Wow! It has been a long, long time since I've been here to blog. I spent the summer riding. Almost every day, almost always from my house. Early mornings before the heat were magical, but somehow just not blog worthy.
Slightly cooler weather has arrived and since I have good cycling fitness, I decided it was time for a bike tour.
The Pine Grove Hills are northeast of Bridgeport, California. Overshadowed by the taller and more dramatic Sweetwater Mountains to the west, they are easy to miss.
I started my ride at the mouth of Nye Canyon with the intent of riding to the head of the canyon, then up and over to the shoulder of Bald Mountain to take a look at hiking to its summit.
The riding up Nye Canyon was generally quite good with a few sandy spots. Looking back down to where I came up.
There are two interesting dry (unless there's recent rain or snowmelt) lake beds nestled in the high sage flats northwest of Bald Mountain.
The road to the shoulder of Bald became super rocky and unpleasant to ride, so I turned around and explored the road adjacent to the lake beds.
I descended back down Nye Canyon turning north into Dead Ox Canyon which proved to be extremely sandy all the way up to Dead Ox Spring.
The good news was that the spring was flowing. Water dribbled from this pipe from a little fenced in patch (up right).
Sweet little oasis.
With water bottles topped off I had more options and elected to ride to the Rockland mining camp which is dry.
Above Dead Ox Spring the riding improved and once onto these high sage flats became excellent.
I love finding weird stuff out in the middle of nowhere!
A quick, steep plunge brought me to the upper zone of the Rockland mining district. Gold was discovered here in 1869 and was mined off and on through the early 1830s.
This old shed provided shelter from the sun and the wind - which weren't too harsh, but nice to avoid.
After dinner I went out for a fine stroll on one of the many mining tracks.
The next morning I woke early to enjoy a beautiful dawn.
Rockland Canyon below the mining district holds several nice rock formations.
In short order the road spills out of the canyon into the desert on Pine Grove Flat.
The junction. To Rockland left (where I came from). To Pine Grove right (where I'm going).
The Cambridge Hills and Pine Grove Flat.
A nice steady grade brought me to the ghost town/mining ruins of Pine Glade.
Gold mining in Pine Grove began in 1866, peaked in the 1880s and finally petered out in the 1930s. Over 1,000 people lived here during its peak.
The old buildings and mines at Pine Grove were interesting, but the main reason I went there was to get water. Unfortunately the only water there was in small, stagnant ponds ringed by tules and brush. I had seen the ponds on satellite photos and figured there must be flowing water somewhere, but boy was I wrong!
I had enough water to get back to my truck, but it would be a long, tough day and I really wanted to spend another night in the hills. Checking the maps I noticed I could hop over a little ridge, descend into Scotts Canyon to Taylor Spring where I hoped to find water.
Taylor Spring was a pretty spot. A pretty dry spot! Resigned I carried on...
Shortly another unnamed spring appeared. Just moist dirt at the bottom of the hill, but a good trickle at the top. What a wonderful surprise!
An enjoyable climb to Lobdell Summit, a thrilling descent, and a short traverse brought me to the Cowboy Mine area where I found a terrific campsite with shade and big views.
After supper I strolled up to investigate the mine. Tungsten was the target here. Primarily in the early 1940s.
All the buildings were flattened and scattered except this outhouse. A sturdy two seater!
The views from camp. The Sweetwater Range to the southwest.
Bald Mountain to the south (back left).
I enjoyed a sublime evening at camp.
The third day involved a moderate, sandy climb in Sand Canyon (imagine!) to this pass.
And finally, a relaxing roll back down into Nye Canyon.
Amazing trip! So much inspiring scenery. So much diversity too.
The water situation was a little stressful for a bit but ended well. There is a lot of sand too. The fat bike was very much appreciated although it seemed like the canyons on the east side provided much better riding overall.
Here's the Strava link:
