Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2008: Mojave National Preserve Mountain-Bike Camping and Hike / Day 10: Nipton to Keystone Canyon, Mojave National Preserve, via Ivanpah Road 47
I leave pavement and civilization again today.
I ride from Nipton at 3000 feet, crossing the low point of Ivanpah Valley at about 2650 feet, then I climb Ivanpah Road to the mouth of Keystone Canyon at about 5300 feet.
My rear rack breaks around mile 20 on Ivanpah Road. Now what? 28.2 bicycle miles today.
- Before packing up, I inspect some crusty splatters on the back of my tent that I forgot about
Scratch-and-sniffing leads me to conclude that an animal urinated on my tent. Acrid stuff! I think this happened while I was at Butcher Knife Canyon a couple of days ago. I clean it off. I slept OK last night despite being woken up a couple of times by the crying baby and its upset parents over in the nearby tent cabin. It was a bit chilly overnight and I wore my sweater and blue jeans inside my sleeping. The dirt-biker tour group was up early and left at 8h30 for their day ride. I managed to get a little more sleep after they left. - OK, everything out of the tent, time to pack up and leave Nipton!
I'm always amazed at how much stuff I manage to carry with me in those saddlebags when I see it all spread out and unpacked. I take the easy way out this morning again and drink two cups of the weak coffee from the general store and eat another packaged cinnamon bun and apple turnover. - A semi-final visit to the Nipton quonset-hut shower building before heading out
The red wooden box to the right is the hot tub that I didn't get around to soaking in during this visit. - One of the final things to do before leaving Nipton is to replenish my water supply to full capacity at the outdoor sink
There's a good possibility that I will find water at Keystone Spring in the New York Mountains tomorrow, but it's not a sure bet. So, it's the usual addition of almost 40 pounds of water, overloading my tough Old Man Mountain rear rack yet again: newly filled are my 10-litre water bag, four 1.5-litre water bottles, my two-litre Camelbak and the little water bottle on my bike. - Away again I go on the open road, leaving Nipton behind me
I always like visiting Nipton, but I am always glad to return to my travels after a rest there. - I head west across the Ivanpah Valley on Nipton Road
Seven miles away from Nipton, I'll turn left on Ivanpah Road, just before the road starts to climb the big hill ahead. - I've made my left turn on Ivanpah Road, which heads south for three miles
It's highway bicycling for the most part in this area of Mojave National Preserve (Ivanpah Valley), but there are a few dirt roads in the open flats that could be explored. - Three miles down Ivanpah Road, I reach "the big curve"
From here, Ivanpah Road heads southeast, straight toward the New York Mountains. - I'll continue straight past the junction here of Morning Star Mine Road
Most of the traffic here on Ivanpah Road will turn right just ahead to climb the long, slow hill of Morning Star Mine Road, which I had fun descending two days ago. - Heading across the valley on Ivanpah Road, the road is big, empty and quiet
I enjoy a couple of short breaks on the way up the gentle slope to stand motionless and take in the silence. - A number of datura plants grow on the shoulder of Ivanpah Road
I haven't found a space in my garden for one of these yet. - I stop near the top of the Ivanpah Road hill just before the train tracks to enjoy the views behind me
The top of the hill here sits at about 3500 feet, some 850 feet above the junction of Morning Star Mine Road on the valley floor. The 6.3-mile ride up the hill isn't steep by any means, but it tends to sweaty due to the heat of the valley. - I approach the train tracks that cross Ivanpah Road
This is the same freight-train line that passes by Kelso Depot and which I parallelled on the climb up Kelso-Cima Road several days ago. - The signs behind me warned that the road would turn sharply to the left after crossing the tracks
My destination today, Keystone Canyon, is on the other side of the New York Mountains ahead. Getting there will require more climbing and then riding through a low pass. - A single abandoned house is all that remains here at the former settlement of Ivanpah
I'll make a quick stop here to take a look at the old house, which I didn't do when passing by during previous Mojave National Preserve trips. - I've read that this house was once used as a general store and is now owned by the National Parks Service
The chimney and old air-conditioner are substantial. Notices are pasted on the boarded-up window openings of the house. - This building...
