dryfj.com / drycyclist.com (kevin cook)

58/62
Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2010, Mojave National Preserve / Day 6: Beecher Canyon and north Providence Mountains day hike, Mojave National Preserve /

Just before 20h, I pass by the Mid Hills campground entrance kiosk and ride the final 0.6 miles to my campsite

5336-mid-hills.jpg I approach Mid Hills campground on Wild Horse Canyon Road at sunsetThumbnailsBicycle route elevation profile from Mid Hills campground to Blue Jay Mine via Wild Horse Canyon Road, Mojave National PreserveI approach Mid Hills campground on Wild Horse Canyon Road at sunsetThumbnailsBicycle route elevation profile from Mid Hills campground to Blue Jay Mine via Wild Horse Canyon Road, Mojave National PreserveI approach Mid Hills campground on Wild Horse Canyon Road at sunsetThumbnailsBicycle route elevation profile from Mid Hills campground to Blue Jay Mine via Wild Horse Canyon Road, Mojave National PreserveI approach Mid Hills campground on Wild Horse Canyon Road at sunsetThumbnailsBicycle route elevation profile from Mid Hills campground to Blue Jay Mine via Wild Horse Canyon Road, Mojave National PreserveI approach Mid Hills campground on Wild Horse Canyon Road at sunsetThumbnailsBicycle route elevation profile from Mid Hills campground to Blue Jay Mine via Wild Horse Canyon Road, Mojave National Preserve

As soon as I get back to camp, I put on my sweater and settle in for an evening of high winds that threaten to blow my tent apart, and which make boiling water for my instant meal a slow process. Supper is Mountain House Beef Teriyaki with Rice, always delicious.

A few shots of Korbel brandy help me to fall asleep in the noisy flapping tent around 1h. However, I wake up cold several times during the night, despite sleeping with all my clothes on. The temperature seems to drop to about 40 degrees F. Such is life in the desert mountains...

And what is that grinding noise that I hear off and on overnight when the wind picks up, adding itself to the howling wind that interrupts the silence that would otherwise dominate the night? It sounds like a semi-broken windmill somewhere nearby, being forced by the wind to turn more quickly than it is able.