East Side of the Sierras

     We were finally off in the Traverse, our Westy-style Ford van, after a long, very hot summer and a canceled fall trip (our kids tell us we really must stop having surgery). Normally, one wouldn't consider camping on the east side of the Sierras in mid-November--it might well be under a layer of snow--but the weather has not been quite normal of late. As the crow flies, it's only 70 miles from our home on the west side of the Sierras near Sequoia National Park to Lone Pine on the east side.
A number of years ago, Doug and friends hiked the 70-mile High Sierra Trail, from Crescent Meadow in Sequoia to Whitney Portal near Lone Pine, in 9 days. But the drive is 4 hours. The three roads that cross the Sierras (red icons on the map)--Tioga Pass through Yosemite, Sherman Pass further south, and Walker Pass, still further south--are normally snowbound in winter. The closest and easiest route for us is around the south end of the Sierras on CA 58 through Tehachapi. 

          After leaving 58 we headed north on CA 14 up the east side of the Sierras, soon joining US 395. Our first stop was Fossil Falls, just north of Ridgecrest. 

After the last Ice Age, water flowing from melting glaciers in the Sierra Nevada Mountains sculpted the ancient lava flow. Unfortunately, the falls are now dry, as the water has long been diverted via the Los Angeles Aqueduct to feed LA's needs.

          Nearby Red Hill cinder cone is mined for volcanic rock, such as the red lava rock some folks use in their yards. 

     Owens Lake once covered over 100 square miles and supported steamship commerce. Now it is mostly dry, its waters having been diverted to Los Angeles for over 100 years. Under a 2001 court order, Los Angeles now cooperates with the Great Basin Air Pollution Control District to hold down the dust in the lakebed. Some portions are flooded, which has brought a return of vegetation and water birds.

Water flows to Los Angeles in open aqueducts and through pipes (white line above).

          Doug always says his head is on a gimbal when driving through areas like the Owens Valley: to the east are the Inyo Mountains, like a gigantic painting...

...and to the west are the Alabama Hills and Sierra Nevada. Mt. Whitney, highest peak in the contiguous US (center above) rises to 14,500 feet from the Owens Valley floor at 4,000 feet. Their appearance would seem to indicate that the Sierras and the Alabama Hills are from different geologic periods, but they are in fact the same age.

       Once in Lone Pine we took Whitney Portal Rd west to Movie Road which leads into the Alabama Hills. Here we encountered numerous dirt roads, often 4WD, threading through the rock formations. Hundreds of movies have been filmed here, especially the Westerns of the 1950s and '60s. For those of us who grew up with Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, and others, this area looks familiar.

          We camped in a sheltered nook the first night. It was cold and quiet, with no cell service and a black sky splashed thickly with stars.

Sunrise on the Sierras.

          Early the next morning, we walked to Mobius Arch, one of numerous arches in the Alabama Hills.

Mt. Whitney through the Mobius Arch.

We never tire of the stark beauty of the jagged southern Sierras and the high desert. Whitney is in the center.

          In 1872, a nearly 8.0 earthquake hit the Lone Pine area, destroying most of Lone Pine, killing 27 in the largely immigrant community of 350, and causing the Sierras to rise about 10 feet. A common grave for 16 includes those of French, Irish, Chilean, Mexican, and Native American descent.

          After breakfast at the Alabama Hills Cafe and walking Lone Pine's Main Street, we headed north on 395 to Moffatt Ranch Rd and the northern entrance to the Alabama Hills. Always in search of the perfect campsite, 7 miles later, we finally found it and set up camp. We read and walked and were snuggled into the camper by 4:30, as the sun set behind the Sierras and the temperatures began to drop to the low 20s.

          We recently installed Reflectix, an aluminum backed insulation, inside the pop top tent, which along with insulated curtains Marilyn made helps keep in the warmth. 

At night, we were rather cozy in our large double sleeping bag with an added down comforter, down blankets, and the quilt Marilyn made, as well as an occasional assist from the car and house heaters.

          The next morning we drove north almost to Bishop, turning east on CA 168. By the time we reached the Bristlecone Ancient Pines Forest in the White Mountains, we'd climbed on winding, narrow, steep roads to over 10,000 feet, and yet there was no snow in sight. 

The rings of the Bristlecone Pine are amazing: a single inch of  dense growth rings may mean 100 years of life.            

Bristlecones grow only in harsh, high elevations, which actually contributes to their longevity. The Methusalah tree at nearly 5,000 years, is one of the oldest living things in the world (we didn't see it). Some of the trees we saw were over 4,000 years old. The 1-mile Discovery Trail sounded like it would be easy, but after 1/2 mile of a rather constant climb at 10,000 feet, we realized we were not acclimated. That said, we did complete the loop, coming down much more quickly than we ascended.

        Back on 168, heading toward Nevada, we came upon Deep Springs College. A two-year school in the high desert of eastern California, it is a working cattle and alfalfa ranch largely run by the 25-member student body. Marilyn has long been fascinated by this unique institution, even considering applying to teach there. She didn't know its exact location and was quite excited to come across it. 

          We treated ourselves to a night at Benton Hot Springs hotel and campground. Each campsite has its own tiled hot tub fed by natural springs. Doug enjoyed it throughout the night, even when the temperatures were hugging 20 degrees. We stayed until checkout time--always time for one more dip.

          View from Bristlecone Pine Forest in White Mountains, with Sierra Nevada beyond. Sometime during our drive up to Bristlecone, we realized we'd left our very compact and comfortable camp chairs, for which we haven't found replacements, at our Alabama Hills campsite--about 3 hours from Benton Hot Springs. After much consideration of options, we decided on Plan Q, to forgo Bodie and a drive home through Yosemite in favor of returning to the Alabama Hills and our chairs. 

          After a leisurely morning relaxing in our personal hot tub, we drove down the hill to Bishop for coffee. Doug spotted a quilting shop and told Marilyn to take her time, so why was he surprised when she returned to the van with a sack of fat quarters?

          With no agenda, we headed back to Lone Pine. Our chairs awaited us faithfully, right where we'd left them. 

          Then it was time to find a better campsite. We soon found "the one," a site we'd earlier coveted... 

...and enjoyed our stunningly beautiful and quiet surroundings, reading in our chairs. 

Fortunately the wind was not blowing so we were able to camp on top of a knoll. 

          As the light played across the Alabama Hills, sadly, smoke from California's tragic wildfires began to waft over the Sierras.

          The next morning we leisurely broke camp, returned to the Alabama Hills Cafe for another great breakfast, and headed home. Being less than 4 hours from home, the Owens Valley and Alabama Hills are definitely on our "return to soon" list.