it's definitely best in the downhill direction. - Aha, I can now see trains down there rolling past Fenner by old Route 66, with the Piute Mountains Wilderness in the background
I'm getting close to my next waypoint! - I'll be at Fenner shortly; I definitely need a break and I want some COLD water
I'm staring at those palm trees down there where there's a store selling food and cold drinks! - 34 miles into today's ride, just before arriving at Fenner, I exit Mojave National Preserve for a while
I take a look back at where I came from. I'm having so much fun that it's easy to forget that I have a long ride to get back home to my tent. - I arrive at the store at Fenner, CA and the outdoor thermometer reads 89F in the shade; no wonder I'm hot and thirsty!
I'll learn later that it hit 102F at nearby Essex, which I'll ride through shortly on the long ride back to my campsite in Mojave National Preserve. - Gotta love this weird sign in the door at the Fenner store just off I-40 and on old Route 66
Should I choose to not become a customer as suggested? I step into the store to buy cold water for the ride home, other refreshments, and two bags of potato chips for a carbo boost. I was hoping to order a falafel sandwich, but the kitchen just closed. - I take a good half-hour break in the shade of the Fenner store, drinking a couple of bottles of Sobe orange-carrot drink
Best of all, they carry tall bottles of Sierra Nevada pale ale, so I buy a couple of those for later consumption. I'd love to drink one of those now while it's cold, but with almost 40 more bicycle miles ahead of me, that wouldn't be a great idea. - After my refreshment break at the Fenner store, I'm ready to ride on; I ride under the I-40 freeway and down old Route 66
I haven't ridden my bike on this part of Route 66 in 10 years, so it's nice to be here again, however briefly. The freight trains along the road make me feel like I'm on old Route 66. - A few Desert milkweeds pick up the sun along old Route 66 as I get close to Essex, CA
Almost there... - On the outskirts of Essex, CA, I stop to check out an old abandoned gas station and its empty sign
- Arriving Essex, California, Route 66, by bicycle
Population 100, elevation 1775 feet, my low point of the day. Where I'm camped is up around 4700 feet. I have a bit of a ride ahead of me this evening! - Essex, California has a school
Probably not many pupils attend, but I'm guessing that many are bussed in from the outlying areas. - The 'core' of Essex, CA is the old post office house at left and the abandoned café straight ahead
I have fantasies of opening a sugar-cane juice (nước mía) stand here. My brain is telling me that I'm thirsty for something other than water. - Behind the Essex post office and the abandoned café is a short street leading to a couple of houses
... and behind that is the Piute Mountains Wilderness, on my list for a visit one day. - According to the windows at the old Essex Café on Route 66, 'good food' was served here
It's amazing that the glass in these front windows is still intact! - Across the road from the old Essex Café, an abandoned house awaits something
Dogs on the property adjacent to the abandoned café bark at me while I take photos. - After my brief visit to Route 66 Essex, CA, it's time to begin the long ride back to camp, beginning with Essex Road
The sun is dropping... The Clipper Mountains over there is also on my list for a visit; haven't squeezed it into one of my trips yet. - It's fun to stop and watch I-40 freeway traffic for a few minutes while crossing over it on Essex Road on the way back to camp
I took a similar photo of this "tube of civilization" while riding here back in 2000, but without the nice belt of venus at sunset. - I reenter Mojave National Preseve at dusk, and ride most of the final 20-some miles back to camp in the dark: a pleasant evening
A slight tail wind on the way up the gentle slope of paved Black Canyon Road helps immensely. I'm tired and on auto-pilot the whole time. I make a stop at Hole-in-the-Wall campground to fill up on water and I arrive home at my tent a bit before midnight. Long day! A lone car passes me near Hole-in-the-Wall campground, and the occupants seem confused, wondering if the campground is open since there's nobody around. I explain the self-pay system at the campground and how the quiet and solitude is part of the appeal, but I don't think they get it. Maybe tomorrow morning, when they wake up, they'll be impressed with the landscape and having the campground to themselves. - Route of round-trip mountain-bike ride from Woods Wash, Mojave National Preserve, to Fenner and Essex, CA: Day 10
73 bicycle miles and about 3500 feet of elevation gain. - Elevation profile of round-trip mountain-bike ride from Woods Wash, Mojave National Preserve, to Fenner and Essex, CA
73 bicycle miles and about 3500 feet of elevation gain.