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Saturday, March 14, 2015

Mojave National Preserve - Teutonia Peak Trail


Our February 2015 visit to southern Nevada and southern California included a planned drive through the Mojave Preserve. The preserve is the third largest tract of land administered by the US National Park Service in the contiguous 48 states behind Death Valley National Park and Yellowstone National Park. We found so much to do that we added a day to our visit. Our first stop was to hike the Teutonia Peak Trail. The trailhead is an unmarked sandy pullout on west side of Cima Road near the Mojave Memorial Cross. The location is about 11.2 miles south of the Stateline Service Station at Interstate 15 exit 272 and about 6.4 miles north of Cima, California.

According to the sign at the trailhead, the trail "passes through the densest concentration of Joshua trees in the world." Over a distance of 1.6 miles, the trail climbs about 700 feet to a rocky outcrop on the northeastern side of Cima Dome. Elevation at the end of the trail is about 5713 feet above sea level. The actual summit is another ¼ mile of rock climbing south of the end of the trail. Cima Dome is a nearly symmetrical dome rising 1500 feet, spanning nearly 10 miles and covering 70 square miles.

Besides the standard desert hiking warnings about carrying enough water, watching for snakes and being aware of cactus on or near the trail, this trail also passes by several abandoned mines. Please don't wander beyond posted warning signs or attempt to climb fences to get a better view of the mines.

Topographic map of the trail

Trail elevation profile

Joshua trees, juniper trees, yucca and creosote bushes

Teutonia Peak from near the trailhead

Mojave Memorial Cross on the white rock in the distance

The Joshua tree is a member of the Agave family

Cholla cactus

A young Joshua tree

Igneous rock intrusion through a fault in the older rock

The Joshua tree forest seems to go on forever

Cholla cactus and Teutonia Peak

The lower portion of the trail follows an old 4WD road

A Joshua tree towers over the trail

Waterbars have been built into the trail

Junipers become more common at higher elevations

Remains of an abandoned silver mine

Kessler Peak

Old Man cactus

Beyond the mine, the trail steepens

Another view of Kessler Peak

The trail turns off the road, but not before providing this spectacular view

Ivanpah Mountains

Another view of the Ivanpah Mountains

Clark Mountain and the Mescal Range

Kessler Peak in the Ivanpah Mountains

New York Mountains

The trail narrows and climbs rock steps

Another view of Clark Mountain

A trail passes through here somewhere

Rugged country

Clark Mountain from the trail

More stairs

Cima Dome

More Old Man Cactus along the trail

Prickly pear cactus along the trail

One of the lesser summits of Teutonia Peak

Juniper, Joshua tree and prickly pear greet us near the summit

The aptly named Shadow Valley

Still a bit more climbing to the end of the trail

Looking north to Clark Mountain

Looking southeast toward the New York Mountains

Looking north toward Clark Mountain

Prickly pear on the rocks

Looking east to the New York Mountains

Looking northeast toward the Mescal Range and Striped Mountain

Entrance to Mojave National Preserve is free.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/moja/index.htm.

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