OK, here we go; I've been looking forward to this hike over the hill into the Bighorn Basin area of the Granite Mountains

The old road to the mine is in a Wilderness area, so motor vehicles and bicycles are prohibited. Where they exist, these closed roads serve as excellent hiking trails.

A few desert dudleya grow in the rocks along the old road

I like these subtly colourful succulents and have a few in my garden of other species.

The old road crosses the dry creek here in the grasses and then begins its ascent up the hillside

Vegetation is now growing in the old road, which is still visible in the centre-left if you look closely.

Today, some moisture, mud and algae remain in the otherwise-dry creek at North Coyote Springs

When I was here during my Xmas 2007 trip, this stream was flowing with fresh water. I thought that this was Coyote Springs, unaware that the real Coyote Springs is a little further up the road.

The road rises steeply up from the North Coyote Springs creek; I look behind me to see how much I've risen in such a short time

A little bit of heart-pounding after hiking up this steep incline... The lower part of the road on the other side of the creek that leads back to my campsite is visible down at the centre-left in the photo.

After another steep switchback and a bit more climbing, the views get even better

My campsite is down at the bottom of this view, somewhere to the left of my hat.

The steepest part of the climb is over for now and the old road switchbacks gently around the crest of the hill on a ledge

It's a steep drop off the ledge on the left side here.

Flowers growing in the middle of the old road

Orange desert mallow and blue Mojave aster.

I reach the summit of the old road at "Hill 1114"

The road that I just ascended from North Coyote Springs arrives from the left, while the road leaving at the right drops down into Devil's Playground Wash. All routes lead downward from here, so I take a short break up here to absorb the wonderful views.

From Hill 1114, I get my last glimpse of the Providence Mountains before I head down into Devil's Playground Wash

My campsite is down there somewhere in front of that boulder pile in the centre of the photo.

Hill 1114 also offers an excellent view of the Kelso Dunes from above

I haven't seen Kelso Dunes from this vantage point before.

I get my first view down into the gorge of Devil's Playground Wash and the old mining road that rises up the other side

I feel like I'm entering a secret world where nobody goes as I begin the steep hike down the switchbacks to the bottom of Devil's Playground Wash. The road drops 375 feet in just over 1/3 mile.

On the way down, but still up high, I pass a mine tunnel that's not indicated on my map

Painted on the rock near the tunnel entrance is a word that looks like "Hen."

I continue walking down the middle of the old road, which is almost invisible in places

Devil's Playground Wash below drains into the area of the Kelso Dunes beyond.

I arrive at the bottom of the hill in Devil's Playground Wash and look for the road rising up the other side

For a few hundred feet, the old road apparently went down the wash before rising up the other side, but there's no longer any trace of it here.

One very small pool of water remains between some rocks in Devil's Playground Wash right now; it's otherwise dry down here

Apparently, a lot of water (and rocks) from the mountains runs down this wash during the wetter months. This must have hindered access to the old mine up on the mountainside.

I walk down the wash a little and locate the old road rising up the hill

The lower part of the road here is quite steep, but it was presumably the best route the miners could carve out of such rugged surroundings.

As I climb up the other side, I look over to the hill that I just descended

The old road passing over the tailings pile and then zigzagging down the hill is very difficult to discern from here because it's so eroded and grown-in.