Mojave Natl. Preserve: Midhills to Castle Mtns Nov 26-28, 2021 - Printable Version +- Death Valley (https://dv.netllama.us/dv) +-- Forum: Death Valley (https://dv.netllama.us/dv/forum-1.html) +--- Forum: Trip Reports (https://dv.netllama.us/dv/forum-11.html) +--- Thread: Mojave Natl. Preserve: Midhills to Castle Mtns Nov 26-28, 2021 (/thread-25990.html)

Mojave Natl. Preserve: Midhills to Castle Mtns Nov 26-28, 2021 - John Morrow - 2022-01-09 On Nov 26th I headed for Mid Hills Campground.  After setting up I did the short hike to Eagle Rocks.  Near sunset I walked out to the unnamed mountains at the head of Black Canyon on the south side of the Mid Hills road.  To summit Eagle Rocks requires climbing a pure granitic 40 foot steep face with a convenient vertical crack.  Joshua Tree like. Eagle Rocks by John Morrow, on Flickr Mid Hills by John Morrow, on Flickr Route by John Morrow, on Flickr Kelso Valley by John Morrow, on Flickr view, evening hike to hills at left under Table Mtn. by John Morrow, on Flickr On Nov 27th I drove the longish slow drive from the campground to hackberry Spring Road but stopped at the corral.  It was a good staging location for a long neat loop across the northern slopes of the Hackberry Mountains to Guitar Mountain.  Then on to Hackberry Mountain, before returning running the ridge over Peak 4925 (1501T).  I went over to the Eagle Mtns in the evening by Eagle Well. Hackberry Mountains by John Morrow, on Flickr Guitar Mountain east bowl by John Morrow, on Flickr tuffs by John Morrow, on Flickr Guitar shape by John Morrow, on Flickr view west by John Morrow, on Flickr Over to Hackberry Mountain by John Morrow, on Flickr Providence Mountains by John Morrow, on Flickr Hackberry Canyon by John Morrow, on Flickr great ridge descent by John Morrow, on Flickr Evening walk: petroglyphs by John Morrow, on Flickr Up to Butte by John Morrow, on Flickr On Nov 28th I relocated to the newish Castle Mountains National Monument adjacent to the Preserve.  My goal was a loop crosscountry and on old jeep trails that feel more like trails.  I took the excellent Walking Box Ranch Road to a high clearance spur at 1400 Meters that is NW of Castle Mountain and Linder Peak.  My goal was to explore the area for future loop hikes while summiting the peaks on a crest walk and then return on the old jeep routes west of the crest.  It was a fine hike.  The scrambling can be avoided and a nice loop hike can be done lower around the peaks on the east side.  Some of these little used jeep routes could be returned to single track trails in my opinion.  They were little used. Castle Peaks by John Morrow, on Flickr Hart Mountain by John Morrow, on Flickr crest by John Morrow, on Flickr A couple of arches were fun finds. arch and Avi Kwa Ame by John Morrow, on Flickr solid gully ahead by John Morrow, on Flickr descent route by John Morrow, on Flickr barrel by John Morrow, on Flickr Linder north side by John Morrow, on Flickr late light by John Morrow, on Flickr Castle Peaks crest by John Morrow, on Flickr Mojave NP and Castle Mtns NM really aren't jaw dropping scenery.  But there is something about the Mojave that grabs me over and over. RE: Mojave Natl. Preserve: Midhills to Castle Mtns Nov 26-28, 2021 - DeathValleyDazed - 2022-01-09 My favorite image was of Castle Peaks Crest but I loved all of your images. The weather looked clear and perfect for your trip. Thank God people got their act together to form Mojave NP and Castle Mountains NM! How wonderful to be able to go so remote that you don't see anyone else all day. RE: Mojave Natl. Preserve: Midhills to Castle Mtns Nov 26-28, 2021 - MojaveGeek - 2022-01-09 Those are some really nice pix, John, and what clear skies. The one of the arch really fooled me for a while - sort of an illusion, I could not see it, the lit up area you can see through the arch, I was interpreting as something in front if it, very cool! Envious. RE: Mojave Natl. Preserve: Midhills to Castle Mtns Nov 26-28, 2021 - trailhound - 2022-01-10 You have a good eye for composition. Super pictures! Thank you for posting. RE: Mojave Natl. Preserve: Midhills to Castle Mtns Nov 26-28, 2021 - bbbb - 2022-01-10 Really awesome pics, John! RE: Mojave Natl. Preserve: Midhills to Castle Mtns Nov 26-28, 2021 - Algol - 2022-01-13 Thank you for sharing. Looks like a great hike. The vistas are fantastic and certainly your camera skills are top notch.