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- At the edge of a Mojave Desert sand drift
- Rear view, 2521 and 2525 Barrington St, Halifax, 1982
- Antler and sagebrush, Death Valley National Park.
- Rear view, 2521 and 2525 Barrington St, Halifax, 1982
- 2521 and 2525 Barrington St, Halifax, 1982
- Sundown, Mojave National Preserve, York Fire zone.
- Creosote bush and dune.
- 2577 Maynard Street (formerly 229 Maynard), Halifax, 1983
- Desert dandelions blow in the wind
- 2195 Barrington Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1982
- Scarecrow Joshua tree, Mojave National Preserve, York Fire zone.
- 2577 Maynard Street (formerly 229 Maynard), Halifax, 1983
- Windbreak
- 5531-5533 Buddy Daye St. (formerly 113-115 Gerrish St), Halifax, 1982
- Killdeer egg laid on the ground in a meager "nest"
- Creosote bush and roots, Mojave Desert.
- Day's end, Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve.
- Low-lying lupines influence the pattern of ripples in the desert sand
- 2390-92 Creighton Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- 2013 Creighton Street (formerly 3 Creighton St), Halifax, 1982
- Foggy day, 2315-29 Creighton Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- The Akins Cottage, 2151 Brunswick Street (formerly 285 Brunswick), Halifax, 1982
- Demolition, Buddy Daye Street, Halifax
- Demolition, Buddy Daye Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Rabbitbrush season
- 2565 Barrington Street, Halifax
- 5527 Buddy Daye St, Halifax (formerly 5527 Gerrish Street)
- Sand outpour, Mojave Trails National Monument area
- Camille's Fish n Chips, Barrington Street, Halifax, 1984
- Laundry day, 5527-5533 Buddy Daye Street (formerly Gerrish Street), Halifax, Nova Scotia
- A family of deer visit Pacheco Camp to get a drink from the "horse spring."
- Rock island in the sand
- Sand platform
- Storm clouds approaching
- Empty parking lot, weather too hot!
- Coit Road descends toward the Mahoney Meadows area.
- Deer near Pacheco Ridge Road.
- Sand patterns
- Rain, sagebrush and pines
- I reach a flat area on Manzanita Point Road and see smoke not far away; looks like a brush fire in Henry Coe State Park.
- Gunk on my water filter intake tube from Clark Spring.
- Before setting up camp, I check out the water situation at China Hole
- It's such a treat to have a bit of shade at the end of a really hot day
- This is one of the best views from upper Dunne Avenue down to Anderson Reservoir and the town of Morgan Hill below that
- Heading up one of the rollers on Pacheco Ridge Road.
- Sun pokes through the clouds near Mono Lake
- The seat in the shower.
- 92 degrees in the shade, according to the thermometer on the side of the shower house.
- Pacheco Horse Camp.
- The tent hides under one of the huge oak trees at Pacheco Camp.
- From here, I can clearly see the trail up the Robison Mountain ridge line whose beginning I didn't see down below
- The top of Canteen Trail ends at Pacheco Ridge Road.
- Just before entering this wooded area, I make a note of where it seems the Robison Mountain Trail should be
- Looking for Rose Spring, it should be here somewhere.
- Pacheco Camp buildings as seen from just above on Coit Road.
- 15 miles on Coyote Creek Trail, then another seven miles on nasty San José streets, and I'm home!
- Looking back down the Canteen Trail to take in the view.
- This is Live Oak Spring, Henry Coe State Park
- Enjoying the views up on Pacheco Ridge Road in the hot sun. My cell phone works here!
- I'm boiling water for my backpacking meal tonight at dusk; usually I wait until after dark for some unknown reason
- Back at the hot tent, the sun begins to set on my little plateau above Jackrabbit Lake.
- Time to throw out the iodine-tainted Jackrabbit Lake water that I've been drinking all day.
- The sign on Coit Road near the Pacheco Camp cabin says that it's 16 miles to Park Headquarters.
- I like walking through some easy-to-miss chia sages in Upper Black Diamond Spring Valley
- I go for a short walk up the trail from the campsite to Sierra View Spring to filter enough water to get me to Mississippi Lake.
- The wild pigs run away once they hear me coming up the road.
- The lower part of the China Hole Trail includes a number of switchbacks.
- Orestimba Creek Road rises a bit above the canyon, which becomes rather narrow after a while
- Well, that short downhill was fun! At the bottom of the hill, I reach Los Cruzeros and take a break.
- I begin the dreaded climb up the Willow Ridge Trail that will take me to the top of Willow Ridge above Mississippi Lake.
- Taking a breather at the Orestimba Corral to assess our condition after crashing on the way down the hill from Will's Pond.
- Further up Pacheco Creek Trail, a grader parked alongside the trail bakes in the hot sun, with nobody inside.
- Descending Coit Road back into the canyon to my campsite at Pacheco Camp.
- More picturesque rolling down Mahoney Meadows Road.
