The clouds did roll in last night after sunset. They didn’t drop much rain, but left a windy turbulence in their wake, and I had to go out and stake the side guys. Other than that it was a peaceful and restful evening.
Dawn from my ridgetop camp. My planned route was along the ridge to the right where I would drop down to the canyon on its far side.
After a rough climb up I was hoping for an easier path down. My plan was to follow the west-trending ridge off the peak of New York Mountain, then drop down to Butcher Knife Canyon on its far side. I would follow that canyon out to the desert floor and pick up a jeep trail to my water cache near Cima.
My hopes for easier going were not realized. The west ridge was comprised of upended granite slabs with the gaps filled in by pinyons and pincushion cacti. It looked smooth enough on the topo map. It was anything but.
Another view of the unearthly lights of the Ivanpah Solar Project. My route follows the rocky ridge to the left
After 2 hours I had not traveled half a mile. My legs were getting shaky from the constant downclimbs over steep granite slabs and ledges.
It did not escape my notice that there was no place to roll out a sleeping bag, much less pitch a fly. If I had kept going last night I would have been stuck exposed on some lumpy rock. Good call to stop when I did.
My planned route wasn’t practical. I would run out of water in a few hours and still be far from the cache. There was nothing for it but to head down and skirt around the ridge. When I reached the top of 4th of July Canyon I worked my way down the steep brushy slope until I reached an old mining road which I followed into the basin below.
A look back up at New York Mtn and my abandoned ridge route
The basin was filled with homesteads and compounds, all extensively posted. I had intended to cut across to reach the low point in the ridge but was forced to mainly stick to roads, adding a couple of miles. The sun was out, the wind was down and so my solar umbrella went up. This no doubt added to the suspicions of any compound-dwellers who might be eyeing me.
The heat, the slow pace and the detour caused me to drink up more water than expected. I had enough to make it to my cache near Cima, but only just enough. I would be very thirsty when I reached it. Howe Spring was on my route, but of unknown reliability. The sight of a few cows–and their tracks heading toward the spring–gave me hope that I would find water there.
Stonehenge in the Mojave
The spring site was fenced off, but had a solar panel and tank, and the tank was full of water. I felt no compunction whatever about ignoring the No Trespassing sign.
A short climb over a low ridge and a steep scramble down landed me in the wide wash of Butcher Knife Canyon. The map showed it narrowing ahead. I could take my chances on being cut off by a dry fall, or climb north over the intervening ridge and then down to the desert floor.
There were some pine trees visible ahead where the canyon narrowed, a sign perhaps that it held water and thus might be an interesting route. That, plus a general lack of interest in another steep rocky climb, steered me downcanyon.
It was the right choice. I did come to an impassable dryfall, but not until I was near the canyon mouth and could climb around it without too much trouble.
Along the way I found a series of seeps and springs and treated myself to a foot soak and bandanna bath. The distinctive songs of canyon wrens provided a pleasant backdrop for an extended afternoon break.
Not much as bodies of water go, but a welcome oasis on this trip
Reaching the canyon mouth I gratefully joined a jeep road. It was another 8 miles or so to my cache, but all downhill and easy walking.
The smooth flanks of Cima Dome in the distance
The cache was located and I plopped down in a wash nearby. The afternoon wind had calmed and I enjoyed a still-cool beer in my cowboy camp as the sun set over Cima Dome. Its summit would be my goal tomorrow, but I had done (I hoped) my last hard climb of this trip. All easy hiking ahead, time to relax and absorb the starry desert night as my friends the nighthawks and bats came out.
This beer was amazingly good