Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2008: Mojave National Preserve Mountain-Bike Camping and Hike / Day 12: Keystone Canyon to Sunrise Rock near Cima Dome, Mojave National Preserve 28
My destination today is not set because I don't know if my rear rack repair will hold up or not. All I know for sure is that I'm riding toward Baker and need to get on pavement as soon as possible to reduce vibration on the bike.
I ride from Keystone Canyon at 5300 feet, down to Ivanpah Valley at 2650 feet. I ride up Morning Star Mine Road and end up taking a detour and camping at Sunrise Rock off Cima Road at 5000 feet due to strong wind. 40.3 bicycle miles.
I get up a bit earlier than usual this morning in preparation for the potentially unpredictable day
After a relaxing start to the morning, I empty the tent and begin packing up
The last items to be removed from the tent are a big rock and my water bag
Last night's strong wind continues this morning and tries to push the tent around while I get ready to dismantle it
All packed up, I begin walking the bike down Keystone Canyon; my tripod blows over and my camera lands face-first and dies
I walk my bike down the mostly-bumpy two miles of Keystone Canyon Road
Well, I've been riding Ivanpah Road for a mile now and am passing the settlement of Barnwell again; so far, so good!
Ivanpah Road rises over the pass and begins its slow descent down into the valley
I really like this area of Ivanpah Road where my bike broke down a couple of days ago
As Ivanpah Road comes out of the hills, views into the valley open up
I pass the worn sign to the old Goldome mine
With relief, I'm back on the paved part of Ivanpah Road now and I'm letting the bike gain speed as I ride down the smooth hill
The final slow descent to the bottom of Ivanpah Valley passes beautifully
Good things do come to an end, and I reach the bottom of Ivanpah Valley and the beginning of Morning Star Mine Road
I have about 10 miles of uphill ahead of me on Morning Star Mine Road
Morning Star Mine Road keeps climbing slowly up the fan
I stop a few miles up Morning Star Mine Road and look back to see how far I've risen
I take a break on the way up endless Morning Star Mine Road (at the old corral) and see a bicycle speed down the road
I'm glad to finally be on the top of Morning Star Mine Road, but the headwind pushing me back is even more ferocious up here!
After a couple of miles, I pass the Cima Store at 4200 feet, and it's actually open this time, at this late hour!
The six-mile crawl up Cima Road rises another 800 feet up to 5000 feet elevation and is quite pleasant with very little traffic
On the way up Cima Road, I pass the little dirt road that leads over to Cut Spring
After six more uphill miles, I reach the little plateau at the top of Cima Road and turn down the dirt road to the campsites
There's a lot of rock in this area, and this juniper tree growing in a crack between rocks is striking
The first campsite has this beautiful tree for shade, but is too close to the paved road for my taste
A half-mile down the dirt road, I select a campsite to left of the big rock pile here
Sunset in the Cima Dome area is always beautiful, and tonight is no exception
Mojave National Preserve map: Day 12: Keystone Canyon to Cima Dome via Ivanpah Road and Morning Star Mine Road