• Date: February 18, 2024

• 50.02 Miles

• 4,623 Feet of Gain

• Red Pockets Mountain to Whitney Pocket

When we went to bed last night, both arrival at camp and laying down for sleep occurred well into the dark.  I had a hard time visualizing where we were or what the area would look like.  Waking up after such nights is always a moment of curiosity for me.  I popped outside and looked around.  We were camped on a little basin between an adjoining peak and the stunning snow-capped Virgin Mountains.  A spill of juniper trees intermixed with Joshua trees.  Janna and I sat in the sun eating breakfast while letting the sun crest over the landscape bringing its warmth.  We knew the climb ahead was the crux, so we got going quickly.  

The road began with a short descent down to a four-way intersection.  One road led deeper into the Grand Canyon-Parashant, one went to St. George, one led back the way we came, and one was the road where we were taking to head over Lime Kiln Pass.  Some ATVers mentioned a pipe with water in the area, so I set myself to find it.  I was unable to locate the pipe although there was clearly some irrigation here at one time.  We were at the hulking base of the multi-colored Red Pockets Butte.  The sun was shining amid the blue sky making the rouge-stone all the more impressive.  We turned right and started the four mile climb up to the Pass.  The Virgin Mountains peeked out from behind Red Pockets Butte all crusted with white and contrasting with the Mojave desert landscape below.  We passed a valley of red buttes, hoodoos, and other interesting geological formations on our rights that were set back into a wash with verdant vegetation.  

The road was in great condition.  The ATVers we spoke to yesterday said this climb up and over was very rocky.  So far, it was smooth with some short interspersed sections of chunk and bedrock.  We got probably a mile or two in before the road started to really get steep in grade and chunky to the point where hike-a-biking was the preferred choice over riding.  We started pushing our bikes up the curves and turns of the dirt road that became littered with babyheads and small boulders.  Despite the arduous pushing, the scenery was amazing.  I kept looking back into the heart of the Parashant and forward up to the Pass.  Even up here in the higher hills, Bundy's cows were grazing and looking at us.  

There was one last push to the top which carried us through a chiseled bottleneck of red swirling sandstone.  It was so cool to see that crowning red rock on high that it made up for the rocky push to the pass.  As chunky as the last 2 miles to the top were, an equally eroded and bustling section followed down the pass into Lime Kiln Canyon on the other side.  But wow was it gorgeous.  The north facing portions of the Virgin Mountains tucked into this canyon were packed with conifers and scrubby oaks.  Sheer exposed limestone walls opened up all iced with snow.  Even the portions we hike-a-biked down took us past interesting geological formations with chutes, pocks, and even arches.  Janna and I reached Lime Kiln Canyon Climbing Area's parking lot.  We pulled our bikes in and found it packed with climbers preparing for a day on the surrounding walls.  We talked to a small group stretching on their bouldering pads before Janna and I got back on the road to descend the rest of the way to Mesquite.  The road dramatically improved in quality from this point forward.  

The distant mountains miles beyond Mesquite were all cut with ice tops while their bottoms were gray and rusted with reds.  Some miles later, after a thrilling and easy downhill, we connected with pavement and turned right before quickly pulling up to La Mexicana Grocery Store Market in Mesquite, NV.  Hungry after three days out in the desert, we went inside and found a great selection of snacks and drinks.  We headed to the back of the store to the carniceria where we put in orders for tacos and burritos.  Then, we swung by the store's panaderia to grab a baked good each.  There is nothing like sitting on a sidewalk in the shade of a sunny day eating some delicious food after days in the backcountry.  The tacos were exactly the food we needed to propel us along the last miles of the route.  

Janna and I cleaned up, used the restroom, and then jumped on the paved multi-use path that heads out of town and parallels the Virgin River for several miles.  The Virgin River was flowing strongly after the recent winter storms.  A brown gush of liquid filled the riverbed wash with froth and stream as it sped its way along the lowlands of its flow.  The paved bikeway was smooth, wide, and safely off the road - all components I love for biking infrastructure.  The route took us through Bunkerville - location for the armed standoff between the Bundys and the BLM over his illegal cattle grazing years before.  A few miles later, the paved greenway ended as we joined the shoulder of Riverside Road.  Fortunately, traffic was light and mostly consisted of ATVs heading into the foothills.  They gave us a wide berth and were well-spaced apart.  It made this section of road relatively stress-free-riding in terms of cars.  Riverside Road eventually curved north while we took a turn left onto the semi-paved surface of Gold Butte Road.  

This section of Gold Butte Road is the same section we drove in on.  It's "semi-paved" meaning it consists of a patchwork of dirt and asphalt, with even the asphalt being a further quilt of potholes, gravel, and rugged blacktop.  As a bike ride, it was surprisingly fresh and interesting.  It always strikes me how the same experience driven by car feels so different and new when ridden by bike.  We passed by the Bundy Ranch where I quickly snapped a photo before continuing along rolling terrain matching the direction of the Virgin River.  One last dip brought us to a side-ride out to the banks of the Virgin River.  Turning around provided a frame of dusty desert buttes with snowcapped mountains behind.  The churn of water was beautiful behind me.  Janna and I got back on our bikes and joined the road again as it turned inland away from the river and began a couple thousand food ascent.  

Gold Butte Road climbed up hillsides and shot right for the footbase of the Virgin Mountains.  Signs appeared roadside warning of Mojave desert tortoise crossings.  Large fan palms grew interspersed near springs in crevices of the land.  The white-capped peaks rose in front of us, and we entered Gold Butte National Monument once more.  The climbing continued on and on until it leveled out a bit as we came to the yawning basin beyond Little Virgin Peak.  Here, Joshua trees and yuccas sprang once more from the land that stretched and tilted towards a very-easy-to-see Leak Mead.  The slant of light at this time of day, at this time of year, made the sky all juxtaposed blue against a tawny tumble of earth.  It became a race against the end of daylight to get to Whitney Pocket.  The mountain's foothills closed rank to our lefts and suddenly pocked buttes came up on our rights.  The Whitney Butte area was all red and golden from the setting Sun making for extraordinary shadows cutting among the rock.  We pulled up to the parking lot where our car was parked absolutely stoked on an amazing sunset.  And more-so, I was riveted by how good the riding and views along the route were.  We finished satisfyingly eating snacks under a warm sinking sun in the heart of the desert in February.