Our last trip to Mojave National Preserve was ten years ago so we were overdue to go back. We packed a lot into our 3-day camping trip and revisited some favorite spots and explored some new ones. NOTE: The videos below have music.

Barber Peak Loop Trail

Because daytime temperatures were in the 90s, we got out early in the morning to hike the 5.1 mile Barber Peak loop trail. We had hiked this trail 10 years ago but I didn't remember any of it so it all felt new to me. We walked through beautiful cactus gardens and saw fanciful rock formations.

Squash Rattles

As we were walking through a wash on the Barber Peak loop trail, we found a pile of dried squash and Rob picked up a couple and discovered they made a beautiful sound. You can hear their rattle in this short video. The cover image is the plant that had produced the squash. We were amazed that it was still green, even in this dry wash at the end of October.

Death by Cholla Cactus

I don't know if it was the time of year, or we just got unlucky, but the Cholla cactus were out to get us on this trip. Rob brushed against one and it broke off and stuck into his calf. Hmm...now how to extract this? There's no way to grab it without ending up with a million spines in your hand. We ended up using a pair of flat rocks like a giant pair of tweezers to remove it. The cactus spines had a sneaky way of staying with us by sticking to the bottoms of our shoes and then releasing into the carpet of the camper van and we'd end up with more spines in our bare feet at night.

Zzyxx: Soda Springs and former health spa buildings

I've seen the sign for Zzyxx along I-15 for many years and always wondered about this place that had such an unusual name. Because the afternoon temperatures were too hot to hike, we decided to go sightseeing. The springs are the largest oasis for hundreds of miles, making this an important place for humans and animals for millennia. In 1944, a radio evangelist named Curtis Howe Springer moved there, built a health spa, and renamed it Zzyxx (pronounced Zeye-zix). His health spa was wildly successful, housing up to 100 guests at a time. He remained there until 1974, when the US government evicted him from the land after bringing more than 60 charges against him for things such as tax evasion and false advertising.

Extensive wetlands and beautiful view from Zzyxx

The springs and extensive wetlands make Zzyxx a important spot for birds and it's a favorite birding location for humans.

Early morning hike up Kelso Dunes

We started at the trailhead before first light because we wanted to experience sunrise in the the sand dunes and we were treated to beautiful low-angle golden light.

Elegant Curves

The angle of the morning light accentuated the elegant curves carved into the sand by the wind.

The Summit Ridge

We followed the well traveled ridge to the summit, 600 feet of climbing from the trailhead. We usually think of 600 feet as a modest climb but climbing in sand multiplies the climb by a factor of at least 25-30% because you slip back down with every step.

Animal Tracks in the Dunes

We saw so many different kinds of animal tracks but no actual animals, evidence of a busy night before dawn.

The Granite Mountains

Most of the Granite Mountains are a protected study area so there are limited hiking opportunities in the mountains themselves but we were able to walk very close to their base.

Sunset in the Granite Mountains

We drove down a 4WD road towards the Granite Mountains and found a lovely place to camp, tucked into some giant boulders. It felt like we had this to ourselves and this was our view.

Our campsite amongst Giant Boulders

Here's a photo of our campsite taken the next morning.

Early morning hike in the granite boulders

In the morning we wandered through the wonderland of granite boulders right next to our campsite. We could have explored for hours but we hadn't prepared for a long hike. We'll definitely come back to this area. As you can see in the photos, we couldn't avoid encountering more cholla cactus.

Driving Through a Forest of Joshua Trees

We went in search of the Death Valley Mine, located in a remote part of the Mid Hills section of Mojave. To get there we drove an unmaintained dirt road through an extensive forest of Joshua Trees. This is a timelapse video of a short part of our drive.

Death Valley Mine Site

The Death Valley Mine is one of the many mining scams in California history. Although this mine was promoted as a gold mine, it wasn't that, nor was it in Death Valley as it's name suggests. It did contain a modest amount of silver ore and was mined by different owners until 1951. Many of the original homesteads and bunkhouses still remain, along with much of the mining equipment.

Beautifully Rusting Structure

There were lots of visual treasures around the site - I'm a sucker for decay porn.

One of a kind converyor belt

This custom built conveyor belt was used to bring ore up to the surface.

Aftermath of the York Fire in Caruthers Canyon

On our last trip to Mojave ten years ago, we made a note of several beautiful campsites tucked into the oak trees in Caruthers Canyon. We were heartbroken to find all of the oaks burned from the 2023 York Fire. We knew about the 2020 Dome fire that had devastated much of the Joshua Tree forest in Mojave but had somehow not gotten the memo about the York Fire.

Foot and cap rocks in Caruthers Canyon

We hiked to the Giant Ledge Mine in Caruthers Canyon passing a rock formation that looks like a bare foot and another that looks like a cap.

Unusual scat and its source

On our hike up to the Giant Ledge Mine, we passed several piles of bright magenta colored scat. We were wondering what the animal (coyote?) that produced the scat was eating and then, ah ha! We saw this prickly pear cactus.

October Hunter's Moon and Supermoon

We left the bleak looking burned Caruther's Canyon and went in search of a new campsite for the night. We found a great spot with an 360-degree view of the desert and enjoyed the rise of the October full moon, the Hunter's moon, and a supermoon too.

Seven Magic Mountains

I have wanted to see this installation for a long time and when I realized it was not far from Mojave, we made the trip. We had dramatic skies on a very windy day. It's a popular destination so it was impossible to experience it without being around people who were taking their social media selfies.

Alternate views of Seven Magic Mountains

I enjoyed walking around the installation, taking in the views from all angles.

Where is Mojave National Preserve?

This map of Central and Southern California shows where Mojave National Preserve is located relative to larger cities and Death Valley National Park.

The places we visited in Mojave

This map shows the location of the different places we visited on this trip

Thank you for reading this far!

I hope you enjoyed this escape to the desert wilderness. If you want to see more, visit the photo essay of our 2014 Mojave Trip. Signing off from the summit of Kelso Dunes!