Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2000: Mojave National Preserve Bicycle Camping Trip #2 / Day 6: Nipton to Keystone Canyon area via Walking Box Ranch Road 16
It's a cool day that gets much chillier as I climb up toward Keystone Canyon in the New York Mountains from Nipton. I don't see any other people after leaving the highway.
By the time I reach Keystone Canyon Road at the end of the day, a few snowflakes are floating around in a light drizzle. I can see that it's cloudy and snowing a little higher up the mountains, just up the road.
Instead of continuing on further up Keystone Canyon proper, I set up camp just off the adjacent road to the old Trio Mine.
42.2 miles, 4:35 hours, 23.8 mph max speed, 9.2 mph average. From Nipton at 3000 feet, I rise to 4900 feet near Crescent Peak on Nevada Highway 164, drop down to 3900 feet at the start of Walking Box Ranch Road, then rise slowly up to my campsite for the night at Trio Mine Road in Mojave National Preserve at 5000 feet.
- I leave Nipton and start the 12-mile crawl Nipton Road hill toward the Nevada border and Crescent Peak beyond
It's still a bit cold this morning, but the sunshine feels good and the wind has died down. Fortunately, it appears to have cleared up a bit in the mountains too, where I'm going today. Looks like great bicycling weather, at least during the daylight hours! I have coffee at the Nipton store and end up chatting with the owner there. I take him up on his suggestion that I head to the New York Mountains via Nevada Highway 164 and Walking Box Ranch Road, instead of via Ivanpah Road as I had first planned. After a nice hot "outdoor" shower at Nipton and some breakfast, I'm on my way up the hill. - Looking back down at Nipton as I climb slowly
After climbing a bit, it's fun to look back down at Nipton in the Ivanpah Valley. Starting on an uphill with no warm-up first is not really the best way to get the day going, but, as the song says, "I will survive." - Welcome to Nevada!
The sign says it all. Actually, I won't be in Nevada for long. In a few miles beyond the summit, I'll start the ride up Walking Box Ranch Road, which reenters California, and then Mojave National Preserve. - Nipton Road, now Nevada Highway 164, rises through a pass between the New York Mountains and the McCullough Mountains
The views down toward Nipton and the Ivanpah Valley disappear behind me for good. I'm working up a sweat on this climb, but the wind is chilly enough that I almost feel cold. I peel off my outer sweater for a while, but put it back on as soon as I reach the 4900-foot summit and start riding downhill again. Gee, I've climbed 1900 feet already today? The downhill is fun and I'm cautiously counting my mileage to Walking Box Ranch Road to make sure that I don't miss it, in case it's not signed. - Walking Box Ranch Road turns out to be easy to locate on Nevada Highway 164
Walking Box Ranch Road is a decent dirt road that seems to have been covered with pavement long ago. Some folks I had chatted with at Nipton called it the "molasses road," referring to the road's surface. I stop here to put on my outer shell and booties, to warm my cold feet. The New York Mountains sit on the distant horizon, some 1100 feet higher from here. - Views of the New York Mountains (today's destination) while heading west on Walking Box Ranch Road
Walking Box Ranch Road seems almost flat, but it does rise slowly, with a few little humps like these along the way. Dark clouds have moved in and obscured the sun, and the temperature feels like it might be dropping. - Walking Box Ranch Road passes fairly close to the Castle Peaks, which are visible from Nipton down below on the other side
Castle Peaks are actually part of the New York Mountains, but their lower stature makes them seem separate from the taller formations west of Ivanpah Road. Castle Peaks is a recommended hiking area, and I consider ending today's trip somewhere along here, but I already have the idea of camping closer to Keystone Canyon planted in my mind. So I continue. - There are a few sharp turns on Walking Box Ranch Road
A little bit of sunshine is still getting through... - Taking a Joshua-tree break on Walking Box Ranch Road
I'm starting to feel a chill, but the slight climb is keeping my body working just enough to stay warm. I took my booties off a while ago, but I may have to put them back on over my sneakers soon. - After that previous sharp curve on Walking Box Ranch Road, it looks like there might be another one ahead
I'm in a bright semi-sunny spot here with dark clouds surrounding me. - Ominous dark clouds overhead!
Somewhere along here, Walking Box Ranch Road becomes Hart Mine Road, but I haven't seen a road sign mentioning that. - Pinkish gravel on Hart Mine Road; the New York Mountains are not too far away now
Not enough gravel to make bicycling too difficult. - New York Mountains not too far off in the distance; looks a bit snowy over there...
I'll be camping at the base of those mountains tonight and I'm a bit concerned about the weather conditions I might run into. - Passing by the three-house settlement of Barnwell
It's hard to tell if anyone lives at Barnwell or not. There's no snow (yet) at this corner of the New York Mountains. This marks the end of the Walking Box Ranch/Hart Mine Road route. I turn left here down Ivanpah Road for a just over a mile. - Approaching the base of the New York Mountains, I ride a mile on Ivanpah Road, looking for the road to Keystone Canyon
Keystone Canyon is part-way up the New York Mountains ahead. It's clear that there's already some snow up there, so I won't attempt climbing too much higher into the hills than this. - At the bottom of the remote, cold and eerie Keystone Canyon Road, I look for a spot to pitch my tent
Awesome landscape, but I don't want to ride any further into the cold clouds and snow flurries that I can see just up the road. I follow a side road, which seems to be the road to the old Trio Mine, and set up camp here. I get a rear flat tire when I roll my bike over a big Joshua-tree sprout that is as tough as a dagger. What's left of daylight disappears and after a few hours of darkness, I realize that it's damn cold here. It feels colder than it was up at Mid Hills Campground a few nights ago, and it was in the low 30s then, so I'm guessing it must be in the high 20s F. The clouds that made the end of day so gloomy clear out suddenly after a few hours. The exposed moonlight tells me that a short walk out in the dark would be splendid, except that I'm really cold right now and didn't bring warm-enough clothes for this. I'm not sure how well I'll sleep tonight.