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- This Claret-cup cactus is comfortable growing on a rock overlooking the Cima Dome expanse
- We pass another blooming Claret-cup cactus along Teutonia Peak Trail as we descend
- Teutonia Peak Trail bends and heads toward the northeast
- Desert sages along Teutonia Peak Trail pick up the pre-sunset orange glow
- We turn around for a moment to look back toward Teutonia Peak
- Rock outcrops and irregular joshua trees create endless visual interest on the high plain between Teutonia Peak and Kessler Peak
- Kessler Peak soaks up as much of the reddish light as it can
- The lower part of Teutonia Peak Trail was once an old road, as is visible here
- Heather pauses to look at another one of the giant joshua trees along Teutonia Peak Trail
- We're almost back at the minivan when we pass one last Desert four o'clock blooming in the sunset
- My final morning at Mid Hills campground, I hear a noise outside my tent, and guess who it is?
- The cottontail rabbit hears me and looks over my way before darting away
- After four great nights here at Mid Hills campground, I pack up; a strong gust of wind blows my tent over once it's half empty
- I've procrastinated all morning, but I'm finally packed and ready to leave Mid Hills campground
- I always enjoy the expansive views across Round Valley while riding down Wild Horse Canyon Road
- At the end of Wild Horse Canyon Road, I turn left on Black Canyon Road for a couple of miles
- An old wooden fence along Black Canyon Road that burned in the 2005 brush fires has been replaced by a wire fence
- I pause along Black Canyon Road to take a look across the valley to Table Top Mountain
- I zoom in for a better look at the expanse of orange Desert mallows in this part of Round Valley
- Now it's time to ride down "The Shortcut Road" between upper Black Canyon Road and Cedar Canyon Road
- The "Shortcut Road" is only 3/4 mile long; soon enough, I'm approaching Cedar Canyon Road, that horizontal line ahead
- Oooo, land for sale on Cedar Canyon Road
- Cedar Canyon Road east of the Mid Hills is mostly unpaved, except for this short stretch by a cattle guard
- Since I'm in no rush today, I decide to take a short detour over to Government Holes, that big tree up the dirt road here
- This sign near Government Holes used to say something about private property
- Well, this is it: Government Holes, Mojave National Preserve
- I park the 10-ton bike and walk over to the Government Holes corral, next to which a cistern full of green water glows
- The corral at Government Holes, Mojave National Preserve
- Some of the old fencing at the Government Holes corral is made of unhewn wood posts with metal horizontal members
- OK fat bovines, I'll leave you alone and let you get back to your green water
- A substantial bird's nest up in the Government Holes cottonwood tree also watches me
- I ride down an old alignment of the Mojave Road that will arrive at the Bert Smith Rock House after about 1.5 miles
- This little piece of dirt road is a good mountain-bike ride, if you like sagebrush flats
- I wasn't planning on revisiting the Bert Smith Rock House today (I was here last week)
- Gotta love the view toward the New York Mountains from the front windows of the Bert Smith Rock House
- There's something so luxurious to me about the solid wood interior of the Bert Smith Rock House
- A warning note above the fireplace in the Bert Smith Rock House
- I go for a walk around the Bert Smith Rock House property, which I didn't do on my visit here last week
- Before I leave the Bert Smith Rock House and ride over to Pinto Valley, I refill my Camelbak
- I leave the Bert Smith Rock House and coast down the hill into Watson Wash
- Here I am at the beginning of New York Mountains Road
- The first part of New York Mountains Road slowly climbs out of Watson Wash
- New York Mountains Road passes the eastern tip of Pinto Mountain on a very gentle uphill
- A snake crosses New York Mountains Road, Mojave National Preserve
- I reach a fork on New York Mountains Road and veer to the left on the lesser path toward Howe Spring
- This purple sage stands out along Howe Spring Road since this part of Pinto Valley is mostly dry grassland
- Howe Spring Road is rather rough in places, but nothing that a high-clearance can't take care of
- Ah, another crossroads! The right fork leads to Howe Spring, the left to Bathtub Spring
- I pass a big boulder alongside the road to Bathtub Spring
- I arrive at the end of the road toward Bathtub Spring
- Ah, there's even a fire pit here, which doesn't look like it has been used in a while
- I go for a walk in the adjacent rock piles to get familiar with the area around my new campsite
- Time for my evening meal; I'm hungry! Mountain House Sweet and Sour Pork with Rice, predictably tasty
- A sandy wash near my tent makes for a nice place to dig my morning cat hole, but of course I won't disturb this chia sage
- Light clouds moved in overnight, attenuating the morning sun and allowing me to sleep in until 9h30, wow!
