The 395 and Owens Valley-Eastern Sierra Region

I must confess to recently buying a van which is in the process of conversion and frankly is a hell of a lot more comfortable to camp out of than my DCSB. so I joined a van forum and posted a few pics of our first off-pavement dispersed camping trip, merely describing the location as “central Sierras”. A guy immediately responded, asking for the GPS coordinates. WTF?? Hey, I drove around and found it, you can too. But I’m saddened to read the negative descriptions of AH here; I haven’t been there for about 5 years but always found it pretty clean and quiet. Doesn’t sound so nice now

 

I have no idea what your talking about. lol

I probably have more miles in this Valley and it's Eastern and Western foothills then most ever will. My philosophy has always been simple. Keep it to myself. I'm not really a people person so that works very well for me.

In the last 10 years the AH has gone from a super chill spot to a shit show. The same can be said for a few other well known areas. I've resigned myself to the fact that it is what it is. The less info that gets out about the remaining spots the better. Or, in 10 years, they become the new AH.

 

My gut is telling me once people are back to work, this will slow down. I also believe the throng of IG Influencers is gonna be significantly reduced as companies realize the juice is not worth the squeeze-at least, that's my hope.

 

I must go here!!

 

Yep, I agree with much of what you are saying. As the population increases, we will find more and more people out and about.
I don't see that fact changing. I suppose that it is best to enjoy what we have while we have it.

 

I used to think the same thing about climbing in the late 90's when it became "mainstream". That it was just a fad and people would go back to golf. 20 years later it hasn't gotten any less crowded.

Population is a huge part of it. IG and other social media platforms are also a huge part of it. People see cool photo's on their phones then want to go see it for real. So they can then take a photo to post. Then some other guy sees that cool photo and .....................................................................

It's a viscous cycle for the area that photo was taken in.

 

It's kinda depressing. However, I don't stress over things that I have no control over. I choose to not be part of the "viscous cycle."

Leave only footprints. Take only photographs (but don't post them all over the damn internet!).

 

This is bumming me out.
Just when I'm finally getting a rig setup, the places I love and want to explore are overrun with mass humanity.
I'm trying to stay positive, but I can't really move to Alaska right now..
At least when I go to the desert dirt bike riding, none of the "campers" are ever on the trails.

 

Just FYI, my first visit to the Eastern Sierra was in late 1977, when Hot Creek was still open for hot spring use, and the pools were packed with people after dark. Of course, we all drove out there in VW Beetles, Honda Civics, Datsun 510’s, Pinto’s etc. or in my case an Alfa Romeo. No overland rigs deemed necessary for a few miles of dirt road. But anyway, my point is that there used to be crowds in some places out there even 40-something years ago.

 

Trip reports and photos are an interesting topic, for sure, and I'm sometimes torn in posting the gloriousness we find as we're out exploring. However, I know how much I enjoy reading a good trip report, and sleuthing out and discovering the place for myself. I feel like responsibly giving back a little to those who also put in the time, is worthwhile.

It is astonishing to me, how often I'll get an email from someone (or a PM here on TW) asking for a GPS track of some trip that I posted. That, in my view, is pure laziness, and those are the people I'm least likely to ever share information with - since, as the curious know, following along with a trip report to recreate a similar route is often part of the fun.

So, I try to walk a line - share general locations and hints for places that I feel are already reasonably known, redact the names of places that are unknown or that are reasonably accessible and contain sensitive rock art, etc., and keep a few places that others have asked me to leave out of reports, unshared.

It's seemed to work reasonably well for me, and I don't lose any sleep at night - but I do understand the view of those who say "don't share anything."

I'm curious - though I don't mean to hijack the thread by any means - for anyone familiar with my reports, am I doing a reasonable job? I'm always open to feedback and improvement.

Edit: And I hope it's obvious from my reports, but I'm not sponsored or an "influencer" on any platform. I simply try to share what I see, what works for me, and how my setup changes over time.

 

I enjoy this area quite a bit and head up whenever I can. 9 month skiing seasons at Mammoth, backpacking from lake to lake, and long dusty trips from DV and other surrounding areas.

I too lament the advent of the "instalander" crowd. I'm all for people enjoying the outdoors, but lately it seems like people aren't doing it to see; they're doing it to be seen. I know there have always been assholes who leave trash, cigarette butts, and brass behind but it seems exponentially worse lately. People who hop on fads don't have the time or respect to clean up after themselves it seems.

Oh well. Keep your spots to yourselves, you don't owe anyone anything.

Trip through the Inyos:


Trip up the Sierra:

 

I love reading your reports. In some cases, am familiar with where you have been but not always exactly sure. Other times, no clue but for the cities. That’s perfect.

People ask for tracks because we’ve moved from paper to bits and because a whole industry has come out of selling routes-remember, those used to be paper and had some level of ambiguity. Now, no research needed.

 

Anticipation. Hope. The Unknown. As much as we may try to plan various aspects of a trip, the best adventures are full of these elements. They are - in my mind - what define adventure... enjoy this final chapter of our Nadeau Trail trip.

Petroglyphs of the Volcanic Tablelands - Nadeau #4

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Keep reading the rest here
Petroglyphs of the Volcanic Tablelands - Nadeau #4​

 

If you're looking for a sandwich place and Schat's is crazy full, check out Mahogany Smoked Meats on the westward section of Bishop 395. Excellent deli and superb smoked meats. I usually pick up several pounds of double smoked bacon and jerky every time I head north.

 

Someone else mentioned "the smoked meats place" to me recently.

I like Schat's, the one on Mammoth and the one in Bishop but honestly, I just go for the bakery

 

I'm here for the tracks and GPS coordinates

Here's my favorite camp spot in the valley...very quiet and peaceful (33° 53' 45.057" N 118° 13' 12.256" W)

 

They also have solid milkshakes if you need something to wash down the pastries.

 

Laurel lakes trail is a must

 

Gorgeous.