Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2009, Fall: Mojave National Preserve / Day 6: Cornfield Spring Road to west of Kelso Dunes by bicycle 27
I haven't seen people or pavement for a couple of days. That will change today as I move my campsite to somewhere west of Kelso Dunes, with a nice social stop at the Kelso Depot visitor centre along the way. A laid-back easy day with just only 16 bicycle miles and 900 feet elevation gain.
I drank two litres of water and ate no energy bars (but I did have homemade iced tea and crappy instant burritos at The Beanery in Kelso Depot during my break). Temperatures recorded in Baker, CA: high of 72F, low of 35F.
- OK, everything out of the tent, it's time to pack up and leave!
I've been awake since 8h (I didn't get up for another hour), taking the morning slowly and lazily. Two cups of strong coffee and my usual camp breakfast of granola, tamari almonds, dried fruit, with the extra addition of pine nuts and beef jerky this morning.
After three enjoyable nights here on Cornfield Spring Road, I don't feel much like leaving. There are certainly more hikes I could do from here.
- Despite the near-freezing overnight temperatures, I'm shirtless and sweating a bit as I pack up in the warm morning sun
Everything is nicely crammed into my saddlebags and I'm ready to reassemble the 10-ton bike and move on. - The 10-ton bike slithers down Cornfield Spring Road at 5-7 miles per hour toward Kelso Depot
It's an easy, slightly downhill ride, not quite two miles long, but rocks and stretches of loose gravel require that it not be taken too quickly with a loaded-up bike. - As I approach Kelso, I see an RV driving up the paved Kelbaker Road
Cornfield Spring Road almost joins Kelbaker Road just ahead, but it instead turns right and parallels it for the final quarter-mile to Kelso Depot. - The final part of Cornfield Spring Road, which is shared with the road to Rex Mine, is quite sandy
I see some footprints here, and they might be mine from when I walked the 10-ton bike up this stretch three days ago. - Just before reaching the real pavement near Kelso Depot is an old washed-out road that was once paved
Perhaps this was one of the original roads in the town of Kelso, no longer needed. - I spend two hours at Kelso Depot, longer than expected, chatting with staff and a couple of bicyclists on their way to Las Vegas
It's always good to speak to Preserve staff to see what they can share about areas you plan to visit. I dump my trash, refill my water supply for the next two days from the basement utility closet, browse the art exhibit in the downstairs gallery, and buy a local history book from the book shop.
The bicyclists I've met here are a lot of fun. They rode from Portland, Oregon to Los Angeles, and are now near the end of their trip, always hungry of course. We chat and eat at The Beanery lunch counter, hoping that some day they'll start serving home cooking like they used to.
I forget to take photos, so I'll use one from later in the trip.
- My long stop at Kelso Depot was a lot of fun, but now it's time for the gentle 8-mile climb up Kelbaker Road to Kelso Dunes Road
I'm feeling fresh because I haven't been on the bike in a couple of days. The uphill grade is mostly 2-4% and I ride most of it at about 7 miles per hour with a slight tailwind to help me along. I've ridden this stretch of road several times. - On my left as I climb Kelbaker Road are the Providence Mountains, where I hiked the past two days
If I have my bearings correctly... Cornfield Spring Canyon is at the left where the ridgeline dips a little; Rex Mine is the tiny hill in the middleground; and West Edgar Canyon #3 enters the mountains at a slightly dark area to the right. - On my right as I climb Kelbaker Road, the usually vivid Kelso Dunes pale in the murky light of the cloudy afternoon
I'll camp somewhere beyond the dunes tonight. On this busy holiday weekend (by Mojave National Preserve standards), I expect the three official campsites near Kelso Dunes will have been taken by the time I get there. - It looks like a tarantula was run over by a car here on Kelbaker Road
I wonder where the rest of it ended up... This road gets a fair amount of traffic, and it does move quickly. - My 8-mile climb up Kelbaker Road ends when I reach Kelso Dunes Road, at about 2800 feet elevation, and turn right
A few miles straight ahead are the rocky and scenic Granite Mountains. I'll be visiting a new-to-me canyon in the lower Granites tomorrow (Bull Canyon), but I haven't explored much in the upper part of those mountains yet. - As I start down Kelso Dunes Road, I pause for the views across to Devils Playground and the Old Dad Mountain area
