Mojave Preserve Loop day 6 – Castle Mountains to the Piute Valley

A clear and windy morning followed the clear and windy night and I was up and moving early. My camp was near the northern terminus of the Piute Range, which then blends into the Castle Mountains, which are in fact a National Monument. One with no facilities or improvements of any kind, but a National Monument all the same.

But there was in fact an improvement – the vegetation was not quite so drought-stricken. Most of it was still brown and gray, but the creosotes were green and some bunches of grass in favored locations showed some green. It wasn’t much but I was glad to see it.

I was in no rush and took a long mid-day siesta, as the weather was changing from too-cold to too-hot. I saw an owl fly down a hillside. I knew from the map that Quail Spring was on the other side of the hill and decided to go and investigate – the owl could be a sign that the spring was flowing and might attract animals.

Although the spring was not quite where marked on the map, I followed bunches of green grass down its gully hoping for a seep. I found a pipe spring and a trough, and in the trough, completely oblivious to my approach, was a Gray Fox drinking slowly and intently.

It looked starved and scrawny. Without grasses and herbs the rodents are gone, and without rodents the fox will starve. I left it a strip of beef jerky as an offering and an apology for interrupting its drink. But its fate is probably sealed by the drought.

With the fox gone, I inspected the spring. Water was coming out of the pipe at about one drip per 2 seconds. There were a couple of gallons in the trough, but they won’t last long if no rain comes. The animals here are in a bad situation.

With the heat up and the wind down, I used my sun umbrella for the first time on the trip.

It weighs half a pound but is remarkably effective at increasing my comfort and reducing my water consumption.

The Castle Mountains eventually petered out and the jeep road I was following dumped me out in the Piute Valley. I could see the town of Searchlight up on its hill a dozen or so miles away.

If I really humped I could make it there tonight, probably not too long after dark. But why bother? I had everything I needed. I walked until sunset and found a nice sandy wash to camp in.

For the first time on this trip the wind was down and I could cowboy camp. I laid my groundcloth out on the sand and propped up my pack with a hiking pole to make a backrest. That gave me a comfy setup to lounge in and snack and drink whisky and watch another spectacular moonrise. Town could wait.