Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2009, Spring: Mojave National Preserve / Day 5: Wild Horse Mesa hike and Wild Horse Canyon Road bicycle ride, Mojave National Preserve 61
I didn't originally intend to stay up here at Mid Hills campground for almost a week, so my day trips in this area are somewhat spontaneous, despite the many hours I spent planning this trip.
Today I choose to visit Bluejay Mine Road, about which I know nothing, and I'll hike around the Wild Horse Mesa area for the first time. I'll do the bike ride down Wild Horse Canyon Road that I like so much, and I'll return to Mid Hills campground via Black Canyon Road.
24.3 bicycle miles with 2300 of climbing, plus 3.2 hiking miles with 1384 feet of elevation gain and drop. I'll drink about 4.5 litres of water during the day and eat one Larabar and one Clif bar (chocolate mint).
I get ready to leave Mid Hills campground for a ride down Wild Horse Canyon Road
3/4 mile from campsite 22, I exit Mid Hills campground and turn right to start descending Wild Horse Canyon Road
Wild Horse Canyon Road is one of my favourite mountain-bike rides in Mojave National Preserve
Wild Horse Mesa, the target of today's hike, is the flat-topped formation ahead
Wild Horse Canyon Road continues its twisty-windy descent, which is getting flatter
Bluejay Mine Road appears to my right about six miles from Mid Hills campsite 22, at about 4740 feet elevation
Bluejay Mine Road enters a wash and I look at the tracks I've carved behind me
The fearful motorists were correct; Bluejay Mine Road does worsen, as most dead-end desert tracks do
Bluejay Mine Road rises out of the wash, sort of, but is really bumpy, and a bit uphill, so I'm now walking more than riding
I come around a bend and realize I'm at the end of the road, looking at the Bluejay Mine site
Out here in the middle of nowhere, I stumble upon a memorial plaque dedicated to James Winkler
This low rock wall looks like it may be the remants of a foundation, or maybe it's just a retaining wall for a former garden
Debris at the burned Winkler's Cabin site at the end of Bluejay Mine Road, Mojave National Preserve
The entrance to the old Bluejay Mine appears to have been recently rebuilt with fresh wood
A lizard scurries along a burned timber outside the entrance to the Bluejay Mine, Mojave National Preserve
I pack my backpack and hike up the steep hill above Bluejay Mine and the Winkler's Cabin site
Atop the ridge, it's exciting to look over the other side to a world where it appears that man rarely visits
The Mojave storm clouds have brought high winds that try to blow the hat off my head
I watch an agave on my way down toward Beecher Canyon
Desert dudleya growing in rock on the way down toward Beecher Canyon, Mojave National Preserve
Last chance to spontaneously change my route and walk straight ahead down Beecher Canyon...
I cross the juniper-studded drainage that is Beecher Canyon's "headwaters" and begin the climb up to Wild Horse Mesa
It's only a quarter mile up to the Wild Horse Mesa plateau, but it's a steep 300 feet elevation gain
I climb up onto Wild Horse Mesa and revel in the views toward Beecher Canyon and Providence Mountains
Looking south across Wild Horse Mesa, Mojave National Preserve
Looking southwest across Wild Horse Mesa, the plateau drops off into the southern end of Beecher Canyon
My maps indicate that the summit of Wild Horse Mesa is only a half mile northeast, so I start walking that way
Wild Horse Mesa summit lies just ahead
Wild Horse Mesa, Mojave National Preserve; I enjoy the views from the summit at about 5600 feet
It's a steep 600-foot drop from Wild Horse Mesa down to Bluejay Mine and my bike
A canyon just west of Wild Horse Mesa looks like a promising route downward
Panorama across Wild Horse Mesa looking south from near the summit
I walk over rocks and partway back toward Beecher Canyon before turning 180 degrees to get below Wild Horse Mesa
A bright-red firecracker penstemon is always a welcome sight in this often-beige landscape
There's my route back down to Bluejay Mine: that row of green junipers below
A few of the old junipers below Wild Horse Mesa appear to have escaped the ravages of the 2005 fires
Looking back up to Wild Horse Mesa as I continue back down to Bluejay Mine
This area directly north of Wild Horse Mesa is steep, but is feasible when hiked across the slope
I hike down a drainage below Wild Horse Mesa amongst some old unburned junipers
Descending into Bluejay Mine valley below Wild Horse Mesa
Manzanita regrowth in the burned area below Wild Horse Mesa, Mojave National Preserve
Paper-bag bush and verbenas are blooming in the heavily burned area near Bluejay Mine, Mojave National Preserve
I make it back to Bluejay Mine, retrieve the bike, and start riding the 1.5 miles down to Wild Horse Canyon Road
Bluejay Mine Road snakes around below Wild Horse Mesa
Bluejay Mine Road, Mojave National Preserve
Cows grazing near Wild Horse Canyon Road, Mojave National Preserve
I'm back on Wild Horse Canyon Road in the scenic area
The washboard surface of the south end of Wild Horse Canyon Road makes for a rough ride
I take a break at the Hole-in-the-Wall visitor centre, which is closed right now
I get back on Black Canyon Road and start the 10-mile ride up the gentle hill back to Mid Hills campground
North of Hole-in-the-Wall campground, Black Canyon Road is a gentle uphill that is quite washboarded
On the way up Black Canyon Road, I pass the Gold Valley Ranch
I ride over a cattle guard on Black Canyon Road
Black Canyon Road is often straight, but it meanders when passing through Black Canyon
A cow stands in the middle of Black Canyon Road, not sure what to make of me
The cow leaves the road to join his family and they all rush off into the sagebrush
Black Canyon Road climbs up above the wash while passing through the canyon
Black Canyon Road flattens out as it crosses Round Valley, Mojave National Preserve
Another soothing sunset from Mid Hills campground site 22, looking toward the Clark Mountain Range
Wild Horse Mesa hike route, Mojave National Preserve (Day 5)
Wild Horse Mesa hike profile, Mojave National Preserve (Day 5)