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- I cut over from the power-line road to Kelso Dunes Road and make a stop at the washroom near the dunes trail
The nice thing about this is that I didn't have to dig a cat hole this morning! - The last couple miles up Kelso Dunes Road is enjoyable with the view toward Providence Mountains in my face
Plus, the road was recently graded, so the usual sand and washboard has departed. I'll turn left at the stop sign ahead and start riding down the hill to Kelso. - At the end of Kelso Dunes Road, I start riding down the paved Kelbaker Road, with the Granite Mountains behind me
After hiking Bull Canyon yesterday, I want to return to the Granite Mountains and poke around more. - I have 8 miles of downhill on Kelbaker Road before I reach Kelso, but a strong headwind is slowing me down
I've had a strong headwind going down this hill several times in the past. Bicyclists hate it when they have to pedal downhill! - As I head down Kelbaker Road, I glance to my right at the Providence Mountains, where I hiked a few days ago
"West Edgar Canyon #3" is roughly in the centre of the photo while Rex Mine is off at the left edge. - Coming up to the "big bend," I can now see the town of Kelso down in the distance
The headwind intensifies as I get further down into Kelso Valley. I'm pedalling quite a bit just to maintain 12 miles per hour as I head down the hill. - I stop for a moment when I pass the unmaintained Vulcan Mine Road
I haven't been up this road yet, but I was thinking that it might provide good access for hiking canyons in the Providence Mountains. However, Eric told me that he tried it and ran across a lot of deep drainages when hiking across the fan up in that area. - Approaching Kelso, I see a freight train in the distance with a lot of red cars
The Kelso Mountains and Old Dad Mountain rise in the background. - Arriving at Kelso Depot visitor centre, Mojave National Preserve
I haven't spoken to anyone since two days ago when I last stopped here, so I'll stop in and report on my Bull Canyon hike. - Kelso Depot is receiving a lot of visitors today due to the long weekend (Thanksgiving)
I still have enough water left to get back to Baker later today, so I don't have to ask for access to the basement utility closet for a water fill-up like I usually do. I donate my unused propane, since I can't take that back home with me on Amtrak. - I've taken this photo several times in the past with the 10-ton bike under the Kelso Depot porch
At the visitor centre, I chat with staff and buy another local history book. Hillary helps me identify the rabbitbrush in Bull Canyon, and offers a plant list. The copier dies, so she faxes it to herself as a way of making a copy. Great idea, and thanks!! - After the nice break at Kelso Depot, it's time to start the 12-mile climb up to the Kelbaker Road summit
Though long, it's an easy climb at about 2-3% grade most of the way. - For some reason, I always enjoy the climb out of Kelso toward Baker on Kelbaker Road
Part of the reason for this may be that I usually ride this hill at the end of a trip, when I'm at my strongest and most enthusiastic. - I pause on the way up Kelbaker Road to eat an energy bar and look across Kelso Valley toward the Mid Hills
From here, I can squint and see numerous locales that I've visited during previous Mojave National Preserve trips. I like the Mid Hills area over there in the distance, but skipped it on this trip due to the cold weather at the higher elevations. - Heading toward the Marl Mountains as I climb Kelbaker Road out of Kelso, Mojave National Preserve
Scenery-wise, this is probably my favourite part of the westbound Kelbaker Road climb out of Kelso. When the road reaches the Marl Mountains ahead, it bends to the left (northwest). - 20 minutes later, I'm around the bend on Kelbaker Road, with the Providence Mountains further and further behind me
The pavement is quite worn-out on this section of Kelbaker Road (and many others). - Up, up, slowly up Kelbaker Road, Mojave National Preserve
Only a couple of cars pass me while I climb the Kelbaker Road northwest out of Kelso. On the other hand, Kelbaker Road south of Kelso has quite a bit more traffic. - As I get closer to the Kelbaker Road summit, the moon rises behind me
... and the sun is starting to be hidden by the Kelso Mountains on the west side of the road. - I reach the Kelbaker Road summit at the power lines just after 16h and stop for a quick energy-bar break
Although I'm up at 3700 feet elevation here, downward views are largely obscured by the hilly terrain of the area. - I put on my windbreaker for the easy 20-mile downhill to Baker, and off into the sunset we go
