Mojave – Hole in the Wall (2)

Richard has been super excited about this stop ever since we planned it. First, he got to ride up the 20 mile climb from highway 40 to the campground, which is a favorite ride of his. The Hole in the Wall Campground is a first come, first serve place, so we both get anxious about getting a site. We’re usually wrong to be worried, but that trend over time has not served to alter our natures in any way. I made a bee line for the campground after I dropped him off, and found it to be practically empty. I got my pick of sites, so I went for sunset view, unhitched, and just waited for him to arrive. 

There is good service in the campground, which seems unlikely given how far it is from anything. I was able to text him that we had an awesome site so he could enjoy the rest of his ride. I got to enjoy the view and watch as a coyote nonchalantly passed through the campground. Clouds came in enough to block the sunset, but we got nice bunny views as we cranked up the Truma and enjoyed nighttime in the desert. After dark, we put on our headlamps and walked the .4 mile trail to the visitor center, just for a little stretch of the legs for me. The stars out there are amazing.

For our full day in the park, we chose to do the big 6 mile loop trail again. It was a brisk day with a little wind, but nothing our jackets couldn’t handle. I believe it was because of this hike on our previous visit that we ended up spending a couple hundred dollars on jackets. It was money well spent, I must say. We have excellent jackets.

The loop trail ends in a big canyon wall. There is but one way through, unless you want to go another mile around, and that is up a narrow chute in the rocks. They have made this route doable through strategically placed rings, banged into the rock, along one side of two water-worn passages. But that is not to say it’s easy. Reaching from one ring to the next is a challenge if you’re short. And the logistics of lifting your knees inside the narrow chute so that you can get your foot up to the next ring is a rather bendy situation. Add to that the simple math of: width of opening:width of ass ≥1, and let’s just say I had a tight squeeze. I made it, but it was not pretty, and Richard was a key element in helping to hold my hand and pull me up. But I cleared it just in time for the sunset and rewarded my fat ass with a cookie.

We do love this campground. Nothing beats looking out the windows in the morning and seeing nothing but desert out there. This is not a place where big rigs can easily fit, so it’s a chill vibe. There is water and a pretty good dump there. Plus, the added bonus of unexpectedly strong cell service. So even though it is 20 miles off the highway, you don’t feel quite so cut off. Just be sure to gas up because there are not a lot of services past Ludlow.

It was a great stay, and our official welcome to this year’s winter in the desert. Onward to meet up with a friend at Lake Mead!

Total miles: 120.6, 15.6 mpg, 3 hours 41 min from Calico, with a stop to let Richard out. Good LTE for ATT, less strong for Verizon, but enough for mail and texts. Good dump. No electric hookups. Vault toilets in campground, and water spigots.