The 395 and Owens Valley-Eastern Sierra Region

And it’s got a great view.

 

Fun in Chidago Canyon. Last Tuesday afternoon it was 59º and the snow was like snow-cone ice. I made it to within 1000' of the top/saddle and stalled out in the slippery mess. While backing back down, the Gravity Gods did their magic and sucked me into the left ditch. Did I mention I was solo?

I dug some, used the MaxTrax, and managed to move the truck half its length at a time. While I made the many baby-step attempts, the sun dropped below the trees and temperature plummeted. To this point I had been lazy, running full pressure in my tires, but it was time to get serious. I dug through the snow, found the valve stems, and dumped air from the tires. I dug down to dirt and pretty much constructed my own road back to the center of the road. Then I drove it like I stole it, with success!

From our "Leave Well Enough Alone Department": The following day I tackled that hill from the west side, easy-peazy. Going down the hill, thru my mess from the prior day was no problem.

 

Just saw that there’s a wildfire with mandatory evacuation east of Big Pine as of 4:30 today. White Mtn Research Center and Owens Valley Observatory are being evacuated as a precaution. Fingers crossed for folks in the area

 

Dry ass winter, damn.

 

cool now we're getting wildfires in the dead of winter? awesome.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/another-year-another-wild-fire.755606/#post-26930128

 

And Big Pine itself.

1500 acres is a quick spread.

 

So i just spent an hour, ok a little more than an hour, going down a rabbit hole after finding this site: https://skimap.org/

looked around Mammoth, and saw that in the 80s, they had proposed a second ski area in the Sherwin Summit/Lakes area: https://skimap.org/SkiAreas/view/4899

here's a PDF of the proposal: https://mltpa.org/images/downloads/058_Sherwin_Ski_Area_Feasibility_Study_05081986.pdf

It apparently was prevented because of its impact on wildlife: https://friendsoftheinyo.org/solitudecanyon/

I found this all fascinating, hopefully someone else does too!

 

One hell of a traverse!

Edit: unrelated, but another interesting ski proposal. This one was for Sequoia National Park, in Mineral King Valley... By Disney.

https://www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la/disneys-lost-plans-to-build-a-ski-resort-in-sequoia-national-park

 

Can't remember if this was posted here but there's a rally up there this weekend.

https://friendsoftheinyo.org/long-valley-mining/

 

I don’t know the specifics of this, and it’s unrealistic not to expect resource extraction on USFS or BLM lands. And a big part of the attraction of these areas to many of us is exploring the mining history and remains. But Kore is Canadian … and there’s a pretty poor track record throughout the West of Canadian mining companies exploiting rural communities economically and environmentally and then walking away when the mines aren’t productive or play out.

 

this is super interesting! The idea of a Disney ski resort feels familiar, I think I've heard that they had plans for that, but I didn't know it was in Sequoia!

 

Might have been Heavenly? There have been one or two expansion ideas over the years but I get the sense Disneyland like features are nice but people would rather have better skiing experiences.

 

after reading the article, the illustration of the proposed base area is what I remember seeing.

 

Excellent.

 

The Bureau of Land Management has begun making exciting camping changes described in the 2021 Alabama Hills Management Plan. Thanks to public feedback, changes identified in the plan will help improve public access, retain the incredible views, and make the recreation experience more enjoyable for all users, while preserving this phenomenal landscape for generations to come.

On March 3, at 5 p.m., the BLM and Alabama Hills Stewardship group invites the public to attend the first in a series of ‘Hills Happenings’ information sessions. During these sessions, the public will have an opportunity to ask BLM staff and partners questions and hear updates about implementing the Alabama Hills Management Plan. To attend the first ‘Hills Happening’ event, please register here: qrco.de/bcl6Bb. This event is just the latest in public participation activities in the Alabama Hills.

https://www.blm.gov/visit/alabama-h...mobD8WdSnK3FQ3ayN1RBK6guLqu-9A9tP8BhQ1lH0EQLo

 

Had to dip out of that meeting early, but everything the lady from BLM was discussing sounded pretty good to me. I'm somewhat surprised that the camping permits that they'll be issuing next year (this summer?) will be free of charge.

 

Does anyone have a summary of the changes to the AH area, as far as permits and maximum occupancies go?

 

Once it went from unregulated primitive camping to permitted camping I quit caring. BITD we called it the poor man's J-tree. The climbing wasn't as good but the camping was free, unlimited as long as you moved sites every 14 days and the LEO's didn't tend to arrest you as much. It's amazing what can change in a decade. lol