I've done this Kelbaker Road descent around sunset quite a few times now, and always enjoy it. - I catch the red rays of sunset as I pedal down Kelbaker Road toward Baker
Though it is downhill, it's not steep and I have a light headwind, so I am pedalling to get some extra speed. On the fastest stretches, I still only attain 25 miles per hour. - It's still and silent as I ride into the sunset on Kelbaker Road
Air whooshes past my ears, my knobby tires hum relaxedly, and the 10-ton bike rattles lightly as it absorbs surface imperfections in the old paved road. No cars here, the road is mine. - Sunset fades into dusk, then darkness joins me while I enjoy the final 12 miles of the ride into Baker
At Baker, I check into the Wills Fargo Motel, take my first shower in 8 days, then eat a copious Mexican supper at Los Dos Toritos. During tomorrow's Amtrak trip back to San José, I'll burn few calories, for a change. Another awesome trip completed! - Elevation profile of bicycle route from Devil's Playground to Cornfield Spring Road via Jackass Canyon and Kelso Depot
31 bicycle miles (several miles walked) and 2739 feet elevation gain. - Bicycle route from Devil's Playground to Cornfield Spring Road via Jackass Canyon and Kelso Depot
31 bicycle miles (several miles walked) and 2739 feet elevation gain. - Elevation profile of bicycle route from Kelso Dunes area to Baker via Kelbaker Road
48.9 bicycle miles, 2195 feet of elevation gain, 3730 feet of elevation loss. - Bicycle route from Kelso Dunes area to Baker via Kelbaker Road
48.9 bicycle miles, 2195 feet of elevation gain, 3730 feet of elevation loss. - OK, everything out of the tent, it's time to pack up and leave!
I've been awake since 8h (I didn't get up for another hour), taking the morning slowly and lazily. Two cups of strong coffee and my usual camp breakfast of granola, tamari almonds, dried fruit, with the extra addition of pine nuts and beef jerky this morning.
After three enjoyable nights here on Cornfield Spring Road, I don't feel much like leaving. There are certainly more hikes I could do from here.
- Despite the near-freezing overnight temperatures, I'm shirtless and sweating a bit as I pack up in the warm morning sun
Everything is nicely crammed into my saddlebags and I'm ready to reassemble the 10-ton bike and move on. - The 10-ton bike slithers down Cornfield Spring Road at 5-7 miles per hour toward Kelso Depot
It's an easy, slightly downhill ride, not quite two miles long, but rocks and stretches of loose gravel require that it not be taken too quickly with a loaded-up bike. - As I approach Kelso, I see an RV driving up the paved Kelbaker Road
Cornfield Spring Road almost joins Kelbaker Road just ahead, but it instead turns right and parallels it for the final quarter-mile to Kelso Depot. - The final part of Cornfield Spring Road, which is shared with the road to Rex Mine, is quite sandy
I see some footprints here, and they might be mine from when I walked the 10-ton bike up this stretch three days ago. - Just before reaching the real pavement near Kelso Depot is an old washed-out road that was once paved
Perhaps this was one of the original roads in the town of Kelso, no longer needed. - My long stop at Kelso Depot was a lot of fun, but now it's time for the gentle 8-mile climb up Kelbaker Road to Kelso Dunes Road
I'm feeling fresh because I haven't been on the bike in a couple of days. The uphill grade is mostly 2-4% and I ride most of it at about 7 miles per hour with a slight tailwind to help me along. I've ridden this stretch of road several times. - On my left as I climb Kelbaker Road are the Providence Mountains, where I hiked the past two days
If I have my bearings correctly... Cornfield Spring Canyon is at the left where the ridgeline dips a little; Rex Mine is the tiny hill in the middleground; and West Edgar Canyon #3 enters the mountains at a slightly dark area to the right. - On my right as I climb Kelbaker Road, the usually vivid Kelso Dunes pale in the murky light of the cloudy afternoon
I'll camp somewhere beyond the dunes tonight. On this busy holiday weekend (by Mojave National Preserve standards), I expect the three official campsites near Kelso Dunes will have been taken by the time I get there. - It looks like a tarantula was run over by a car here on Kelbaker Road
I wonder where the rest of it ended up... This road gets a fair amount of traffic, and it does move quickly. - My 8-mile climb up Kelbaker Road ends when I reach Kelso Dunes Road, at about 2800 feet elevation, and turn right
