After a couple of hard days, Brian and I were looking for something a bit easier on our last full day on the trip.
We parked in the desert and pulled out the VTTs for an easy spin to the base of Bell Mountain (Right side of image). One of our objectives of this trip was to scout future climbs in the area. We plan to spin around the base of Bell Mountain and check it out.
It’s hard to get a sense of how vast this valley is but the van quickly disappears in the distance.
As we ride into Basinger Canyon, Bell Mountain disappears behind the shoulder.
Further up the canyon the climate changes. Despite this view the grade was actually quite steep.
Brian attacks the stream crossing.
The view from the valley does not revel the size of the mountain range.
An old cabin. Some pioneer made a go of it here in this remote location.
Towards the end of our climb, we bumped up the canyon wall and just got a glimpse of Bell Mountain’s summit dome. This image was shot at about 7700 feet of elevation and the summit is still nearly 4000 feet above us.
This old mining road heads further up but was too steep to climb on the bike. Those early miners were an ambitious lot!
Having gathered lots of information for a future assault on the mountain, we flipped it around and headed back to the van.
Back at the van we had lunch and hit the road.
Our stop for the night was at Morman Reservoir, a mud puddle in the middle of the high desert.
Despite the bleak landscape, morning light offered a few good photographic opportunities.
Moonset! It was a fun week with my good friend from the small Irish village of Rasselcock.
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