Mojave National Preserve Bicycle Camping and Hiking, Fall 2009
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Mojave National Preserve Bicycle Camping and Hiking, Fall 2009 Mojave National Preserve: Hike to Rex Mine and west edge of the Providence Mountains (Day 5)
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Mojave National Preserve Bicycle Camping and Hiking, Fall 2009

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Looks like a bit of bushwhacking will be needed to get through this segment of Bull Canyon

Looks like a bit of bushwhacking will be needed to get through this segment of Bull Canyon

Date: November 28, 2009, 12h42

Mojave National Preserve: Hike to Rex Mine and west edge of the Providence Mountains (Day 5)

Camp stays set up while I go for a hike over to the old Rex Mine. I improvise my route after that and end up in "West Edgar Canyon #3" on the west edge of the Providence Mountains. Great scenery all day long and I still have a bad cold.

10.8 hiking miles and 1575 feet of elevation gain. I drink only 2.5 litres of water while hiking (in warmer weather I could drink double that) and eat two energy bars.

Temperatures recorded in Baker, CA: a high of 69F, low 37F.

Date: November 26, 2009, 10h16
Size: 81 items
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Another sunny morning on Cornfield Spring Road; I'm still coughing a lot from my cold, but am ready for another hike anyway

Another sunny morning on Cornfield Spring Road; I'm still coughing a lot from my cold, but am ready for another hike anyway

After studying my maps a bit last night and considering options, I decided that today I would hike up to the old Rex Mine site, which I haven't visited yet.

Date: November 26, 2009, 10h16
To get over to Rex Mine Road from my campsite on Cornfield Spring Road requires a 1.5-mile hike across the rocky fan

To get over to Rex Mine Road from my campsite on Cornfield Spring Road requires a 1.5-mile hike across the rocky fan

We'll see how this goes... I'm literally forcing myself to hike today because I still feel terrible due to my cold. I expect that the sunshine, great scenery and mild exertion will be a remedy as the day progresses.

Date: November 26, 2009, 10h20
The dense scattering of rocks on the fan east of Kelso induces what I call, "avoidance hiking"

The dense scattering of rocks on the fan east of Kelso induces what I call, "avoidance hiking"

Here, one hikes not in a straight line, but in a constantly weaving pattern created on-the-fly to avoid the largest rock patches.

Date: November 26, 2009, 10h27
Oh look, a lost set of four bright-blue ballons tied together, stuck to a young creosote bush, framed by a  Kelso Dunes backdrop

Oh look, a lost set of four bright-blue ballons tied together, stuck to a young creosote bush, framed by a Kelso Dunes backdrop

These balloons might be forgotten garbage today, but there once was a time when a group of smiling, laughing people stood around them. I stuff the balloons in my backpack for disposal tomorrow at Kelso Depot with the rest of my trash.

Date: November 26, 2009, 10h40
Numerous gulleys need to be crossed while hiking the fan betweeen Cornfield Spring Road and Rex Mine Road

Numerous gulleys need to be crossed while hiking the fan betweeen Cornfield Spring Road and Rex Mine Road

A ribbon of yellow, desert willows about to lose their leaves, crosses the landscape in the biggest wash through this area.

Date: November 26, 2009, 10h53
The sides of the drainages coming down the fan are mostly not very steep, but they do make for clumsy hiking

The sides of the drainages coming down the fan are mostly not very steep, but they do make for clumsy hiking

After a few more of these ups and downs, I'll arrive at Rex Mine Road.

Date: November 26, 2009, 10h56
I finish the hike across the rocky fan and begin the easier walk up Rex Mine Road

I finish the hike across the rocky fan and begin the easier walk up Rex Mine Road

The old mine site sits about a mile up the road at the edge of the Providence Mountains.

Date: November 26, 2009, 11h05
The only signs marking one's arrival at Rex Mine are these no-camping and no-campfires sign

The only signs marking one's arrival at Rex Mine are these no-camping and no-campfires sign

So far, the National Parks Service has done a great job keeping signage minimal and non-touristy. Let's hope that continues. Rex Mine Road, like Cornfield Spring Road, is an unsigned dirt track that you'd never notice if you weren't looking for it.

Date: November 26, 2009, 11h27
I check out one of several debris piles at Rex Mine and find an ornate electrical socket

I check out one of several debris piles at Rex Mine and find an ornate electrical socket

This quasi-Victorian design seems rather fancy for a place as utilitarian as this.

Date: November 26, 2009, 11h32
An old Copenhagen tobacco lid rusts quietly amongst other, less identifiable, cans at the old Rex Mine site

An old Copenhagen tobacco lid rusts quietly amongst other, less identifiable, cans at the old Rex Mine site

Copenhagen satisfies...

Date: November 26, 2009, 11h33
The old "cabins" at the Rex Mine site are actually old railway boxcars

The old "cabins" at the Rex Mine site are actually old railway boxcars

The cars were probably removed from service down at Kelso, the nearest train station, and brought up the hill to this site.

Date: November 26, 2009, 11h38
It looks like a tiny flat-roofed addition, just big enough to be a closet, was built on to the near cabin

It looks like a tiny flat-roofed addition, just big enough to be a closet, was built on to the near cabin

Judging by all the scattered wood debris in the area, there were apparently once more buildings here at Rex Mine.

Date: November 26, 2009, 11h39
The boxcar cabins at Rex Mine have a board-and-batten exterior

The boxcar cabins at Rex Mine have a board-and-batten exterior

Weather and vandalism are taking their toll: the exterior wall of the boxcar at left has been almost completely removed.

Date: November 26, 2009, 11h40
This boxcar cabin at Rex Mine leans to one side, anxious to collapse one day

This boxcar cabin at Rex Mine leans to one side, anxious to collapse one day

The interior space is quite constrained, even before bringing in furniture.

Date: November 26, 2009, 11h41
This boxcar cabin at Rex Mine had electricity

This boxcar cabin at Rex Mine had electricity

The "safety switch" is copyrighted 1922 by the Square D Company, Detroit, Michigan: "Making Electricity Safe for Everyone."

Date: November 26, 2009, 11h43
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Other bicycle camping trips on drycyclist.com:
  • Mojave National Preserve Lanfair Valley Loop Bicycle Camping, Fall 2012 (8 days)
  • Mojave National Preserve Hiking and Bikepacking, Spring 2012 (15 days)
  • Cady Mountains, Sleeping Beauty and Kelso Dunes Wilderness Bicycle Camping, Fall 2011 (8 days)
  • Mojave National Preserve and Area Hiking and Bikepacking, Spring 2011 (15 days)
  • Route 66 and Kelso Dunes Wilderness Bikepacking, Fall 2010 (eight days)
  • Mojave National Preserve bikepacking and camping, Spring 2010 (14 days)
  • Mojave National Preserve Bicycle Camping and Hiking, Spring 2009 (16 days)
  • Mojave National Preserve Bikepacking and Hiking 2008 (14 days)
  • Henry Coe State Park Bikepacking 2008 (eight days)
  • Mojave National Preserve Xmas 2007 Mountain-Bike Camping (one week)
  • Henry Coe State Park Mountain-Bike Camping 2007 (eight nights)
  • Death Valley Bicycle Camping 2007 (two weeks)
  • Henry Coe State Park Bicycle Camping 2006 (four nights)
  • Mojave National Preserve Bicycle Camping 2006 (two weeks)
  • Mojave National Preserve Bicycle Camping 2000 (11 days)
  • Mojave National Preserve Bicycle Camping 1999 (one week)
Contact mojave2009 at drycyclist dot com