A few miles straight ahead are the rocky and scenic Granite Mountains. I'll be visiting a new-to-me canyon in the lower Granites tomorrow (Bull Canyon), but I haven't explored much in the upper part of those mountains yet. - As I start down Kelso Dunes Road, I pause for the views across to Devils Playground and the Old Dad Mountain area
I camped over there almost a week ago. In a few minutes, a view of the Kelso Dunes will replace this one. My cell phone works here, so I send a text and change my outgoing message so people know I've made it this far. - With the setting sun in my eyes, I ride more quickly than usual down Kelso Dunes Road because the surface has just been graded
I've never seen Kelso Dunes Road so smooth; it's usually quite washboarded with a bit of surface sand. It is slightly downhill, but due to the bad surface, I never come close to reaching 20 miles per hour like today. - It's that time of day again when the Mojave Desert sunset briefly illuminates everything in its own special way
Riding down the freshly graded Kelso Dunes Road with the Providence Mountains behind me... - I make a quick stop at the Kelso Dunes outhouse at the base of the official hiking "trail" up the dunes
In bright sunlight, you immediately know the Kelso Dunes here is one big sand pile, but in this light it's not so apparent. - A few moments after visiting the Kelso Dunes outhouse, it's time to dismount again and check out the lighting effects behind me
The Providence Mountains always look good in the ever-changing light of sunset. - It turns out that the final mile of Kelso Dunes Road has not been freshly graded, and is the usual sand and washboard
Here at the end of Kelso Dunes Road, I take the right fork past "the campsite with a tree," but the campsite has already been claimed, as expected on a long weekend. - I take a very short break at the end of Kelso Dunes Road, enjoying the pink Providence Mountains, to consider my camping options
The official campsites here by the dunes are all taken. I suppose I could camp right here in the turn-out along the road like some other folks I just passed, but it's rather exposed, and I don't want to be overhearing their conversations all night. - One possibility is to stash my bike behind a creosote bush and walk my belongings into the adjacent Wilderness area
I could camp back there invisibly, but I'd still be within hearing distance of the other campers and I don't want that. It's amazing how far sound travels in the quiet desert, maintaining its clarity. - I decide that the best choice is to simply leave Kelso Dunes and its campers behind and head west down the power-line road
This way I'll be closer to tomorrow's hike in Bull Canyon. This was my original plan anyway, but I was planning to arrive here earlier and be well past Kelso Dunes before sunset - Sunset on the Kelso Dunes power-line road is nice, and the road starts out being OK for riding
I've never been down this road west of the dunes before, so I'm not sure where I'll end up camping. I'll keep my eyes open for potential good spots. A jackrabbit darts across the road. - The Kelso Dunes power-line road is getting sandy, so I'm now walking the bike a bit; time to find a campsite!
My campsite criteria: not too visible from the road, not directly under the transmission lines, not in a drainage wash in case of rain, and preferably high enough up to have a bit of a view. Not fussy, am I? - Hmmm... maybe there's a campsite for me on the raised rocky area to my left?
I leave the 10-ton bike at the road and go for a walk to see if there are any flat, non-rocky spaces up there wide enough to accommodate a tent. At first it doesn't look promising (too many big rocks). - Success! I found one flat, wide-enough, non-rocky spot above the road, so I'm back at the bike to dismantle it and set up camp
I bring the saddlebags, two at a time, to the campsite, which is about 100 feet from the road. I carry the bike to my campsite (off-road riding is not allowed, even in a non-Wilderness area like this), and set up camp in the dark.
Some clouds float around during the evening, often muffling the brilliant almost-full moon. The white ceiling over the desert casts a mysterious light on the Kelso Dunes, which are visible from my campsite. I can see for miles tonight.
The quiet evening is often interrupted by the loud whooshing of strong winds above in the adjacent Granite Mountains. The forlorn howls warn of a possible wind storm tonight, but, here at my campsite, most of the wind is just a big noise, not a physical force. Only occasionally does the wind actually touch down, and when it does, it lacks the violence of the gusts I can hear overhead. This is one of the more mysterious sounds heard in the desert.