- The 10-ton bike waits a few feet above the rocky bottom of China Hole Trail while I look for a campsite.
- I pass a marker indicating that the trail continues straightahead (which seems obvious to me)
- One of a series of ups and down on Pacheco Ridge Road. Awesome views up here.
- I've just turned around and am looking back down into the canyon.
- Arriving back at Paradise Lake, a pretty sight, home again for the night
- I peel the outer layer off the tent to expose as much screen as possible and take a break inside away from the flies
- The tent is intact; I always wonder how many curious animals visit it during my absence
- It's uphill for the next mile to the top of Pacheco Ridge, 550 feet above
- Will I get clean at Pacheco Camp?
- Half a mile up Pacheco Creek Trail, the singletrack Rose Dam Trail veers off and rises eventually to Hoover Lake.
- The lower part of Canteen Trail, near the spring.
- 95 degrees in the shade at Pacheco Camp at 19h.
- Old concrete cistern along Bear Spring Road.
- More oaks on lower Long Ridge Road.
- The beautiful ride down Mahoney Meadows comes to an end when I reach the intersection of the China Hole Trail.
- I experience more great views on the return trip down Rooster Comb Trail to Orestimba Creek
- China Hole at sunset, looking northeast toward The Narrows.
- Time to call it a day. The tent is set up at China Hole (looking northeast up the canyon).
- Sheesh, I was getting excited about standing under a steady stream of water, but the water is so cold!
- An old outbuilding along Pacheco Creek Trail not too far from Pacheco Camp.
- Canteen Trail keeps heading upward.
- I ride up the road a little and stop again to look at the sculptural shadows of the trees on the next ridge (Wasno Ridge).
- I start back up the Rooster Comb Trail to the right to avoid the private property on Orestimba Creek Road ahead
- Contemplating my route here on The Lost Road...
- Climbing these weird hills of earth is fun
- I get my first view toward the north, above Upper San Antonio Valley
- After 0.6 mile, I reach the Rooster Comb Trail and I've already drank 1.5 litres of water
- I just descended 1000 feet in 1.7 miles down the steep Poverty Flat Road to the bottom of the canyon.
- Rolling terrain on Long Ridge Road between Orestimba Creek and Jackrabbit Lake.
- Gnarled oak on Pacheco Creek Trail at a (dry) creek crossing.
- The dry creek bed near Rose Spring.
- A shady area on the upper part of the China Hole Trail.
- I leave Mahoney Meadows Road and take the left trail fork toward China Hole
- A quarter mile climb up a little hill
- Paradise Lake is small compared to Jackrabbit Lake.
- Heading up the County Line Road grade toward Mississippi Ridge, stopping by a trap for wild pigs.
- The trail to Rose Spring obviously doesn't get a whole lot of use.
- Another switchback near the bottom of China Hole Trail
- The gravel of dry-in-summer Orestimba Creek radiates heat on a 100-degree day like concrete does in a big city
- The 10-ton bike follows the tire tracks through the creosote bush scrub
- I've decided to call this The Lost Road, since I'm not exactly sure where it's leading me
- All packed up and ready to leave Sierra View; on toward Mississippi Lake!
- I pause along Mahoney Meadows Road to take in the view across the canyon to Willow Ridge on the other side.
- Getting closer to the bottom of the canyon, which is almost visible through the trees
- Coyote Creek Trail is my chosen route back into San José today instead of the busy, but more direct, Monterey Road
- Hiking a segment of Orestimba Creek Road that I've never been on before, everything feels familiar again
- Old fence along Bear Spring Road.
- Higher up the Canteen Trail toward the top.
- Beyond the carpet of chamise, manzanitas start appearing along China Hole Trail.
- Expansive views across to the Willow Ridge area on the right and far beyond as Mahoney Meadows Road descends
- Back on Orestimba Creek Road, I take a moment to explore the fenced entrance to the privately owned ranch
- The shower hose can be suspended from a pully and then raised or lowered.
- I pass a few early Desert mallow flowers along the Mojave Road
- I finally meet the junction of Poverty Flat Road and Mahoney Meadows Road, and begin a short, fun, and steep downhill.
- Beyond Willson Camp, some of the rise on Wagon Road is very gentle and easy to ride as it rolls along the ridges
- Bear Spring Road drops back down to the level of the dry creek after a short rise.
- Big grasses in the dry creek bed at China Hole, looking southwest down the canyon.
- A dead fish rests in the large pool at China Hole
- The Sierra View campsite in the morning.
- I'm just about to reach the high point of this part of Poverty Flat Road, near the junction of the Jackass Trail.
- My first stop is the dam at Paradise Lake to pump some water
- Gold Valley Road keeps rising
- Almost two miles up Pacheco Creek Trail, I see the sign ahead for the trail to Rose Spring.
- Coit Road crosses Willow Ridge Road on top of the next ridge at about 2250 feet.
