Time to pack up and leave Malpais Spring; it has been a great three nights here and I didn't encounter any other visitors

It was a bit windy overnight, but perfect sleeping temperature; I slept really well. Granola, dried fruit and coffee went down well. All that's left now is the dirty work of packing up.

All packed up, I ride down the dirt road away from my Malpais Spring campsite

The upper part of the road here is in decent shape. Plus, it's slightly downhill, which usually makes the riding better.

About a mile down the road from my campsite, I approach the defunct water tank and windmill of Stagecoach Well

The road is rougher here, and I had to walk up it when arrived here, but it's an easy ride down into the wash, taken carefully.

I stop at Stagecoach Well when I hear a rubbing sound and, yes, my rear wheel is rubbing against the bike frame again

I loosen my rear quick release, which seems tight, adjust the wheel's position, and remount the bike. I can't seem to get the quick release tight enough to prevent movement under the weight of a swaying full load (my rear rack is axle-mounted).

I arrive back at the "main road," Walking Box Ranch Road, and begin the 11-mile ride to the Nevada 164 highway

I'm backtracking the route to Nipton that I followed to get here three days ago. I considered taking an alternate route via Ivanpah Road, but I've ridden that route more often than Walking Box Ranch Road.

After a mile, I pass the "stateline" sign on Walking Box Ranch Road; I'm leaving California and entering Nevada

I'll be in Nevada for a few hours until I reenter California this afternoon near Nipton.

I stop briefly at an old corral behind which is an alternate old road leading to Malpais Spring

For variety's sake, I probably should have taken that road today, since I have plenty of time. However, with the problems that my rear wheel is giving me, I've been having some fears of breaking down in a remote location.

Residual pavement exists here and there on Walking Box Ranch Road

Now that there is no longer much mining activity in the area, I'm guessing that the pavement is no longer being renewed. In my notes from my 2000 trip here, I recorded that someone called this an "oiled road," not a paved road.

I pass the shot-up 5-mile marker on Walking Box Ranch Road

...meaning that I have five miles to go until I reach Nevada Highway 164. Most of Walking Box Ranch Road is long, straight, and slightly downhill, but here is one of several spots where it dips down to cross a wash.

A field of pinkish-white buckwheat flowers in the joshua tree forest on the west side of Walking Box Ranch Road

The flowers were pinker on the way here three days ago. Today's high clouds whiten the flowers.

A few more miles to go on Walking Box Ranch Road

Long, straight, slightly downhill, and a bit bumpy.

Stop sign in the desert: after 11 dirt-road miles, I reach the end of Walking Box Ranch Road

I turn left here and begin the climb up paved Nevada Highway 164. I'm at about 3940 feet elevation here, and started out at 4600 feet earlier this morning, with numerous little ups and downs along the route.

I begin the gentle 900-foot climb up Nevada 164 between Searchlight and Nipton

There's not a lot of traffic here on this Thursday at mid-day, but all traffic here is high-speed.

I make a stop at one of the Wee Thump Wilderness signs along Nevada 164

I take a water-and-energy-bar break here and enjoy the scenery. Wee Thump Wilderness was designated in 2002.

Near the Wee Thump Wilderness sign is an old dirt road that leads inland toward the McCullough Mountains

I recorded the track of this dirt road on my GPS in case I had time during this trip to visit the McCullough Mountains, but I don't. Next time perhaps?