I camped at Mojave National Preserve for the first time the week before Thanksgiving. This post is a companion to my Exploring Mojave National Preserve post, which focused on the photographic aspects. I did this trip at the end of November, the weekend before Thanksgiving
To maximize my time in the backcountry, I left San Francisco Friday evening after work and got a hotel halfway between the city and the preserve. I opted to stay in Wasco, which is home to a state prison and not much more. The Best Western did not have a lot of recommend it. It was clean and safe, but very noisy. Doors started banging at 5 am. At 6 am, a central bathroom fan system kicked on. The fan motor happened to be right above my room’s ceiling, which ended all hope of sleeping. So, I filled up on fuel and hit the road.
There are two options for camping at the preserve: staying at an official campsite, or camping at one of the dispersed campsites. The official campsites are Hole-in-the-Wall, which is easily accessible via a paved road, and Mid Hills, which requires a nine mile trip down a dirt road. (There’s also a group campsite across the main road from Hole-in-the-Wall, but it’s basically the same campground). Hole-in-the-Wall was fairly busy when I visited at the end of November. Most of the campsites appeared taken, but there were some free sites.
I chose to do dispersed roadside camping. This is a bit of unique option for a National Park Service property. Before the establishment of the Preserve in 1994, campers would pull off the road and set up camps in informal sites allowed under BLM regulations. These campsites disturbed the fragile desert ecosystem, so while NPS doesn’t allow backcountry camping in general at Mojave National Preserve, they continue to allow allow it at existing disturbed sites.
Dispersed camping is on a first-come, first-served basis. There’s no signage, you just have to find an existing site (look for packed soil and a fire ring). Doing that can be a challenge if you arrive after dark. I did a few hours of internet sleuthing to come up with a list of about 20 possible sites.
I arrived at noon on a Saturday and found most campsites unoccupied. I think most people arrive in the evening, set up camp, and then move on in the morning. I did see a few sites that were occupied by RVs that appeared to be on multi-day stays. My first choice was a mile off a main road, and it was unoccupied when I arrived. I had rented a Jeep, so it was pretty easy for me to access a campsite secluded from the main road.
While water is available at Hole-in-the-Wall campground, it doesn’t taste very good. Packing in your water is highly recommended, but it’s good to know there’s a backup option if you need it. I brought two gallons of water per day, which was more than I needed in November, even when doing multi-hour hikes.
There are obviously no bathroom facilities at the dispersed sites. It was easy enough to schedule my major calls of nature for a quick drive to the Hole-in-the-Wall visitor center (much nicer than the vault toilets in the campgrounds). Bringing a camp toilet is also an option. Using a cat-hole is a last resort: most of the soil is very rocky. The washes are easier to dig in, but pooping in a wash just seems rude, despite all the animal dung littering the preserve. If you go with the cat-hole option, pack out your toilet paper. It takes forever to break down in the desert environment, as can be observed from all the petrified animal dung.
Wind was a major factor. I only camped for two nights. The first was very windy, and the incessantly intermittent flapping of my tent kept me awake. I ended up retreating to the back of the Jeep for the remainder of the night. The second night was calmer and I slept without a problem. November is considered a relatively low wind month. Next time I go, I will probably leave the rainfly off the tent to see if that helps with the wind. Or just resign myself to sleeping in a car.
The Preserve is bracketed by I-15 and I-40, and traffic was visible from my campsite about 10 miles from Hole-in-the-Wall. It wasn’t audible, however. With Las Vegas less than 100 miles to the north and Los Angeles 200 miles west, commercial flights crisscrossed the preserve pretty regularly. Still, light pollution was limited to a few distant glows and the night skies were quite enjoyable.
Hiking was pleasant in late November. It was cold in the morning and more than tolerable at mid-day. I hiked one of the few established trails. The trail wasn’t always clear, but it was well-signed. Next time, I’ll try exploring off trail.
My original plan was to camp for four nights. On my second morning in the Preserve, I ran into car trouble when my Jeep wouldn’t start. I was lucky enough to have parked near Hole-in-the-Wall campground when it happened, and got help from a more prepared Jeep driver who had jumper cables. It would have been a much bigger hassle to have had that happen at my campsite, a mile off the main road on 4×4-only unmaintained roads. I had enough food and water to not be in major danger, but it would not have been fun at all. As it was, I decided against staying in the desert with a flaky car and cut my trip short. Next time I visit, I’ll bring jumper cables and a jump starter.
While it was a challenge, I had a great time at Mojave National Preserve. If you haven’t camped in the desert before, it’s totally doable. Start with a visit in the cooler months, and come over-prepared. You’ll be rewarded for the hassle with a relatively solitary experience in a unique and beautiful ecosystem.