- I reach the Rooster Comb Summit Trail and decide to walk up it a quarter mile
- I've reached Mississippi Ridge and I'll turn left here on Coit Road
- Death Valley National Park welcomes me
- My Greenwater Valley Road veers off to the right
- Back at the tent, the first thing to do is wipe myself down and get rid of some of the salt and sunscreen residue on my skin
- Supper tonight is Mountain House Chicken and Rice, a flavourful and oily 800-calorie "meal for two"
- Rooster Comb Trail meanders through another open area and crosses a small dry creek
- For safety reasons, I give up on the idea of hiking up Robison Mountain and continue backtracking along Orestimba Creek Road
- Rising higher on China Hole Trail, I still have some grandiose views down into the Coyote Creek canyon below
- On the way down, I stop at the portable toilets at Anderson Reservoir, which is a County park
- I pass another intersection and I'm on the Mojave Road again (there's a bit of firm ground for me to ride on here)
- After backtracking 1/3 mile, I locate the Long Ridge Road that I missed, my route to Jackrabbit Lake
- And here's China Hole, the gravel area to the left, which is actually a fork of Coyote Creek covered by water in the wet season
- Upon hearing some noises outside, I discover a lone wild pig moseying around the Paradise Lake dam
- After 2.4 miles on Center Flats Road, and only 300 feet overall elevation drop, I begin the steep hike down Walsh Trail
- The 3/4 mile drop down into the canyon to Kelly Lake, 450 feet below, was fun.
- Mahoney Meadows Road continues its descent along the ridge through the meadow.
- I suck back water at the joyous moment of attaining Pacheco Ridge
- I see that Wagon Road has another steep hill ahead for me
- The orange light has just stopped lighting up the Joshua trees, but still casts a glow on the Castle Mountains over there
- A series of short hills surprise me along southbound Highway 127
- A better view of that switchback in the previous photo.
- The narrow trail ducks into a woodsy area
- I stop for a Vietnamese-deer-jerky break in the Joshua tree forest along Hart Mine Rd
- A view of the small car campground at Henry Coe State Park from the Sierra View campsite.
- A yellow-flowered buckwheat-like plant.
- China Hole Trail winds across a meadow on its way up.
- A downed pine tree lays across a switchback on the Rooster Comb Trail
- I walk around a bend and here it is: Kingbird Pond
- China Hole Trail passes briefly through a stand of manzanitas
- The views back down to Hunting Hollow below are already inspiring, and I've not risen much yet
- Another switchback on the lower part of China Hole Trail.
- I pass a modern outhouse at the junction of Wagon Road and Wasno Road, near Wasno Pond
- A number of ceanothus bushes dot the flat landscape just north of the private ranch
- After the short flat stretch of dirt road at the bottom of the canyon that is Poverty Flat, it's time to climb out of the canyon
- Cotton-candy smoke from the Henry Coe brush fire at sunset in central San José.
- As Willow Ridge Trail rises, it passes through a brushy area with pretty red-leaved poison oak reaching out into the trail.
- Of course, what comes up must come down, and Red Creek Road drops back down to the dry stream bed
- I pedal slowly down the road from Hunting Hollow and make my first stop at Fern Spring, after a quarter mile
- Close up of the burn from the Gold Valley Road fire is interesting
- Heading down that crazy short, steep hill on the road to Jackrabbit Lake again.
- The gentle rollers along the top of the ridge here at about 2400 feet are fun to ride, even in the heat
- A half-mile rise out of the canyon, and then a ride across Paradise Flat back to the lake...
- At the bottom of the hill, I cross dry Mississippi Creek again
- I park the bike and go looking for the spring: I know it's here somewhere!
- I begin the gentle westward climb up Highway 178 into Death Valley National Park
- There's even a "shower building" at Pacheco Camp.
- I stop on this switchback on the way up Coit Road from Kelly Lake to look back on my route.
- Higher up Coit Road heading toward the junction of Wasno Road.
- I begin backtracking and look for Murphy Trail along the way, an alternate route up to Robison Mountain
- Two minutes later, the orange glow on the Castle Mountains is fading into pink as the belt of Venus forms
- After climbing a short, steep segment of Hobbs Road, the 10-ton bike gets stuck on the drainage ditch that must be crossed.
- Pinus sabiniana (grey pines) along Coit Road heading toward Mahoney Ridge.
- China Hole Trail drops down 700 feet into the canyon over two miles of nice single-track
- I take one last look toward Hackberry Mountain into the fading sunset, put on my sweater, and ride away
- China Hole Trail ends when it reaches Manzanita Point Road.
- I come around a switchback and can see back down to China Hole below
- More of the old tiled floor at the former campground's entrance
- Orestimba Creek Road climbs out of the creek, then drops back down into the gravel, then back up on dry land
- I reach the plateau below Tortoise Shell Mountain and spot a deer in the distance on the hillside
- The badlands along Highway 127 near Shoshone and Tecopa always get my interest
- The old outhouse at Sierra View.