Apparently, this dripping water is the source of Cottonwood Spring

The small quantity of water dripping out from under the tree roots here does not amount to very much. At least not right now; the flow is probably more significant during the wetter months.

There doesn't seem to be more water to discover in Cottonwood Canyon, so I climb up a small hill for a break with nice views

My tent is about two miles down below. The high peak in the background is Clark Mountain, the highest point of Mojave National Preserve, which I haven't gotten around to exploring yet.

Cottonwood Spring is aptly named since this cottonwood tree lives here

This tree is dumping some of its fluff and pollen into the air, which probably explains why I just had a sneezing fit (I'm allergic to cottonwood trees, which I hate to admit because I like them).

I walk back down to Cottonwood Spring to filter some water

It looks like the wilderness camera is going to get some choice shots of me and my water filter instead of a deer or a mountain lion.

The water that drips out from under the tree roots at Cottonwood Spring flows over this rock as a clear shiny film

Then the water hits the ground and creates the small stream below. I'm relieved to find water because I drank more of my water supply than expected yesterday on the way here.

The meagre stream contains as much algae as it does water

There's also a fair amount of mud around, or is that something less sanitary? There's a reason that I'm using a water filter...

The stream is too shallow to pump water from it, so I dig a small depression to accept the intake hose of my water filter

Inevitably, this stirs up a lot of silt, so I'll have to wait a few minutes before I can begin to pump water.

Filtering water from Cottonwood Spring, Mojave National Preserve

I've waited five minutes, and the silt in the depression that I dug in the stream has cleared away. I'm filling my half-depleted two-litre Camelbak and two empty 1.5-litre water bottles.

Successful taste test of the water at Cottonwood Spring, Mojave National Preserve

The water from Cottonwood Spring tastes great filtered. It helps that the water is almost cold, so it's really refreshing on this warm day, the coolest water that I've drank since yesterday at Kelso Depot visitor centre.

The proud deed of pumping water completed, I begin my walk back down Cottonwood Canyon and toward Butcher Knife Canyon

The hike ahead of me should be interesting, and I might get lucky and find even more water at Butcher Knife Spring.

Lots of purple salvia dorrii flowers in this area

These sage flowers are especially striking when they occur next to yellow encelia flowers or orange desert-mallow flowers. Of course, they're always super-fragrant.

I leave the road and begin hiking cross-country to the Butcher Knife Canyon area, about a mile away

I dodge tough shrubs and the occasional cholla cactus as I make my way over to Butcher Knife Canyon. The straight-line hike is barely a mile, but cross-country hiking requires longer distances as one walks around shrubs, and never in a straight line.

I scramble over a few rocks on the way to Butcher Knife Canyon

I could have avoided this by taking a tiny detour, but rock scrambles are scenic and enjoyable.

Burned joshua tree near Butcher Knife Canyon, Mojave National Preserve

This dead joshua tree has more reach than most. The burned trees in this area suggest that the Mojave National Preserve "Hackberry Complex" lightning fires of 2005 reached this area.

For some reason, this meadow near Butcher Knife Canyon is resplendent with small white flowers

I haven't seen any of these flowers in the area except at this location.

As I get closer to Butcher Knife Canyon, I note some piles of mine tailings on the hillside in the distance

The piles appear to be colour-coded. I decide to head up to that area to look closer.

On the way up to the mine tailings, I cross a drainage with profuse desert-mallow blooms

I don't think I've ever seen so many desert-mallow blooms at once. Often, these plants don't grow higher than a foot or so.

Above the piles of tailings at the Butcher Knife Mine

So many orange desert-mallow flowers up here... The sandy area to the right that looks like road (and which is, sort of, a road) is the wash into which Butcher Knife Canyon drains, my route today.