... is under the protection of the United States Government. - A closer look reveals that the front door has been pried open
Apparently, the building isn't under too much surveillance, despite the posted notices. I take a peek inside and it appears that squatters have been living here. - Other outbuildings, such as this antique trailer, are to be found on the property
I take a quick walk around the back of the house before resuming my climb up Ivanpah Road on the 10-ton bike. - I ride another 2.5 miles up Ivanpah Road, climbing 400 feet in the process, and then the pavement ends
The road will pass through some old mining areas during the next couple of miles. - Warning to me: "Rough Road Next 23 Miles"
Three motorcyclists riding down the road wave at me, and I reciprocate. I've ridden this road on past Mojave National Preserve trips, and it is bumpy and washboarded as the sign suggests, but it's still quite drivable in an ordinary car. - I stop to look at a road that leads into the former Vanderbilt Mines area
While passing here, an approaching small van slows down, and the driver gives me a thumbs up and yells, "I wish I could do that!" My ego loves positive reinforcement like this, but I'm really not Superman, even though it may appear that way to the uninitiated. I'm in good, but not exceptional, physical condition. This mine area is another spot that I'd like to take an hour or two to explore, but not today. - A little further, I pull over to eat a Clif bar and enjoy the views; something on my bike has started to rub loudly
The great views over Ivanpah Valley will disappear shortly as I begin to climb between the hills through a pass. It's not immediately apparent why my saddlebags are rubbing against the bike; they haven't come loose. - Once I adjust whatever it is on the bike that needs adjustment, I'll ride up this gentle roller into the New York Mountains
There's hardly any traffic on this road, so I'm just standing here enjoying the quiet. Hmmm... I've just realized that I may find myself standing here a bit longer than anticipated. - Ugh: my rear rack has broken, just above the bolt that attaches it to the bike frame
My trip may have just ended and I might be stuck here? I dig into my bag of bolts to see if there's any way I might be able to make the bike ridable. The weight of my saddlebags is bending the broken rack inward such that it rubs heavily against the rear wheel. I can't complain about the rack itself and I actually give it applause despite my breakdown here. I've abused this tough Old Man Mountain rack by carrying much more than the recommended weight on rough roads over hundreds and hundreds of miles and it still stood up beautifully (until now). To my surprise, the great folks at Old Man Mountain bicycle racks replaced my broken rack after the trip even though the damage was my fault from non-stop overloading. A year ago, while heading up bumpy Gold Valley Road in Death Valley National Park, similarly overloaded with extra water for an overnight stay, the bolt holding the rack to the bike snapped in two, but the rack itself survived fine. - I impress myself and cobble a vertical brace for the rack from two spare support bars that I've been carrying around for ages
Maybe my trip hasn't ended just yet! I'm not sure that these two bars screwed together will hold the rack in place, but my first impression is that it works. Now, should I continue on to Keystone Canyon some seven miles further, or turn back while the bike is still functional? The vertical silver bars constitute my repair; the horizontal silver bar attached to the brakes is part of the normal Old Man Mountain rack installation on mountain bikes. I never thought I'd use these two spare rack-support bars, and certainly not for this unintended purpose. - Well, after my one-hour delay, I've remounted my saddlebags and have decided to continue on 7 miles more to Keystone Canyon
I'm carrying enough water to last at least through tomorrow should I get stranded. Also, there may be water at Keystone Spring. If my repair starts to fail, I'll turn back or try flagging down a passing car, if there is another one, to get a lift back down to civilization, or to Las Vegas where I can get to a bicycle shop. I've seen several cars on this road today, but I've ridden this road before and know that sometimes there are no cars for hours at a time. - As I pedal my way gently up Ivanpah Road on the compromised 10-ton bike, I stop briefly at the little road to Bathtub Spring
My original plan was to ride down this road just to see if Bathtub Spring, near the base of the mountains to the left, has any water to offer. Instead of that scenic detour, I'll head directly toward Keystone Canyon to prevent further possible delays. (There are two springs in Mojave National Preserve named Bathtub Spring.) - Another point of interest to my left on this stretch of Ivanpah Road is an old railway grade, abandoned long ago
I was hoping to get a quick look at the old railway grade close-up while checking out Bathtub Spring, but I won't have time for that after all. - Some of the old railway grade near Ivanpah Road has been washed out
Water drainage rushing down the nearby hills has cut a hole through this part of the old railway grade, which hasn't been maintained in many decades. - I continue rising slowly up Ivanpah Road into the New York Mountains
