Diet Taco... trying to keep things light

Oh and as an aside I'm in Vegas at the moment and plan to go to the get together this evening 7:30 at Dirt Dog if anyone is local and wants to come out.

Link to the event from the Vegas thread:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/vegas-bs-thread.90006/page-663#post-18111791

I'm also giving away my Lynx Levelers, OEM bottle jack and a random tool bag (just the bag, no tools). Got to keep the weight down after all!

 

Papoose Flat
June 2018

This will be a short trip report with not too many photos. I didn't get to take an April trip and so I decided to try a June trip hopefully before the southwest would be mostly on fire. Temperatures would likely be force me to higher elevations but I didn't want to be anywhere too wet with snow melt as that would make the bugs awful. So I decided to head to a spot in the Inyo range I've stopped by briefly a few times in the past, namely Papoose Flat.

Papoose Flat is just a bit below 9,000 feet and I know from past experience that at this altitude I start to feel the effects of altitude sickness if not acclimatized - especially at night when sleeping. So I decided this would also be a good opportunity to try out an altitude sickness medication called acetazolamide since I could easy drop in elevation if needed and didn't really have any specific plans other than to relax. I hoped if I felt like it to get a number of minor mods done while there.

I did my usual early Monday morning flight into Las Vegas, got the truck, got provisioned and was on the road by noon. This time I took the 95 out of Vegas up through Beatty and eventually turned through Deep Springs Valley to get to Big Pine. This was a route I'd never taken before and so it was a semi-interesting drive. I stopped for the first time at the museum in Beatty which is definitely worth a stop as it is full of all sorts of interesting local artifacts and mining equipment as well.

The drive was quite long and I treated myself to dinner in Big Pine before heading up to Papoose Flat via Death Valley Big Pine Road turning south onto a USFS road that climbs up to the flat from the north. I reached camp well before sunset and had a pleasant evening of doing nothing other than enjoying the view. It appeared California at least was already getting a head start on being on fire, the Owens Valley was full of smoke to the north but I had a nice clear view across the valley still.

Monday night was quite pleasant and apparently the acetazolamide was doing its thing as I didn't have any headaches and had a healthy appetite. I woke Tuesday to a fairly lackluster sunrise and despite feeling healthy I was still very lazy. Acetazolamide does not magically prevent fatigue at altitude when not acclimatized so I was not particularly motivated to do much. I spent a little time paying better attention to the Pinyon Juniper Woodland flora as I've been trying to do a better job at learning basic plant identification. Papoose Flat also has some very interesting geology so I wandered around looking at rocks too. Eventually in the early afternoon I decide to explore the flat by vehicle and look for a camp on the southern rim.

Papoose Flat, view to the west
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Papoose Flat really is a delightful place but I've not done a particularly good job capturing that photographically. The flat itself is covered in towering granite outcrops much like the Alabama Hills but more spread out. The western edge of the flat terminates in a steep drop into the Owens Valley which means you are treated to amazing views of the Sierra crest across the valley from almost every part of the flat. There are a variety of nice camp spots both on the flat itself and on the bordering ridges. Many have shade and wind protection. There is even a small arch on one of the granite formations that cover the flat. Despite these attractions I was the only person at Papoose Flat for my entire visit.

Late Tuesday afternoon I continued up the much rougher road to the south that eventually connects to Badger Flat. Only about a mile up this road I found a very nice camp spot. I still felt very lazy and so mostly read and enjoyed the views.

Camp above Papoose Flat
​

Just a few steps along a ridge from the camp was a wonderful view point of the flat. I finally put a little effort into taking a photo and watched the shadows stretch across the flat. It really is a special place that's better experienced in person rather than photographed.

Shadows on Papoose Flat
​

So far the weather had been very agreeable. It was a little bit warm in the middle of the day despite the high elevation but there was typically a pleasant breeze that cooled things down and chased off bugs. So far the smoke was being kept to the north as well. Despite the very lazy day I was pretty tired and did a bit of reading as twilight settled in. I had a nice view right at my bedside.

Bedside View
​

Wednesday dawned and I hoped to have a busy day doing some exploring and truck mods. I still had no signs of altitude sickness. After breakfast and some really low key rearranging of stuff in the truck I found myself still unmotivated and surprisingly fatigued. The breezes had disappeared and bugs made an appearance. Nothing too bad, but just enough annoying buzzing things around my head a few times every minute. It appeared the smoke was moving south with the wind change.

After some hemming and hawing I decided I just wasn't having that much fun and there was plenty more I could be doing if I wasn't so fatigued at altitude. I also had a big drive back to Vegas and then a long flight home which by my original itinerary would happen all in one day. That would probably see me home grumpy which would not endear me to my patient spouse who lets me go on these solo vacations under the assumption I'll return a happier camper.

