The 2005 Death Valley and Utah Superbloom

The south end of Death Valley

Near Barstow

Near Barstow

The flower show near Capitol Reef was not so well known. I had it all to myself.

Rains in late 2004 triggered a rare superbloom in 2005 that made national news.

The Cheap RVers

Dave's Sunrader from Colorado

Huh? A DIY fifth wheel

Barry and Denise from Washington

Gary from California

Lynette and Red

The Cheap RVers are camping groups started by Bob Wells of cheaprvliving.com. Schedules can be seen at meetup.com under "caravans". Anyone can attend and there are no fees. Any type of vehicle can be used. Someone might ride in on a skateboard with a cardboard box. They stay on public lands for 2 weeks at a time before moving to the next spot. canyons@gmx.com

Cibola NWR on Christmas 2019. Red and Lynette are far left then Kevin then Mimi then Terry then Robert in the yellow van. Laura's minivan is barely showing in front of the yellow van.

Mopah Spring Indian Trails

The west trail heading to the Mopah Peaks

The only hiker I saw on the trail

The east trail heading toward Topock

The trail on the north rim of Mopah Spring canyon

Any hikers interested in a guided tour of these trails can find me on Facebook as Nevada Bob.

MOPAH SPRING TO TOPOCK TRAILS - two trails run parallel from the spring for about 40 miles toward Needles, likely Topock. The east one has an 8 mile downhill segment that makes an easy one way hike. Take US 95 to gravel piles at mp SBD 28.8. A tenth mile south is road #498 which is the simple way in, but a smoother road starts at the gravel. Go west a fifth mile then turn right on road #504 then take the next left then next right to N34 26431, W114 39650 where road #504 goes NW then bends left to meet road #498 at 26099, 41792. Leave a 4wd there then take US 95 to mp 21.9 and follow BLM road #634 to the closure in a bit over 4 miles. Walk to the end of the fence then walk a short way on a road to get across a deep wash then aim for a faint trail at 20809, 43601 then 20926, 43559 then 21032, 43520 then 21154, 43484 then 21474, 43355 then 21567, 43320 then 22070, 43228 then it crosses a bad road at 22417, 43061. Next is 22942, 42899 where it starts getting good. It goes on to 23095, 42842 then 23252, 42789 then 23462, 42716 then 23736, 42576 then 23936, 42504 then 24337, 42315 then 24455, 42276 then 24826, 42161 then 25027, 42134 then the last mile to the lower 4wd is easy to follow. A half mile before the end is where the trail connecting Havasu to Coffin Spring crosses. It's a 3 or 4 hour hike.  Losing the trail is no big deal because it wouldn't be much harder walking. All roads easy 4wd. The Indians had no water for the 40 miles. And no 29 dollar Walmart hiking boots. Posted 2019.