- The wind has picked up again, so I place large rocks inside my tent before leaving on today's hike
- I've been hearing occasional bluejay chirps all morning
- The Five Springs hike begins and I pass a blooming Goodings verbena as I walk away from my campsite
- A couple of bluejays perch on a burned tree, watching my tent
- I start by walking up the road toward Howe Spring, spring #1 of 5 on today's hike
- Approaching Howe Spring, I notice some old scrub oaks growing back from their burned structure
- The old cistern at Howe Spring is dry, but there is some water in the adjacent hole in the ground
- The water at Howe Spring is quite stagnant!
- I continue walking up the wash beyond Howe Spring toward the top of one of the forks of Butcher Knife Canyon
- I relax at the top of Hill 1751-T above Butcher Knife Canyon and try my cell phone before hiking down to the sandy wash below
- The hike down into Butcher Knife Canyon starts off as a small, rocky drainage
- A few yellow Groundsel flowers and orange Desert mallows brighten up the burned area here
- Upper Butcher Knife Canyon just looks like a bunch of sand at first, but many little pincushion flowers grow here
- An instant later, I arrive near the top of Butcher Knife Canyon and start the downhill hike
- A little further down Butcher Knife Canyon, a green carpet covers the sandy ground
- I've just reached the really green part of Butcher Knife Canyon
- Aha, a trickle of water passes by these Mimulus bushes (Monkey flower) and their yellow flowers in upper Butcher Knife Canyon
- There's enough water here in upper Butcher Knife Canyon that the stream channel is quite brushy
- The stream in upper Butcher Knife Canyon is not big, but it is constant
- As much as possible, I try to walk along the rocky sides of Butcher Knife Canyon, instead of through the thick brush
- On the other side of Butcher Knife Canyon, I find myself on ground too steep (again), and have to climb back down to the stream
- Nice, a little pinyon pine growing on the side of Butcher Knife Canyon
- I come around a bend in Butcher Knife Canyon and get my first view out toward Cima Dome
- I have more patches of brush to cut through or circumvent here in Butcher Knife Canyon
- I've seen a few penstemons blooming here in Butcher Knife Canyon today
- I climb up some rocks, but it's a dead-end, so back down to the Butcher Knife Canyon stream I go
- I'm getting close to the mouth of Butcher Knife Canyon now
- There's enough water at this spot in Butcher Knife Canyon for a small pool to form
- This is my official photo of Butcher Knife Spring, spring #2 on today's five-spring hike
- Exiting the mouth of Butcher Knife Canyon, erosion in the sand shows that there's quite a bit of water here from time to time
- I'm finally out of Butcher Knife canyon and walking down an easy-to-hike sandy area
- A few verbenas are still flowering in the mouth of Butcher Knife Canyon
- The road up to Butcher Knife Canyon is just outside the Wilderness boundary, beyond which vehicles are prohibited
- Ah, an old Gordon's dry gin bottle...
