Wild Horse Mesa hike and Wild Horse Canyon Road bicycle ride, Mojave National Preserve (Day 5)
I didn't originally intend to stay up here at Mid Hills campground for almost a week, so my day trips in this area are somewhat spontaneous, despite the many hours I spent planning this trip.
Today I choose to visit Bluejay Mine Road, about which I know nothing, and I'll hike around the Wild Horse Mesa area for the first time. I'll do the bike ride down Wild Horse Canyon Road that I like so much, and I'll return to Mid Hills campground via Black Canyon Road.
24.3 bicycle miles with 2300 of climbing, plus 3.2 hiking miles with 1384 feet of elevation gain and drop. I'll drink about 4.5 litres of water during the day and eat one Larabar and one Clif bar (chocolate mint).
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Date: May 27, 2009, 11h02
Size: 61 items
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I get ready to leave Mid Hills campground for a ride down Wild Horse Canyon Road
Some clouds this morning kept the sun from getting too hot, so I managed to sleep in a bit. After tea and breakfast, I prepare my saddlebags and backpack, stop at the tap to fill my water (six litres), and off I go.
Date: May 27, 2009, 11h02
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3/4 mile from campsite 22, I exit Mid Hills campground and turn right to start descending Wild Horse Canyon Road
From 5620 feet at site 22, the 100-foot drop to the campground exit is made even more pleasant by the perfect 76-degree temperature.
Date: May 27, 2009, 11h19
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Wild Horse Canyon Road is one of my favourite mountain-bike rides in Mojave National Preserve
The Providence Mountains views are always a welcome sight as Wild Horse Canyon Road trickles down through the Mid Hills, mostly at a four-five percent grade. It's occasionally steeper though, and even flat or uphill once in a while.
Date: May 27, 2009, 11h32
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Wild Horse Mesa, the target of today's hike, is the flat-topped formation ahead
I encounter only one vehicle on Wild Horse Canyon Road this morning: this parked cattle truck. The Bluejay Mine Road that I'm looking for today will be behind the low hill straight ahead and in front of Wild Horse Mesa.
Date: May 27, 2009, 11h47
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Wild Horse Canyon Road continues its twisty-windy descent, which is getting flatter
The washboarded road surface rattles my bones and keeps me from riding too fast. A couple of cows just crossed the road here.
Date: May 27, 2009, 11h49
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Bluejay Mine Road appears to my right about six miles from Mid Hills campsite 22, at about 4740 feet elevation
This rough road is only about 1.5 miles long. I never even noticed this road while riding down Wild Horse Canyon Road during my previous Mojave National Preserve trips. I was too busy enjoying the rides.
Date: May 27, 2009, 11h53
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Bluejay Mine Road enters a wash and I look at the tracks I've carved behind me
It's a bit sandy here. Other tracks here indicate that motor vehicles have come this far a few times and turned around, probably fearing that the road would worsen.
Date: May 27, 2009, 12h08
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The fearful motorists were correct; Bluejay Mine Road does worsen, as most dead-end desert tracks do
However, the surface is still well-packed in places, so I continue riding, walking the bike occasionally when the road gets too rocky or sandy.
Date: May 27, 2009, 12h12
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Bluejay Mine Road rises out of the wash, sort of, but is really bumpy, and a bit uphill, so I'm now walking more than riding
This area burned badly during the 2005 "Hackberry Complex" brush fires, but slow signs of recovery are apparent. Some of the bright green shrubs in the area are young juniper trees.
Date: May 27, 2009, 12h29
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I come around a bend and realize I'm at the end of the road, looking at the Bluejay Mine site
I park the bike, put on my headband to catch my sweat drips, and traipse around the area.
Date: May 27, 2009, 12h34
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Out here in the middle of nowhere, I stumble upon a memorial plaque dedicated to James Winkler
It immediately clicks that I must be at the site of "Winkler's Cabin," which reportedly burned during the 2005 fires. I had never visited Winkler's Cabin, but thought it was elsewhere, closer to Mid Hills campground.
Date: May 27, 2009, 12h37
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This low rock wall looks like it may be the remants of a foundation, or maybe it's just a retaining wall for a former garden
Perhaps this is the foundation of the Winkler's Cabin that used to be here.
Date: May 27, 2009, 12h37
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Debris at the burned Winkler's Cabin site at the end of Bluejay Mine Road, Mojave National Preserve
The big barrel looks like it might have been used to burn garbage outdoors, or perhaps it served as a heating unit inside the former cabin.
Date: May 27, 2009, 12h38
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The entrance to the old Bluejay Mine appears to have been recently rebuilt with fresh wood
The old mine entrance was probably burned during the 2005 fire, but with no signs in the area, one can only guess if the mine entrance is being repaired by the National Park Service or restored by a volunteer group.
Date: May 27, 2009, 12h40
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A lizard scurries along a burned timber outside the entrance to the Bluejay Mine, Mojave National Preserve
Is he looking for sun or shade?
Date: May 27, 2009, 12h41
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I pack my backpack and hike up the steep hill above Bluejay Mine and the Winkler's Cabin site
I take it slowly because it's over 450 feet of elevation gain in less than half a mile. The views back down to the valley are stupendous, despite the ominous clouds on the horizon. A few raindrops fall.
Date: May 27, 2009, 13h09
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Atop the ridge, it's exciting to look over the other side to a world where it appears that man rarely visits
I see the Providence Mountains and canyons that I've never seen before. I'm going to walk down that way a bit and see if I can climb up to Wild Horse Mesa from there.
Date: May 27, 2009, 13h16
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The Mojave storm clouds have brought high winds that try to blow the hat off my head
A few warm raindrops fall and I'm a bit worried, hopeful that no serious rain is going to develop.
Date: May 27, 2009, 13h34
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