Mojave – Hole in the Wall (4)

Every time I come back to this place, I like it more. I think at first, it kind of scared me. It is very remote and far from any services. It feels dangerous, like the desert. Perhaps with familiarity, I have come to better appreciate the peace and sense of awe that comes with the vastness of the open land. I no longer feel those background nerves and can release my mind to the grand desert beauty.

The human brain has a strong, hard wired negativity bias, and part of my psyche still recalls the first visit, and the first time I did the Rings Loop Trail. This is a narrow passage in a wall of rock at the base of Banshee Canyon, only ascendable due to a series of strategically placed hand and footholds in the shape of metal rings. I struggled the first time I tried it, but have since conquered them, more than once. After we got in and set up, I wanted to go find the rings and tackle them, first thing. The Barber Peak Loop Trail ends at the rings, after a 5.6 mile loop. From the campground though, you can get to the bottom of the canyon by walking just a mile going the other direction. As a quick hike, I brought nothing with me but my determination. And lo and behold, I made it up both sets of rings with zero trouble. It took me aback how easy it was, and I wondered whether they had added more rings since the last time. I went back to the blog to compare photos, only to find that I had written last time about the climb being no problem. Funny how I’d forgotten that.

If you are a TikTok person, or if you’ve read the stories going around, you may know there have been lots of drone sightings in various places across the country. I was secretly looking forward to scanning the nighttime skies in the relative vicinity of Edwards Air Force Base, and to my delight, a group of rangers set up a major astronomy station a few sites over from us. We went over and asked about what they were doing, and they explained that they were on a training outing to learn about astronomy. They even had a real for real NASA scientist with them to show them how to use all of the big expensive telescope equipment. It secretly delighted me that the NASA scientist had a thick Russian accent. I asked them if they were perchance going to launch any drones. The NASA astronomer got my reference immediately and laughed, saying with a wink, “You know, we don’t “officially” know anything about those.” And if that’s not an admission, I don’t know what is. It was too cloudy that night to see anything, but I did spend more time than I’m willing to admit taking video evidence of what turned out to be Sirius. Ok, two things I learned: 1) Sirius does in fact twinkle red and green (very much like a drone), and 2) because of something called the autokinetic effect, stars can look like they are moving. So there.

We did do the Barber Peak Loop Trail again, complete with another successful rings ascent at the end. The sky was a brilliant blue and the weather was perfect. There is one particular spot about mid hike, where there is a distinctive outcropping of dazzlingly white rocks all over the ground. They do not fit in with any of the surrounding geology and make a striking contrast to the rusty colors all around. It looks like someone’s million dollar marble counters exploded right there, leaving behind hundreds of bits of shining little gem stones. We ate lunch on a pile of gem stones and it was delightful.

The other surprise of the stay was the equally incongruous appearance of a troop of horses at the entrance to Banshee Canyon. We couldn’t tell at first if they were wild, but we did ask about it later and it seems they wandered over from a nearby ranch. There is not enough water in this part of the Mojave to support a wild herd. They looked pretty comfortable, so they probably roam around the area frequently.

And last, the desert sunsets never disappoint. I think we always get treated to a glorious sunset when we stay here. The light as the sun sets and rises over the desert sands is indescribably beautiful. I just love this campground. The stars at night are nuts (as are the people looking at them and thinking they are drones). Be careful to make sure you gas up at Barstow, or Ludlow, or Needles, depending where you are coming from. And I don’t think I’d come during the summer. But in the winter through spring, this campground is one of the best.

Total miles from Calico: 119.6, 16.6 mpg, 2 hours 46 min. Site 36 no hookups. Great solar. Slow, but existent cell service. Good dump with potable water. $12 per night, first come first serve.