Button Mountain to Baker by bicycle via Aiken Mine Road, with a stop at the Lava Tube, Mojave National Preserve (Day 16)
It's almost all downhill on this final day of the trip, with over 3100 feet of elevation drop (but much of it is slow riding due to rough road). Tourist visits to the Lava Tube and the abandoned Aiken Mine along the way make for a great day. 33.9 bicycle miles.
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Date: June 07, 2009, 07h58
Size: 59 items
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I wake up to a beautiful morning near Button Mountain around 8h, not a cloud in the sky
It was chilly overnight, in the mid 40s, so this morning's breeze is cool. However, the desert sun is really hot, the first real heat I've felt since Nipton several days ago. A few chirping birds and wind gusts interrupt the morning quiet.
Date: June 07, 2009, 07h58
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The earth is a bit easier to dig here near Button Mountain than over at Pachalka Spring
Tomorrow I'll enjoy the luxury of a real toilet and won't be digging any more holes in Mojave National Preserve land.
Date: June 07, 2009, 10h19
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After one last camp breakfast and a pot of tea, I take down the tent while enjoying the Cima Dome joshua tree forest
I take the morning slowly, wanting to prolong it because it's my last until my next trip here. While packing up, a hummingbird buzzes by, stops to check out my bike, then hovers in front of my face for a moment comes before zooming away.
Date: June 07, 2009, 11h24
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The 10-ton bike is back to weighing 10 tons and I ride up Button Mountain Road to rejoin Aiken Mine Road in a moment
Even though I hate to leave, I do like to leave camp by noon, and it's noon! This is my first time camping in this area and I hope to return on a future trip.
Date: June 07, 2009, 12h02
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I'm back on Aiken Mine Road for the next 12 miles, which will drop from 4100 feet here down to about 3100 feet
It will be mostly downhill for the rest of the day, though I'll have a few uphills along the way. I hope the road isn't too rough, so I can enjoy at least some of the downhill effortlessly.
Date: June 07, 2009, 12h07
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On my left I pass the big corral at Black Tank
Black Tank Wash, which leads down from here all the way to Kelbaker Road takes its name from this corral.
Date: June 07, 2009, 12h14
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The road ends unexpectedly at a gate to a cinder mining area that is still being used
I guess this is where all that dark red pavement in the Mojave Desert comes from. I see an inhabited mobile home in the distance and decide that this is not abandoned, so I turn back and check my maps.
Date: June 07, 2009, 12h24
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After reaching the dead-end, I turn back and take a minor route shown on my maps that will skirt around the private property
I saw the intersection with this rough road before reaching the gate, but didn't realize it would be my route.
Date: June 07, 2009, 12h35
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I pause briefly on the rough road to look back through the joshua trees at the Cima mining area in the background
Volcanic rock and ash is spread all over this area and it would be a scenic place to camp, if one could locate a good, flat spot without too many tent-damaging protruding rocks for a campsite.
Date: June 07, 2009, 12h36
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From this area are excellent views across the joshua tree forest to Cima Dome, the subtle curve on the horizon
The small volcanic rocks on the road here are numerous and sharp enough that I walk the 10-ton bike along some stretches. Kessler Peak is the small mountainous outcrop at the distant left, near which I camped several nights ago.
Date: June 07, 2009, 12h44
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The road eventually leaves the rough cinder area, crosses some light sand, then I find myself at a corral (Water Tank 3)
This looks like a good place for a short break and a Clif bar!
Date: June 07, 2009, 13h03
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Tank 3 is dry, like most of the old cisterns I've seen in Mojave National Preserve
The outer ring of this cistern looks like fairly modern concrete, but some of the inner rocks look like vestiges from an earlier construction.
Date: June 07, 2009, 13h04
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Riding south from Tank 3 on Aiken Mine Road, the road is slightly sandy with occasional volcanic debris
I'm heading toward two cinder cone hills that I recognize from views when riding up Kelbaker Road, but which I've never seen from this (the north) side before.
Date: June 07, 2009, 13h14
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I reach another intersection and take the left road up the hill to the now-extinct Aiken Mine
The road is sandy here. I almost make it to the crest of the short hill before I decide it will be easier to just get off the bike and walk the last few feet.
Date: June 07, 2009, 13h35
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From the top of the hill approaching Aiken Mine, I can see the Clark Mountain Range in the distance
This is likely the last view of the Clark Mountain Range that I will see until my next trip out here.
Date: June 07, 2009, 13h49
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I arrive at the site of the abandoned Aiken Mine, park the 10-ton bike and go for a walk
This mining site is much bigger then I expected.
Date: June 07, 2009, 13h55
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Signs on an broken old post once directed vehicles leaving Aiken Mine toward Cima Road or Kelbaker Road
The broken post almost looks like a saguaro cactus, except that those don't grow in most of Mojave National Preserve.
Date: June 07, 2009, 14h00
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Weigh station at the abandoned Aiken Mine, Mojave National Preserve
An abandoned mobile home sits behind, trying to get shade from a couple of small trees.
Date: June 07, 2009, 14h01
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