dryfj.com / drycyclist.com (kevin cook)

8/23
Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2007: Henry Coe State Park Mountain-Bike Camping / Day 6: Jackrabbit Lake to Pacheco Camp /

At the top of the County Line Road grade, it's time to begin the short descent down Coit Road into the Mississippi Creek canyon.

05779-coit-road-descent-800px.jpg Heading up the County Line Road grade toward Mississippi Ridge, stopping by a trap for wild pigs.ThumbnailsAfter climbing out of Mississippi Creek canyon to Pacheco Ridge, I look down into the canyon that will be home tonight.Heading up the County Line Road grade toward Mississippi Ridge, stopping by a trap for wild pigs.ThumbnailsAfter climbing out of Mississippi Creek canyon to Pacheco Ridge, I look down into the canyon that will be home tonight.Heading up the County Line Road grade toward Mississippi Ridge, stopping by a trap for wild pigs.ThumbnailsAfter climbing out of Mississippi Creek canyon to Pacheco Ridge, I look down into the canyon that will be home tonight.Heading up the County Line Road grade toward Mississippi Ridge, stopping by a trap for wild pigs.ThumbnailsAfter climbing out of Mississippi Creek canyon to Pacheco Ridge, I look down into the canyon that will be home tonight.Heading up the County Line Road grade toward Mississippi Ridge, stopping by a trap for wild pigs.ThumbnailsAfter climbing out of Mississippi Creek canyon to Pacheco Ridge, I look down into the canyon that will be home tonight.

Wow, it only took me a little over an hour to make it up the County Line Road grade to 1950 feet here!

I have one more ridge to climb over today (Pacheco Ridge), with a small canyon between here and there: Mississippi Creek canyon. That means I drop down to about 1600 feet, then rise back up to about 1950 feet, all in 1.8 miles.

I haven't been down into this area of the Park before, so hopefully the road out of the canyon won't be too steep for the 10-ton bike. It looks reasonable on the map, but I've made map-reading mistakes many times.

It would be nice to take a break now, but there's no shade in the chamise chapparal here and the downhill ahead of me will be fun!