I haven't seen anybody for a couple of hours now. - I'm almost at the summit of Ivanpah Road now as I enter a low pass in the mountains
It's hard to call this a summit because there aren't any great views down to valleys. Furthermore, higher points in the New York Mountains surround the area. But I am up at around 4800 feet elevation now. - Ivanpah Road passes through a slot in the earth near the summit
Despite the rough road, the repair to my bike rack is holding out so far. I am riding slowly and being careful to rattle the bike as little as possible on the road texture. - Once over "the summit," Ivanpah Road heads straight toward the New York Mountains
My destination today, Keystone Canyon, is somewhere in the lower middle of this view, behind the first low hill in the foreground. - To my left is the settlement of Barnwell, once named Manvel
At least one of the properties here appears to be still inhabited. Bright-orange desert-mallow flowers like those here have been my chaperone during much of this trip. - It's hard to tell from a distance if this property at Barnwell is still inhabited
The line-up of old cars here suggests that the property is vacant, but who knows... - A mile after Barnwell, I turn right on the little road to Keystone Canyon, which immediately splits
The road to the right leads toward Lecyr Well and Trio Mines, where I camped during my Mojave 2000 trip, while the left road leads to Keystone Canyon, and is my road today. Back in 2000, I was also intending to enter Keystone Canyon, but I took the wrong branch of the road, partly because it wasn't on the map I was looking at and I had to guess (incorrectly) which fork to follow. - As a bicyclist, I can choose to ride on either side of the road to Keystone Canyon: do I choose sand or rocks?
I choose sand because it's smoother and I don't want to rattle my damaged bike rack more than necessary. But I can hardly stay afloat in the sand, so I change my mind and try rattling my way up the rockier side of the road. - The sand that I liked for a moment on the road to Keystone Canyon disappears and the road is just rough now
Interesting transitional grassland landscape here, punctuated by scatted joshua trees and junipers. - The road forks again after 2/3 mile and I stay on the right fork toward Keystone Canyon
The lesser-travelled left fork leads to Mail Spring, which I'd also like to visit, but I've never heard that it actually contains water. Tomorrow's goal is to hike to Keystone Spring, which does sometimes have water, up in the mountains to the right. - Some of the bumpy road is ridable, but I walk the bike because something is rubbing again in the area of the rear rack
I tighten a bolt that has loosened, but it doesn't stop the rubbing. I pass a campsite in this open area, but continue dragging the bike onward in the hope of a more interesting campsite further up the canyon. - After about two miles on the deteriorating road up Keystone Canyon, I reach a wash-out
I just passed a second campsite that looks interesting, but I think I'll leave the bike here and walk a little further up the road to see if there's an even better one just ahead. - The old road isn't getting any better as it makes its way up Keystone Canyon!
The tire tracks are fairly fresh and have to be from a high-clearance vehicle to get over some of the dips here... - I don't spot another campsite nearby, so I return to the 10-ton bike back at the wash out
This doesn't look much like a road in places, but it is. Nice view across the desert highlands below: I'm up at 5300 feet now. - I drag the bike over to the nearby campsite and this happy camper calls it a day
Well, I've made it to Keystone Canyon with the ailing bike and I hope I won't find myself stranded here. The fire ring adds a nice touch and I wish I had some wood for a campfire later on. - Time to unpack and set up camp in this high-desert area whose landscape I like so much
Old juniper trees, spiky low banana yuccas (bottom left), pinyon pine trees and four o'clocks (the pink flowers) make this a really pretty place. The last people here even left a bottle of water! Tomorrow I'll hike up to Keystone Spring in the hope that I will find water there. For now I'll try to ignore my bike-rack problem and enjoy the evening. As soon as the sun goes down, the temperature drops a lot, as is expected up at 5300 feet. I change into full-length blue jeans with long-underwear shortly after, and I find myself wearing my wool toque and a windbreaker by 21h. It's really quiet tonight, with no strong evening winds for a change, and everything is so silent. No crickets singing here, but there were a few birds earlier. Supper tonight is Mountain House beef stew (my favourite), with a few tamari almonds and some granola for dessert. As much as I enjoyed the great hamburgers at Nipton the last two nights, my body seems to prefer this backpacker-style food. The knob of my propane burner somehow disappeared today and I had to use my wrench to open and close the valve to boil water for supper. I fall asleep happily in the chilly 40-something-degree air with my toque and blue jeans on. - Mojave National Preserve map: day 10: Nipton to Keystone Canyon via Ivanpah Road