As part of our trip to the desert we decided to join the Southern California 4x4 Geocachers on a run. The target was the Dale Mining District, just north of…
Our last full day of the annual Thanksgiving Trip to the desert was an adventure! We decided to do the run up Warm Springs canyon into Butte Valley, but instead…
Sheephead Mountain
We had some turkey and pie to work off on the day after Thanksgiving, so after a morning of hot breakfasting around the cabin’s wood stove, we headed towards Ibex Peak, the highest peak in the small Ibex range in southern Death Valley. It’s not a biggie, but it did have some great views of the surrounding ranges, as well as towards the snow-covered Telescope Peak and Mt Charlston.
We’d scoped out the route on National Geographic Topo the previous night at had an approach plan. After a few miles of two track driving, we left the trucks at a side road closure and continued towards the peak on foot. After climbing slowly across the desert along the old miner’s road, we finally reached the base of the peak and scrambled up to gain a ridge. It was a simple climb from here – an easy ~1000 feet of gain up the ridge straight to the summit. We enjoyed views towards Sheephead Peak the entire way.
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Our fourth day in the desert was a half day since we had to get to Vegas. We headed out of the park to the east, towards Searchlight, and took…
Our third day in the desert was a simple and relaxing one playing tourist in Mojave. We kept our camp at Mid Hills and took a short hike straight from…
You heard me – Zzyzx. Pronounced Zi-Zix. The last entry when all geographic place names are listed alphabetically. Anyone who has driven the I-15 stretch from LA to Vegas knows that mysterious, middle-of-nowhere offramp to ‘Zzyzx’. It finally tempted us and this time we took the exit to explore all that Zzyzx has to offer.
But first we had unfinished business in Afton Canyon. Since we couldn’t pass the Mojave River in our truck when approaching from the west, we hopped back on I-15 and took the exit to the east end. This time we were easily able to get into the canyon where we checked out a few ‘Mojave Sites of Mystery’ – and old mine site with unique stacked rock walls and a buried railcar, supposedly left there after a derailment on the nearby tracks. I’d love to learn more if anyone is familiar with either of these sites.
After wrapping up our Afton exploration it was time to check out Zzyzx. Heading south from the freeway, the road dead ends after a while at the former site of the Zzyzx Mineral and Heath Spa, now the Desert Studies Center. There’s a surprisingly large pool with a fountain and lots of ducks, some nice facilities, and a view across the dry Soda Lake. As an extra bonus we spotted several sheep in the nearby rocky mountainside.
It's that time of year again, time for me to play desert rat for a week. Thanksgiving is a great time to head to the desert. Temperatures are mild to…
Sunol Regional Park is one of those great parks that make you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere while only being a short drive from the middle of…
I love autumn in the mountains - the crisp air and fall colors along with the relatively light crowds always make for a wonderful experience. Paige had the lovely idea…