- I hike across an area with a lot of Fremont pincushion flowers
- Cottonwood Spring is only a bit more than a mile away
- Burned joshua trees are scattered across this plain, but fragments of the old juniper forest survived the 2005 brush fires
- There's quite a bit of Paperbag bush growing on the burned plain between Butcher Knife Canyon and Cottonwood Spring
- I'm always happy to pass flowering Desert sages (Salvia dorrii)
- Other animals before me have carved a bit of a path in the stiff blackbrush on the the plain
- There's never a shortage of rock formations to amuse one's eyes while hiking in the Mid Hills and New York Mountains
- I locate the stream that emanates from Cottonwood Spring and start following it upstream
- I arrive at what appears to be the source of Cottonwood Spring, spring #3 on today's hike
- I figure that I might as well walk over the hill to the real Cottonwood Spring as marked on my maps, since I'm in the area
- My next goal is to climb over those hills and arrive at the Cabin Springs area, spring #4 of the day
- Part of the hillside leaving Cottonwood Spring is covered in sagebrush, and a few pinon pines
- I stumble across a small prospect above Cottonwood Spring, Mojave National Preserve, not marked on my map
- One of the hilltops between Cottonwood Spring and Cabin Springs is topped with numerous flowering cacti
- The hills between Cottonwood Spring and Cabin Springs are high enough to provide great views
- This open hillside in the Mid HIlls boasts a few delphiniums and Desert sage flowers between the junipers and pinon pines
- Hmmm... a pink ribbon tied to a tree branch, marking a hiking route in this remote part of the New York Mountains
- More awesome zoom-in views across Ivanpah Valley from the hills between Cabin Springs and Cottonwood Springs
- I'm on a little plateau now, headed toward the Cabin Springs area
- That rock outcrop on the ridge line at far left looks like a hawk's head
- This views down the hill toward Cima Dome across upper Ivanpah Valley are quite nice
- I keep looking at the hawk-head rock formation as I walk past the hills near Cabin Springs
- I reach a sandy wash near Cabin Springs, so I walk down it briefly
- More rocky ridges near Cabin Springs
- I arrive at a stream flowing down from Cabin Springs and follow it for a short distance
- It's past 16h30 now, and I realize I have to climb up over the ridge and skip a side trip to Live Oak Spring
- To my surprise, out here in the middle of nowhere in the New York Mountains, I come across a rock cairn
- The hill above Cabin Springs that I need to climb is fairly steep
- I have good footing on this hill, but have to be careful not to get to close to those yuccas in case I slip!
- Just look at the rocks and keep climbing upward!
- More rocks, and even a few old fallen trees, to climb over on the way up the hill above Cabin Springs
- As I reach the top of a rock staircase above Cabin Springs, the views begin to open up behind me
- I'm getting closer to the ridge, near one of the spires that tower over the Cabin Springs area
- As I get close to the New York Mountains ridge, I can now see all the way across Ivanpah Dry Lake in the distance
- I reach the crest of the New York Mountains; my world suddenly changes with views to the other side
- The route back to my Pinto Valley campsite will be cross-country, with lots of little ups and downs
- I cross over to another small drainage, then follow it uphill a short distance
- The wash I'm following enters a semi-moist, shady area, so I climb up out onto the hill alongside it; where to go next...
- I find myself on a open area of the New York Mountains from which my eyes can follow Black Canyon Road across Round Valley
- I check the GPS and decide to head for the slot between those two hills, then turn slightly to the left
- From here, I can see all the way to the Providence Mountains if I zoom in hard enough
- After another GPS check, I see I need to climb over this little hill ahead, to the left of the pinnacles
- I'm almost back to Pinto Valley, but not the part where I want to be (Bathtub Spring)
- OK, Bathtub Spring should be over that way, beyond the hills just to my right
- I start hiking over and around this pile of rocks, aiming at Bathtub Spring
- From this hill, I get a good look at the back (north) side of Pinto Mountain, part of which I hiked last year
- I'm between a few hills, and I should find myself overlooking the Bathtub Spring area once I reach the top
- I get a decent view from these hills of Drum Peak as the sun goes down
- I start my final descent for the day, into the little valley where I should find Bathtub Spring
- I arrive at Bathtub Spring at sunset, which is not the same Bathtub Spring where I hiked last week
- Despite some algae, the water quality here at Bathtub Spring is quite good this year, but my MSR water filter is having problems
- My camera and I catch some nice sunset colours on the way back to my tent; I arrive around 20h15
- The wind wakes me up at 5h15, in time to see the sunrise, but it's too early for me, so I go back to sleep
- After a few more hours of sleep, I'm up and enjoying the surprisingly warm morning here in Pinto Valley
- After breakfast and coffee, my task is to walk the 3/4 mile over to Bathtub Spring and filter more drinking water
- A claret cup cactus grows in a boulder pile near Bathtub Spring, Mid Hills, Mojave National Preserve
- I arrive at Bathtub Spring and find quite a few of these little white butterflies playing in the moist area by the spring
- There's not much surface algae in the basin at Bathtub Spring, but there is a lot of heavy, slippery growth deeper in the water
- I get on with the business of filtering enough water for a couple of days from Bathtub Spring
- I persevere with my ailing MSR water filter and manage to fill my water bag with clean, tasty water from Bathtub Spring
- Time to go for a bicycle ride, without the added weight of all my camping gear!