So with some reluctance I packed up early and headed back to Vegas. This time I chose to drive directly through Death Valley. I continued on Death Valley Big Pine Road through Eureka Valley and then over the Last Chance Range into the northern extreme of Death Valley itself. Continuing down the valley to Ubehebe I made great time averaging about 40 mph the whole way. This cut many miles off my route in via 95 but not quite as many minutes due to the reduced speed. It was a delightful drive and I think I learned something about myself on the way. No sooner had I dropped out of the Pinyon Juniper Woodland and into lower elevations with Joshua trees than I was immediately looking curiously into every canyon the road passed wondering when would be a good time to come explore it in the future. I'm clearly much more of a desert rat than a mountain man!

Stopping in the late morning in Furnace Creek it was already 119F. I continued on through Death Valley Junction and Pahrump before reaching "civilization" in Vegas. I recharged with a relaxing hotel stay before flying back to Baltimore.

I honestly think I'm done with June trips for a good long while. I've done three in the past three years and a couple more in years past. They've never "clicked" with me for whatever reason. I suspect it is because I primarily love the lower desert elevations which are a bit too scorching by June. I think it is going to be primarily October through April trips for me in the future. Maybe my summer recharges will just be "staycations" going forward.

I will have a short trip with my daughter "somewhere" in August (location to be determined by what isn't on fire at that time). Otherwise I'm looking towards October for my next desert exploration.

 

Yeah it is kind of an amateur hour shot on my part. I think the altitude was fatiguing my brain too! Foreground does nothing other than confuse the scale even more. Should have used a longer focal length and framed a much smaller region of the flat to better show scale. I fell into the wide angle “vacuum up the view” trap which usually gives lackluster results such as this. Oh well, can’t win them all.

Excited to see some posts on your GFC when you get it!

Need to keep the drive manageable for my daughter so I can’t get too far north (only have about 4.5 days). My fall back if weather and fires are disagreeable is to spend some time around SLC hitting up dinosaur related stuff.

 

...i can not think acetazolelamide would not have some side effect that might possibly be worse than the symptom your trying to treat...lackluster morning? emm maybe...i’ve never tried it...did make the mistake of driving from 0430 at 17 feet amsl to approximately 10,500 feet amsl by 1530, too hot at 7500 feet so kept going up..slept with a headache..felt better after strong coffee and then dropped to 9200’
That is a semi-interesting route from vegas. last december i connected with that route at gilbert pass and rolled through Deep Springs Vallley. Future will get up to the arete of those lnyos and have an over look over the valley

 

Nice report. That campsite overlooking the flats looks great. Papoose is on my short list to visit in a couple weeks. I have 5-7 days and will be out in the "valleys". If temps are bad I will seek altitude in the familiar surroundings of the bristlecone.

That is an interesting route back to Vegas. Not one I'd automatically think of in July.

 

Hemming and hawing. Reading. Views. It's like another planet. You bastard. At least you provide inspiration among the wall-to-wall deep-shag jealously. Ben will be 3 in August. I seem to remember you saying something about 3...

 

One of the reasons I tried it at Papoose was that I had been at Papoose just two years prior and left after one night because the headaches didn't stop in the morning and while I didn't feel like barfing I really had to almost force food into myself. I also felt really fatigued that time. So I figured I'd have a pretty good apples-to-apples test if I went the same place on acetazolomide.

This time I slept like a baby both nights, no headaches at all and had a plenty good appetite. The fatigue was still there though, but perhaps a bit less since at least I had restful sleep at night. That seems to be what one should expect from acetazolomide, it prevents the nausea and headaches but really doesn't do anything for fatigue. In fact at higher doses it appears from one study it might slightly increase fatigue.

The only common side affect I did notice was occasional tingly finger tips or toes. For some people this is almost constant and annoying enough they don't take it. For me I only noticed it because I was aware it was a potential side affect and for me it only appeared as an increased sensitivity to feet/hands "falling asleep" if I was in an awkward position for too long. I did keep my dosing at the absolute minimum dose considered effective (125 mg twice a day).

I'm glad I tried it and know it works to relieve symptoms for me and also glad to have learned I should expect to need a few days to acclimatize regardless if I expect to have much energy. For me it is probably still useful as it will allow me to start acclimatizing at a higher altitude more comfortably and a bit more quickly hopefully. Not a miracle drug by any means though!

I hadn't realized how sensitive I was to altitude for the longest time because I often lived near mountains and so I tended to be constantly acclimatized. I also tended to follow the "climb high, camp low" advice almost accidentally on many backpacking trips when I was young so I'd only ever felt it once when I had a long lunch break at 11,800 ft on just the second day out from sea level without any acclimatization. I chalked it up to not drinking enough water at the time.

I've learned since that I actually am pretty sensitive without acclimatization. I learned that the hard way after I moved away from the mountains when I slept at 11,000 ft the first night of trip having been at 2,000 ft the night before. While I didn't think I was going to die or anything I sort felt like death might have been the better option. It was horrible. It caught me off guard because I'd slept on "first nights" at those kinds of elevations many times before, but in those cases I'd been in the high country almost every weekend so I was constantly acclimatized I think.