• TRAILS LOOP - an easy loop can be done using the two trails that run north from Mopah Spring, no shuttle needed. Take US 95 to mp 21.9 and follow BLM road #634 to the closure in a bit over 4 miles. Walk to the end of the fence then walk a short way on a road to get across a deep wash then aim for the faint east trail at N34 20809, W114 43601 then 20926, 43559 then 21032, 43520 then 21154, 43484 then 21474, 43355 then go on another 600 feet and leave the trail and head to the west trail at 22297, 44192. To see petroglyphs, veer off to the north just before reaching the trail. They're on a point facing south. Resume on the trail at 22104, 44278 then 21602, 44512 then 21220, 44701 then 20951, 44848. Next comes huge Gary Wash where there are two options. The wuss route is to go down the wash for about .9 air mile to a road on the south bank that leads back to the start but I prefer to get on the right bank at 20560, 44506 and walk it back. The other route is to stay on the trail. It crosses the wash at 20828, 44926 then 20669, 45047 and goes up a canyon. I rarely saw a trail in that. At 20251, 45257 the trail climbs the right bank and fades. I stayed low along the bank because soon there is a deep channel that needs to be crossed where it meets the main channel. At  19879, 45317 there is a game trail that goes to a saddle el 2150. Then there is an obvious trail running to the right and soon levels off to get on the right rim. I saw no more trail, so I went down the rim to the smooth wash. The spring is upstream. The trail that goes the last quarter mile to the spring climbs out of the main wash at 18982, 46311 but I skipped it and went downstream. Soon there is a cairn on the left bank that marks where the east trail shortcuts it. The trail exits at the mouth on the left bank at 19771, 44236. It goes to an airstrip and then just head back to the start. That loop took me nearly 5 hours with maybe 200 feet of noticeable gain. The wuss route would be less than 4 hours and there are so many cairns that I only need 4 of the waypoints to walk that. There are plenty of rocky segments. Posted 2019, 2022.
• MOPAH SPRING LONG LOOP - a long but easy loop goes on from the spring over into Vidal Valley then back in the next valley to the south.  Turn off US 95 at mp 21.9 and follow BLM road #634 to the closure in a bit over 4 miles. 2wd trucks might make all but the last half mile, cars could go a mile or more and mtn bikes could do it all.  Head across the flats to the trail at N34  19953,  W114 43928. Soon it meets an airstrip then resumes at the far end. It goes along the bench then drops into the wash. A fifth mile up the wash is where it gets easy to walk the left bank.  It resumes on the right at 19470, 44740 and goes a fifth mile then crosses to the left side. It goes along the base of the slope for over a third mile then back into the wash at a fork. Past the fork, the trailless left bank can be walked for a fifth mile then it's back to the wash for a tenth mile then the trailless left bank can be walked for nearly half a mile. Stay left of a hill on that. It's hard to judge if these trailless banks save any time, but they are firmer. Go on up the wash to 18981, 46314 where the trail goes up the right bank.  It goes to the spring in a quarter mile. The trail goes on from the spring on the right bank to the main saddle then splits. Take the faint one on the left that goes down on the right side of a drainage. At 18500, 47165 it bends away to the left and hits a mega wash. Stroll down that to 17760, 46568 and turn up a side canyon that leads to the north saddle of Umpah. Drop down a sheep route at 18095, 45967 that leads to the left bank of a main wash then when that ends get on the right bank then it bends right. Be back on the right bank again at 18034, 44632 and when that fizzles the left bank works until a fork cuts thru. Go back to the right bank there then on to a hard left and get on the left bank there at 19103, 43306. When that fizzles get in the wash then at .4 mile from the start, leave the wash and head straight back. That took 5 and a half hours with 500 noticeable gain but not strenuous. The app has it at a dozen miles. Posted 2022.
• VIDAL VALLEY TRAIL - this one connects the spring to the river near Blythe. A one way hike can be done by coming over the saddle on the north side of Negro Peak. Take highway 62 to mp 120.8 and go north to the canal then left to a dike road at N34 08707, W114 39435. Follow that out to a T at 09311, 40703 and leave a 4wd or bike. Then drive to mp 15.7 on US 95 and turn on road #665 and go 2.3 miles to a faint road forking left across a wash. Go nearly half a mile on that to a short trail at 15603, 41036. Mtn bikes and some cars make all but the last half mile. Walk the trail across a wash then on to a game trail at 15425, 41806. Then go SW along a wash for a third mile then it bends to the right and there is a stretch of bright bedrock in the creekbed. When that ends there is a spotty sheep trail on the left bank that goes to the main saddle el 1850. Stroll down the other side and get on the left bank of a main wash at 15232, 42782. That works for a quarter mile then get in the wash and soon comes bedrock with a deep groove cut by water. From there the right bank works on out to the flats then it's easy to the trail at 13373, 43656. Follow it to 13096, 43474 where WW2 tracks show up. At 12834, 43327 it pulls away from the tracks and goes on to 12491, 43157 then 12392, 43077. Next, it crosses a gully and fades in WW2 tracks. Just walk to the T being sure to skirt west of private land. The SW corner of the land is at 09988, 40966 and would be out of the line of travel. RVs were parked there, one a large class A, but I don't see how. This is an easy 4 and a half hour hike at most with 200 noticeable gain and that's not steep. I had to walk to my motorhome at mp 120.8 and that was a 5 hour hike. Too easy? Walk the whole 40 miles to the river like the Indians did. And don't forget to shelve the 29 dollar Walmart boots and wear crappy footwear like theirs. Posted 2020.
• MOPAH SPRING TO VIDAL VALLEY - a one way hike can be done past the spring then south down Vidal Valley to a road south of Negro Peak. Take US 95 to mp 15.5 and turn on a high clearance road and leave a vehicle at the legal end of it. Then drive US 95 to mp 21.9 and follow BLM road #634 to the closure in a bit over 4 miles. 2wd trucks might make all but the last half mile, cars could go a mile or more and mtn bikes could do it all.  Head across the flats to the trail at  19953, 43928. Soon it meets an airstrip then resumes at the far end. It goes along the bench then drops into the wash. It resumes on the left bank at 19653, 44505 and crosses to the right then goes a fifth mile then crosses back to the left side. It goes along the base of the slope for over a third mile then back into the wash. Go on up the wash to 18981, 46314 where the trail goes up the right bank.  It goes to the spring in a quarter mile. The trail goes on from the spring on the right bank to the main saddle then goes down on the right side of a drainage. At 18500, 47165 it bends away to the left and hits a mega wash. Walk the easy wash to a point at 13576, 41565 then drift left to easy ground and on to the road at 13889, 41092. Then it's a half mile to the first vehicle. That took 6 hours, 5 minutes with 3 or 400 noticeable gain. The app has the mileage at 15.4. Posted 2021

  

  I am likely the first paleface to see these along the trail.

  
  .

  

  Mopah Spring