Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Fall 2012: Mojave National Preserve bicycle-camping and hiking, Lanfair Valley loop / Day 8: Ivanpah Rd to Nipton and then Primm the next morning 27
15 easy bicycle miles to Nipton from my campsite near Bathtub Spring. I break along Ivanpah Rd when I meet Ken. After an overnighter in a tent cabin at Nipton, I'm up super-early to ride the final 12 miles to Primm at dawn, to catch my Amtrak bus.
It was cold overnight, but I wake up to one last beautiful desert morning in Mojave National Preserve
I'm packed up and ready to leave my Ivanpah Road campsite near Bathtub Spring
Time for some fun: downhill riding on Ivanpah Road toward Ivanpah Valley, leaving the inner part of Mojave Preserve
Ken and I chat for a while on the side of Ivanpah Road while his dog discovers roadkill nearby
After our hearty chat, Ken drives away and I remount the 10-ton bike for the ride down Ivanpah Road on my way to Nipton
Back on the 10-ton bike, riding down the dirt of Ivanpah Road, the pavement starts by that sign just ahead
I zoom down the short paved stretch of Ivanpah Rd between Slaughterhouse Spring and the train tracks
Back on a dirt road (Nipton-Moore Road): straight ahead are the McCullough Mountains; I wish I had time to head up there today
10 beautiful-but-bumpy miles of riding along the train tracks from Ivanpah Rd to Nipton
Gotta love the bureaucrat sign here: This road is not maintained by San Bernardino County, etc
Next stop Nipton!
My dirt-road riding comes to an end today as I arrive at the highway that is Nipton Road
I ride a couple hundred feet on pavement, then pull over into the Nipton parking lot to rent for tent cabin for the night
Time to get acquainted with my tent cabin at Nipton where I'll be spending the night
I can see the New York Mountains peaks from the porch of tonight's tent cabin at Nipton
The other tent cabins on the Nipton property are vacant tonight, so it should be a quiet evening
The nearly full moon is up already over the New York Mountains, waiting for the sun to go down
After a good meal at the Nipton Café with good company, the real luxury is a shower for the first time after 8 backcountry days
I get a good fire going in the stove in my Nipton tent cabin, but it takes me a while; I'm in bed before midnight
I leave the bliss of my Nipton tent cabin before sunrise for the 12-mile ride to Primm, purposefully, as if it were a work day
After passing Desert siding, no more pavement, and the final 7 miles to Primm will be on this bumpy surface
As the sun begins to rise, the Clark Mountain Range catches a nice pink light
I'm enjoying the sunrise glow, but anxious for the sun to rise completely and warm up my cold fingers!
As the sun rises, the light cast on the Clark Mountain Range slowly morphs from pink to orange
Pink and orange morning light have disappeared; now it's merely golden light
Arriving Primm, end of dirt road, entering the new suburban wasteland
At Primm, I stop for breakfast at the Mad Greek, and follow up with coffee at the Starbuck's; see y'all next year...