Hope you have a great trip! Bummed we practically drove past each other on this trip!

Yeah I thought it might be a bit crazy, but as I started in the morning it was pretty manageable. Watched AT temps pretty closely the whole way!

Yep, three is totally workable. Keep it short and keep it flexible. Apply marshmallows liberally when needed.

 

3 is very doable. The sooner you get them used to camping the better. My friends daughter is turning 3 in a few days. If you ask her if she wants to go camping she will shout "Yes!". She's been going practically since birth. I waited a bit with mine. She loves to travel and has done so around the world but she does not care for "camping".

 

Yeah I'm bummed I didn't know you'd be in the area. My trip was pretty hasty and unplanned.

 

The first thing we bought for his room was a rug with a camper and woods and campfires and bears and raccoons. All his bedding was like that too.

He is "used to it" and has proclaimed many times recently he wants to go camping. We set up tents in the living room, and recently I started setting up campfires using his wooden blocks and then "toasting marshmallows." We've taken him before last year a couple times in out trailer to State Park places and he does like it, but the walking/hiking thing was still very dodgy last year. This year, on mothers day, we went to a nature area and he was absolutely running down the trails, with mom barely keeping up. I think it may have been the happiest day for the parents in like, uh, 2.5 years. We have an August trip planned for Sequoia NP (about 4 hours, if we never stopped), and another in early October for Henry Cowell Redwoods SP near Santa Cruz (about 3 hours, if we never stopped). The latter has a live steam logging camp train next door, the beach is 6 miles away, and the nearby town has a good playground and ice cream...all good things since we are going with another family with kids who are either side of Ben's age. He's almost 2 months into potty training, doing well in general with that.

But we are dying to get back over to the east side of the Sierra and our 395 wanderings. On a good day, it is 5 hours to Bishop nonstop. I just got a cot that will fit in the back of the truck, because three in the teardrop is no longer really viable, since he's bigger and thrashes around more. At some point, we will likely get an RTT to mount on top of the teardrop once he is big enough and old enough to want to do that. If we really get into some dedicated offroad trips, it will mean a ground tent or RTT onto the truck. I'm about to pull the trigger on a Leer 100 RCC with indoors, and will eventually get the Prinsu on that, and then will eventually find a ways to easily hoist an RTT on and off that. In all my free time.

 

My boy has been camping almost every month since he got out of diapers during the day and he's 5 1/2 now. He's been to DV more than most adults, been through most of Nevada and Utah and loves holding snakes. He is going with me next week to FJ Summit. The 10 hour drive there will be a little dodgy but otherwise he'll love every minute of it.

 

Where is your home base? Sounds like you spend a decent amount of time in the mountains of CO.

 

@scocar it sounds like you’ve got him well prepped for a good camping trip!

You know you could lose the headaches with the acetazolomide but if you miss the barfing just do a bad job washing your hydration bladder again...

 

@Bullnettles

 

I've narrowed it down to one of these

 

DD, you may know, but for those who may not...

In the acclimatization process, the altitude change is much easier on the body if you make the change in stages. In other words, go from sea level to 5000' in one day, go to 6 or 7000' the next day, etc., working your way up to 10,000' in Leadville. I know schedules don't always allow for such a trip, but do keep the idea in mind, and do what you can.

If at altitude and you get sick, the quickest way to get better is to go to a lower altitude. The body will acclimatize at altitude, but may be uncomfortable for a day or so while the process is happening.

Oh, and drink plenty of water. (I know beer has water in it, but it is not the same. Same with coffee.)

 

So thats what I have been doing wrong all these years.........

 

Yes this is always the preferred method when time allows. If I do this I never have problems. Also worth noting symptoms usually get worse or first appear when trying to sleep. For that reason when acclimatizing it is usually best to sleep at a lower altitude than during the day. So perhaps spend the day acclimatizing/exploring at 8 to 9000 but then sleep at 6 or 7000. If on the trail plan your camps to be as low as practical and cross the higher country during the day.

Definitely, all you need to do to feel better is get lower. Oftentimes just a couple thousand feet.

 

I don’t know if it was cooler, but it certainly got a bit damp near Big Pine the other day. Hwy 168 is closed for a bit.

 

And don't forget the crowds too! For whatever reason early fall has always said "time to camp" to me. Usually the fires are out in most places by them, crowds back at work/school, fewer bugs, lower temps.

Yeah saw there was a fair bit of monsoon activity the past few days. Badwater Rd. closed south of Badwater. Big Pine/Death Valley road was or maybe still is closed due to flooding. West side road closed as well.

Funny when I drove over the very section of road in the CHP video a few weeks ago I was thinking, "wouldn't want to be here in a storm."