Supper is Mountain House Beef Stew, one of my favourites. As the evening progresses, several extra layers of clothing go on, and a few swigs of brandy add extra warmth.
- I spend two hours at Kelso Depot, longer than expected, chatting with staff and a couple of bicyclists on their way to Las Vegas
It's always good to speak to Preserve staff to see what they can share about areas you plan to visit. I dump my trash, refill my water supply for the next two days from the basement utility closet, browse the art exhibit in the downstairs gallery, and buy a local history book from the book shop.
The bicyclists I've met here are a lot of fun. They rode from Portland, Oregon to Los Angeles, and are now near the end of their trip, always hungry of course. We chat and eat at The Beanery lunch counter, hoping that some day they'll start serving home cooking like they used to.
I forget to take photos, so I'll use one from later in the trip.
- Elevation profile of bicycle route from Cornfield Spring Road to west of Kelso Dunes by bicycle
16 bicycle miles and 900 feet elevation gain. - Elevation profile of bicycle route from Cornfield Spring Road to west of Kelso Dunes by bicycle
16 bicycle miles and 900 feet elevation gain. - Historic fencing
- Historic fencing
- Historic bird perch
- We were here
- Unexploded ordnance
- Slow burial
- Not quite random
- Etched into the rock
- Mining claim in a bottle
- Abandoned fire ring
- In the backcountry
- Desert mushroom on a hot day
- Creeping shadows
- Waiting for sunset
- Creosote bush family
- Skull and desert buckwheats
- Entwined Joshua tree
- A tarantula hawk hugs a bouquet of buckwheat blossoms
- 100 degrees F in the smoky haze
- Bright sunshine and a bit of smoke in the air as I look down toward "The Racetrack" in Death Valley National Park
- Bone scatter
- Thanksgiving 2019 snowfall melts away
- Staircase
- Sandstorm, Eureka Valley
- The 2007 Henry Coe Park fire grew significantly in the hours since I left the park
September 3, 2007, 6:07 p.m. - The huge 2007 Henry Coe Park fire starts small and innocently on my way out of the park after a week-long bikepacking trip
September 3, 2007, 2:15 p.m. - Warm sunshine ahead
- Distant dunes
- March to the gateway
- Desert rock garden
- Upward
- A, but not B
- Funeral Mountains drainages
- Rock walls
- Root system
- Sand platform
- Dodder and desert primrose
- Curves, points and clouds
- A way through
- Slab dune
- Desert poppies, Bigelow's monkeyflowers and gravel
- Fluffy in the breeze
- Early sunrise, Eureka Dunes
- Joshua tree and buckwheat
- Webs
- Outline
- Hiding petroglyphs
- Fading petroglyphs
- Rectangle
- Just enjoying the view...
- On-stage
- Tic tac toe
- Rattlesnake tip
- Juxtaposition
- Burro trails
- Desert mallow and granite
- Walk of giants
- Creosote bush family
- Desert abronia
- Storm clouds
- Outpost
- Afternoon haze
- Cloudy day
- Desert beach
- Ring of rocks
- Abandoned firewood from years ago
- Implement
- Snake #1
- Snake #2
- Bigelow's monkeyflowers and pine cones
- Granite Mountain Wilderness
- Dry wash, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
- Indian paintbrush, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
- Elderly juniper tree, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
- Phlox, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
- Morning, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
- Wallflower, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
- Road, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
- Evening stroll, Death Valley National Park
- Scratches on the earth
- Buckwheat, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
- Afternoon stroll under changing skies
- Drainages and road
- Light in the canyon dims first, and then the temperature starts dropping rapidly, as sunset approaches
- Dripping cliff
- Penguin man
- Joshua tree on a smoky afternoon
- Moonscape
- As if breathing, sand-drifts stick to the hillside, collapse under their own weight and slide down, over and over again
- Dusk, Wagon Road
- Cattle pond near Wagon Road
- Tree of vultures, Center Flats Road
- Smoke over San Francisco Bay, August 2020
- Smoke over the Diablo Range near Calaveras Reservoir, August 2020
- Smoke in the Monument Peak area, August 2020
- Eureka Dunes
- White drapery
- Winters Peak, Death Valley National Park
