Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Spring 2012: Mojave National Preserve Bicycle-Camping and Hiking / Day 12: Twin Buttes and Table Mountain 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 12: Twin Buttes and Table Mountain hike, Mojave National Preserve 46

Time for a walk up Twin Buttes and Table Mountain, both of which I've looked at for years. I doubt I'll make it to the top, due to the steepness, but who knows... 99 degrees F at Cima today, yikes. 9.8 hiking miles and about 1800 feet of elevation gain.

Today's hike up into the rocky Twin Buttes area starts with a walk down Woods Wash Road
I pass the remains of an old corral fence in front of the Woods Mountains made from unhewn wood
I leave the road and cross the Wilderness boundary to begin walking toward flat-topped Table Mountain
Shade! A big boulder with a few pinon pines around it in the canyon between Twin Buttes and Table Mountain
I take five minutes under the pinon pine and behind the rock, might be the last shade I get for a while!
As I reach a saddle between Twin Buttes North and Table Mountain, it looks like Table Mountain isn't that far away
Nice view back down the canyon I just climbed up between Twin Buttes North and Table Mountain
Wow, I can now see across Gold Valley to the Hole-in-the-Wall area where I hiked yesterday
Table Mountain is getting a bit closer now; I didn't expect to come this far up
Boulders frame this view over to Hackberry Mountain from the south flank of Table Mountain
Another view around boulders on the side of Table Mountain, this time down to Woods Wash
An interesting collage of rocks and ridgetops from the flank of Table Mountain
Woods Wash Road is visible in this view from the side of Table Mountain
The views across Gold Valley are even better now!
Hmmm... it's getting a bit steep along here....
Now I can see down into Upper Black Diamond Spring Valley, where I hiked a few days back
Wow, I've never seen all of Gold Valley like this before...
As I wind around the flank of Table Mountain, I start to see across to the New York Mountains; this is as high as I can go
Spectacular views across Upper Black Diamond Spring Valley, and all around
Hmmm... the Table Mountain summit is just up there, yet I'm going to pass and head downward... I hate vertigo!
One of several burned trees on the flank of Table Mountain looks toward Hackberry Mountain
One last view down toward Woods Wash for a while as I walk around the flank of Table Mountain toward its east side
Well, I guess I'll keep looking at Table Mountain and wondering what's up there, since I didn't make it to the top
I come across shit and a lost deflated balloon on the plateau area northeast of Table Mountain; weird combination
Fist rock, with New York Mountains in the background
I take a look at Table Mountain from the northeast side
This scorched pinon pine survived the 2005 brush fires here
False-teeth rocks on the plateau between Table Mountain and Barnett Mine
More false-teeth rocks between Table Mountain and Barnett Mine
I walk down into a brushy area that is the headwaters of Upper Black Diamond Spring Valley
OK, it's time to start going back down; my tent is behind rocky Twin Buttes South in the middle of the photo
One last vista down into Woods Wash before starting the climb back down
Looks like I should be able to carefully zigzag my way down the steep canyon ahead
It's steep, but I haven't run into any major obstacles yet: good!
Lots of rock, but coming down the hill has been feasible so far
Since it's steep, the downhill behind me from Table Mountain has passed rather quickly
A few Brittlebrush flowers add a rare bit of colour to this hot-weather hike
A snake!
Well, I exit the Wilderness boundary and take a look back at Twin Buttes and Table Mountain before hiking back up Woods Wash Rd
It has been quite windy all day, and still is, as these windblown shrubs show
Several patches of buckwheat display their white flowers along a stretch of Woods Wash Road
On the final 1.3 miles hiking up Woods Wash Rd, I think about how no motor vehicles have come down this road in a few days
It's always nice to see that my tent is intact when I return from a day hike!
Another memorable day in paradise closes: sunset near Twin Buttes; my first time camping in this area and I love it
Elevation profile of Table Mountain hike
Table Mountain hike route