Mojave National Preserve Mid Hills campground to Nipton by bicycle via Cima and Morning Star Mine Road (Day 9)
It's almost all downhill today on this route that I've ridden before. Whoooosh! If I didn't have to stop at the Cima post office to put my mortgage payment in the mail, I would consider taking a longer route that I don't know so well.
I almost change my mind and stay at Mid Hills campground another night, but I haven't had a shower in over a week, so Nipton's showers are calling me. I know it will be hot down there, but I hope not unbearably so: it is the beginning of June in the Mojave Desert.
42 bicycle miles and 2600 feet elevation drop today (almost 3600 feet elevation drop if you count the many little ups on the way down).
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Date: May 31, 2009, 07h37
Size: 39 items
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OK, I really am leaving Mid Hills campground this morning; to go to Nipton
After spending the last six nights here at Mid Hills, it's feeling more like home than ever. I get up early because I know it will take me a while to pack up at my usual leisurely pace.
Date: May 31, 2009, 07h37
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Almost everything I brought with me ends up on the picnic table, and then squeezed into my saddlebags
This is definitely not lightweight bikepacking here, and I should make an effort to carry a bit less stuff with me.
Date: May 31, 2009, 10h05
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It will be almost all downhill riding today in Mojave National Preserve
Starting at 5600 feet elevation, I ride the 3/4 mile out of Mid Hills campground then head down Wild Horse Canyon for two miles on a stretch of road that is always challenging in the uphill direction with the 10-ton bike.
Date: May 31, 2009, 11h12
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Next, I ride two miles down the washboarded Black Canyon Road, which ends at a T-intersection in Cedar Canyon
At the intersection of Black Canyon Road and Cedar Canyon Road, I'm already 600 feet below Mid Hills campground.
Date: May 31, 2009, 11h34
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I follow Cedar Canyon Road westward for a few miles, which is also mostly downhill
Cedar Canyon Road is also very washboarded, so I don't ride very fast. This would be an awesome downhill if the road were paved, but please keep it wild and don't pave it!
Date: May 31, 2009, 11h41
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The road rises out of Cedar Canyon to look out over Kelso Valley and I turn right here on Death Valley Mine Road
I crossed Cedar Canyon Road here yesterday and walked up Death Valley Mine Road. About a mile of today's bicycle ride overlaps yesterday's hiking route to Live Oak Spring. I can see the old Mojave Road rising up in the distance toward the Marl Mountains.
Date: May 31, 2009, 11h51
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A mile up Death Valley Mine Road, I stop at Thomas Place for a Clif-bar-and-water break like I did yesterday
I watch the passing train along Kelso-Cima Road down in the valley as I make another cell-phone call to change my outgoing message to let people know where I am. This is one of the areas around here where my cell phone works.
Date: May 31, 2009, 12h05
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After my break at Thomas Place, I get back on Death Valley Mine Road and ride north through the joshua tree forest
I have about four miles to ride on this road, some of which is slightly uphill, some slightly downhill.
Date: May 31, 2009, 12h44
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I've ridden Death Valley Mine Road a couple of times on previous Mojave National Preserve trips, and I always enjoy this one
This less-used route to Cima removes several hundred feet of downhill and uphill, and is much more tranquil. Tire tracks show that this road does get used, but I haven't encountered a motor vehicle here yet.
Date: May 31, 2009, 12h49
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I make a mistake and turn down a well-travelled road that I think at first is Cima Road
After a quarter-mile, I check my maps and GPS and realize that the road is not indicated and I'm not on Cima Road. I turn back to rejoin Death Valley Mine Road and discover the real Cima Road a short distance further.
Date: May 31, 2009, 13h02
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After a pleasant five miles on Death Valley Road, it ends, and I turn west on Cima Road, with Cima Dome and Kessler Peak ahead
Two more miles on dirt road with a gentle elevation drop of about 175 feet before. The collection of buildings known as Cima is visible in the distance at centre-left.
Date: May 31, 2009, 13h40
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At the bottom of Cima Road, I cross the train tracks, arrive on pavement, and ride over to the Cima Store
It feels so modern to be on a paved road again.
Date: May 31, 2009, 13h47
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Predictably unpredictable, the Cima store is closed, even though it should be open according to the posted hours
On a bikepacking trip, one needs to treat this store like a spring that might not have water: carry enough water so that you don't have to rely on the store, but if the store is open, you may may be able to fill up and dry-camp somewhere unplanned.
Date: May 31, 2009, 13h57
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The heavily weathered board-and-batten exterior of the Cima store is in need of restoration work
Hopefully this building won't be allowed to return to nature like many old houses around Cima. The historic Cima post office has been at this site for almost a century; the current postmistress and store operator has been here since the early 1960s.
Date: May 31, 2009, 13h56
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Inside the lobby of the Cima post office
During open hours, the flake-board panels open up to expose the postal service counter.
Date: May 31, 2009, 13h54
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The real gem of the Cima post office is its set of antique postal boxes, apparently still in service
I wonder if these postal boxes are about to be retired some day soon. New weatherproof postal boxes now sit outside in front of the post office.
Date: May 31, 2009, 13h53
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The interior mail slot taped shut, I follow the instructions and drop my mortgage payment in the mailbox outside
Another sign in the Cima post-office lobby mentions attempts to minimize disruption of service during some work that will be done here soon.
Date: May 31, 2009, 13h54
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Behind the Cima store is an old house, presumably the residence of the store owner and postmistress
The house's board-and-batten exterior matches that of the Cima Store out front. The six-over-six window at the far left may date back to the early 1900s, while the wider windows to the right look like later additions, perhaps from the 1950s.
Date: May 31, 2009, 13h59
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