I camped over there almost a week ago. In a few minutes, a view of the Kelso Dunes will replace this one. My cell phone works here, so I send a text and change my outgoing message so people know I've made it this far. - With the setting sun in my eyes, I ride more quickly than usual down Kelso Dunes Road because the surface has just been graded
I've never seen Kelso Dunes Road so smooth; it's usually quite washboarded with a bit of surface sand. It is slightly downhill, but due to the bad surface, I never come close to reaching 20 miles per hour like today. - It's that time of day again when the Mojave Desert sunset briefly illuminates everything in its own special way
Riding down the freshly graded Kelso Dunes Road with the Providence Mountains behind me... - I make a quick stop at the Kelso Dunes outhouse at the base of the official hiking "trail" up the dunes
In bright sunlight, you immediately know the Kelso Dunes here is one big sand pile, but in this light it's not so apparent. - A few moments after visiting the Kelso Dunes outhouse, it's time to dismount again and check out the lighting effects behind me
The Providence Mountains always look good in the ever-changing light of sunset. - It turns out that the final mile of Kelso Dunes Road has not been freshly graded, and is the usual sand and washboard
Here at the end of Kelso Dunes Road, I take the right fork past "the campsite with a tree," but the campsite has already been claimed, as expected on a long weekend. - I take a very short break at the end of Kelso Dunes Road, enjoying the pink Providence Mountains, to consider my camping options
The official campsites here by the dunes are all taken. I suppose I could camp right here in the turn-out along the road like some other folks I just passed, but it's rather exposed, and I don't want to be overhearing their conversations all night. - One possibility is to stash my bike behind a creosote bush and walk my belongings into the adjacent Wilderness area
I could camp back there invisibly, but I'd still be within hearing distance of the other campers and I don't want that. It's amazing how far sound travels in the quiet desert, maintaining its clarity. - I decide that the best choice is to simply leave Kelso Dunes and its campers behind and head west down the power-line road
This way I'll be closer to tomorrow's hike in Bull Canyon. This was my original plan anyway, but I was planning to arrive here earlier and be well past Kelso Dunes before sunset - Sunset on the Kelso Dunes power-line road is nice, and the road starts out being OK for riding
I've never been down this road west of the dunes before, so I'm not sure where I'll end up camping. I'll keep my eyes open for potential good spots. A jackrabbit darts across the road. - The Kelso Dunes power-line road is getting sandy, so I'm now walking the bike a bit; time to find a campsite!
My campsite criteria: not too visible from the road, not directly under the transmission lines, not in a drainage wash in case of rain, and preferably high enough up to have a bit of a view. Not fussy, am I? - Hmmm... maybe there's a campsite for me on the raised rocky area to my left?
I leave the 10-ton bike at the road and go for a walk to see if there are any flat, non-rocky spaces up there wide enough to accommodate a tent. At first it doesn't look promising (too many big rocks). - Success! I found one flat, wide-enough, non-rocky spot above the road, so I'm back at the bike to dismantle it and set up camp
I bring the saddlebags, two at a time, to the campsite, which is about 100 feet from the road. I carry the bike to my campsite (off-road riding is not allowed, even in a non-Wilderness area like this), and set up camp in the dark.
Some clouds float around during the evening, often muffling the brilliant almost-full moon. The white ceiling over the desert casts a mysterious light on the Kelso Dunes, which are visible from my campsite. I can see for miles tonight.
The quiet evening is often interrupted by the loud whooshing of strong winds above in the adjacent Granite Mountains. The forlorn howls warn of a possible wind storm tonight, but, here at my campsite, most of the wind is just a big noise, not a physical force. Only occasionally does the wind actually touch down, and when it does, it lacks the violence of the gusts I can hear overhead. This is one of the more mysterious sounds heard in the desert.
Supper is Mountain House Beef Stew, one of my favourites. As the evening progresses, several extra layers of clothing go on, and a few swigs of brandy add extra warmth.
- Elevation profile of bicycle route from Cornfield Spring Road to west of Kelso Dunes by bicycle
16 bicycle miles and 900 feet elevation gain. - Elevation profile of bicycle route from Cornfield Spring Road to west of Kelso Dunes by bicycle
16 bicycle miles and 900 feet elevation gain.