Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Spring 2012: Mojave National Preserve Bicycle-Camping and Hiking / Day 9: Tortoise Shell Mountain and Woods Wash day hike, Mojave National Preserve

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Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Spring 2012: Mojave National Preserve Bicycle-Camping and Hiking / Day 9: Tortoise Shell Mountain and Woods Wash day hike, Mojave National Preserve 25

I want to hike somewhere in the Woods Mountains, so I end up visiting Tortoise Shell Mountain on foot, via Woods Wash. A bit warmer than yesterday, high of 86F at Cima, mid 40s at night. 12 hiking miles, 1500 feet elevation gain.

It got rather cold overnight, so I didn't sleep well, but as soon as the sun hit my tent this morning, it was intensely hot!
I encounter a barbed-wire fence shortly after I start today's hike toward Woods Wash; I find a spot where I can crawl under it
I'm mostly hiking cross-country, but I walk briefly on a segment of Woods Wash Road and spot a lizard
I stop to take a look at an old corral in Woods Wash
I arrive at the Woods Wash trailhead and find that someone else, in a Jeep, is also doing the hike down the wash
Hiking down Woods Wash, I take a look around the historic site and start hiking up an unnamed side canyon
At a bend in the canyon, I decide to climb up the hill where it's not too steep to get some views of the area
I reach the plateau below Tortoise Shell Mountain and spot a deer in the distance on the hillside
I arrive at the top of little Tortoise Shell Mountain and notice there's a rarely used register here for me to sign
Sitting up on Tortoise Shell Mountain for half an hour, I enjoy views toward Wild Horse Mesa and the Providence Mountains
I also enjoy views across the Lanfair Valley while sitting up on Tortoise Shell Mountain
After a break to enjoy the summit of Tortoise Shell Mountain, I start my way back down to Woods Wash
An hour later, I'm back down in the Woods Wash area
Scribbles
Crescent moon and etchings
Chalkboard?
Most of this has been here for a long time...
I could spend hours here looking at this stuff
It looks like there has been some weather erosion on some of the designs here
Some of these look carved deeply into the rock
Yucca in Woods Wash, plus some bonus carvings
On the way out of Woods Wash, I walk a short distance up a side wash and stumble across a small natural arch
The sun gets lower as I hike back up the wash toward my tent near Twin Buttes
Sunset back home at the tent near Twin Buttes, I fix the broken rack piece on my bike (glad I brought extra parts!)
Tortoise Shell Mountain hike elevation profile