- Back on a road, I ride for a while, then stash the bicycle in the brush and go for a hike to a rocky area
- Graffiti
- Patterns
- Butterfly
- After a bit more hiking, I arrive at more rocks
- Flower
- Squiggles
- Bird
- Tic-tac-toe
- Bulb
- Sunshine
- Smoke
- Cactus
- I pass some yellow-flowering bushes that I don't see often
- Close-up of Keckiella antirrhinoides (Chaparral Bush-beardtongue)
- Helicopters
- I've seen so many of these Mojave ground squirrels on this trip, but never manage to photograph them
- There's a lot of private property in some parts of Mojave National Preserve
- My favourite part of the ride back to camp is passing through Pinto Valley's sagebrush patches
- Strong winds have picked up during the afternoon, blowing in some end-of-day haze
- I take a look behind me and see that the haze is thicker than I thought
- Sunset at Pinto Valley inevitably results in another tent-advertisement photo
- The jays are still hanging out in the trees near my campsite at sunset
- Sundown at Pinto Valley means it's time for my evening meal; I'm really hungry
- Sleep, I don't want it to end!
- Breakfast this morning is a hot meal, not my usual routine of granola, dried fruit and nuts
- Today's New York Mountains hike starts by walking up the road toward Howe Spring
- I pass a Scrub oak growing in a crevice in the rocks near Howe Spring
- From here, I get a northeast view toward the highest peaks of the New York Mountains
- Near some patches of Fleabane (I think) is a bright yellow flower that I haven't seen before
- I stop to take a closer look at the Munz' mariposa lily
- I arrive at a fork in the old roads in the New York Mountains foothills
- Wilderness markers delineate the end of the old road for cars and bicycles
- No human footprints are found in this sandy wash as I continue my hike up into the New York Mountains
- I pass a patch of bunch grasses in the New York Mountains foothills
- I continue walking up the wash and am amazed when I reach a small stream
- A thin cascade of water flows over the rocks in this unnamed New York Mountains stream
- Further up this unnamed spring, the water flow thins out a little, but I'm still surprised to discover this
- I decide to climb up out of the wash onto the ridge at my left for easier hiking
- I take a look behind me to see that I'm quite a few feet above Pinto Valley now
- I pass through a minimalist desert garden as I hike up the rocky New York Mountains foothills
- I'm just high enough now that I get perspective on most of my Butcher Knife Canyon hiking route two days ago
- I've been noticing a few ladybugs on my way up the rocky terrain
- I take an energy bar (mmm, chocolate) break behind a boulder pile; it's really windy up here at 6015 feet elevation
- I'm high enough now to see all the way across the west end of Ivanpah Valley
- I hike up the rather barren hill toward the overlook above the Cliff Canyon Spring area
- The top of the hill is really windswept, but a scattering of junipers seems to live just fine up here
- I reach Cliff Canyon Spring Peak #1 and take in the views from just under 6500 feet
- I ramble along the ridge above Cliff Canyon Spring a bit, and send a few text messages to let folks that all is well
- There's so much wind that I've pretty much given up trying to wear my hat; it keeps blowing off my head