dryfj.com / drycyclist.com (kevin cook)

9/15
00820-teutonia-peak-trail-s.jpg The two-mile trail to Teutonia Peak is one of just two official, maintained trails in the expansive Mojave National PreserveThumbnailsView of Teutonia Peak from the Valley View Ranch areaThe two-mile trail to Teutonia Peak is one of just two official, maintained trails in the expansive Mojave National PreserveThumbnailsView of Teutonia Peak from the Valley View Ranch areaThe two-mile trail to Teutonia Peak is one of just two official, maintained trails in the expansive Mojave National PreserveThumbnailsView of Teutonia Peak from the Valley View Ranch areaThe two-mile trail to Teutonia Peak is one of just two official, maintained trails in the expansive Mojave National PreserveThumbnailsView of Teutonia Peak from the Valley View Ranch areaThe two-mile trail to Teutonia Peak is one of just two official, maintained trails in the expansive Mojave National PreserveThumbnailsView of Teutonia Peak from the Valley View Ranch area

The hike up to Teutonia Peak is an enjoyable walk mostly through joshua trees, and I reach the top at 14h15, an hour after leaving camp. After 15 minutes of relaxation to take in the view of everything below, and calling in to change my outgoing cell-phone message (I have marginal reception up here), I head back down.

At the base of the mountain, I head north toward Valley View Ranch on an old rolling road that's not on my maps, and which is now closed to vehicles and inside a Wilderness area. It ends at some old corrals not too far from the ranch. My arrival startles a lot of mourning doves near the corrals who flutter about.

After the corrals, I head south, along the western flank of Cima Dome, on the old road to Deer Spring, which is still open to motor vehicles.