- Dry waters
- End of day
- Looking across the Darwin Plateau
- Desert rock garden
- Swirling hillside
- After the fire, Death Valley National Park highlands
- A glance across the Nevada border from the Last Chance Range
- A little dry lake down there to explore
- Cactus buddies
- Distant puff of smoke
- Pancake Rock and the hungry orange lichen monster
- Morning sun busts through the smoky haze of the California fires
- In the smoky sunlight of the California fires, a tree charred in a previous fire slowly returns to the earth
- Crossing
- Solitude at a small dry lake in the backcountry
- Social distancing for plants
- Rosy buckwheat flowers overlook a smoky canyon in the highlands of Death Valley National Park
- Slow-moving coyote in the smoky afterglow of the California fires finds residual water in a hose at a decommissioned cistern
- Joshua trees and yellow rabbitbrush, Death Valley National Park
- Quiet moment at the end of a pristine dry lake
- Human skull, Mojave National Preserve, 2014
- Human skull, Mojave National Preserve, 2014
- Human skull, Mojave National Preserve, 2014
- Human skull, Mojave National Preserve, 2014
- Those darker hills, with their simple lines and angles, Death Valley National Park
- Gravity, Death Valley National Park
- Sunshine warms a chilly Death Valley canyon
- Simple sunset, Death Valley National Park—nothing to do but watch it change
- Erosion, Death Valley National Park, Fall 2020
- The Joshua tree orator welcomed me with open arms that day, happy to greet a human for the first time in a long time, and assured that miles walked up this nameless and unassuming Death Valley canyon would be worth the effort
- Wry Canyon smiles back at me, Death Valley National Park.
- Gentle downhill, Death Valley National Park.
- Jagged shadow, Death Valley National Park
- A cholla cactus watches me from a safe distance, Death Valley National Park
- Elevation profile of Old Government Road day hike to Piute Spring from Piute Gorge campsite
5 hiking miles and about 1000 feet of elevation gain. - Route of Old Government Road day hike to Piute Spring from Piute Gorge campsite
5 hiking miles and about 1000 feet of elevation gain. - A bird feather is stuck in this cholla cactus
Permanently? - I arrive home at the tent just as it's getting dark; my first job is to add chlorine tablets to my water, to make if drinkable
Supper is Backpacker's Pantry Chicken Vindaloo: spicy and delicious, if perhaps a bit lightweight. The strong winds stopped during the day, and the temperature drops down into the 30s. Nice evening, I listen to a pair of owls chatting to each other. - I drop down a final 150 feet with views across the entire Lanfair Valley to the New York Mountains
I'll be over there again tomorrow. At centre-right is that circular corral I passed earlier today. - I pick this spot in the shallow stream, just deep enough to filter water; lots of cottonwood leaves floating around
Piute Spring itself is really close, but the brush is quite thick, so I decide this spot should do just fine. A nice, peaceful place to sit down and filter water. - Ooops, my water filter has clogged, so I resort to dipping my 10-litre water bag in the stream
I'll put chlorine tablets in my water when I get back to camp. My water filter was almost new, so I didn't think of bringing a spare. I'm surprised my filter has expired so soon; my water sources have been fairly clean, except here at Piute Creek. - My water bag is 3/4 full now, so it's time to leave the quiet babbling brook and walk back up the hill to my campsite
The stream is so shallow that I couldn't fill up the water bag 100%. Also, I'll have some sand grit at the bottom of the bag, which I won't want to drink. - It's about 30 minutes before sunset, perfect time to be climbing a big hill in the Mojave Desert
... for the views. - I end up off-trail for a short distance on my way up the hill
A number of barrel cacti grow up here on the hillside. - I'm on the Old Government Road again here (the old alignment of what we today call the Mojave Road)
The road is becoming quite grown-in, but is still visible. - Another view of the Old Government Road roadbed
Wagons were hauled up this hill over 100 years ago. - I turn around on my way up the Old Government Road to take in the sunset
- Almost at the top!