Next up on the adventure merry go round was a bikepacking trip to southern Death Valley. I started about thirty miles south of Badwater, just beyond Ashford Junction, where the Harry Wade Road leaves State Route 178.
The plan was to ride south to the Saratoga Springs Road, visit the spring, then set up camp near the Ibex Dunes.
There's something special about big desert peaks. They preside! Jubilee Mountain.
The road was in good shape. There is, however, plenty of washboard which can usually be avoided by riding on the edge but that often involves soft sand and/or loose gravel. Glad I had the fat bike!
Stark views across Death Valley to the Owlshead Mountains in the west.
and the Black Mountains in the east.
The Harry Wade Road crosses the Amargosa River here.
The camera went rogue on me and auto switched to a funky setting. Gotta have a bike shot though!
Nearing the springs.
The springs give life to an amazing desert wetland.
Got the camera straightened out!
The Saratoga Springs Pupfish is a unique species only found here. Very rare snails and insects live here too. These species are descendants of those which inhabited the enormous lakes that filled Death Valley 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. As the lakes dried the habitat which could support these species shrunk to these isolated springs.
The higher water table in this area supports small salt grass meadows.
Nice formations nearby at the southern tip of the Black Mountains.
From the springs it is only a couple of miles to the access point for the Ibex Dunes.
It's about a mile walk from the parking spots, where I camped, to the dunes. I grabbed my camera and a water bottle and set out for a nice evening stroll.
Warm and absolutely calm. The peace and serenity penetrate to your core out here!
