The 395 and Owens Valley-Eastern Sierra Region

I feel like the preservationists have far more "control" than we care to admit and at many levels.

 

idk. I do what I do and if things change, great. If they don't, there is little I can do so I don't dwell on it. Although Pismo and Clear Creek are a bit different because it just keeps coming up over and over and over again

 

The snows melting fast but you'll probably encounter some snow on trail. Bring some micro-spikes just in case.

As far as land use goes. Permits to use public lands blow. At the Park, BLM, FS level, I understand why they've done it but not being able to go for an overnight without a permit on Bishop Pass trail sucks. I've said it before but I do not envy land managers as they try to figure out use issues.

As users all we can do is try and be the best stewards we can. If that means educating someone about etiquette than take the time to do it. It's really the only way forward. There's to many people that never had a proper mentor running around and it's not going to get better unless we all do a much bigger part in educating the asses.

 

The anti-access groups we have up here (Sierra Club and it's affiliates) could care less about our access to public land. They exist to protect us from ourselves because we're too stupid. Unfortunately, they end up calling the shots up here, and the USFS will follow their direction like a little puppy dogs (or face litigation!).
Sad to say, but road & land closures will not stop. Not if we just "tread lightly," or if we educate users, or if we cooperate with the groups that hate us. The goal here is 100% wilderness. Even low impact non-motorized activities (e.g. camping, hiking, wildlife photography, etc) are being targeted. Yes, I said photography.

Trust the science: All public access is destructive. "Pure Habitat" designation is the only way to protect to environment.

So in the end... Don't blame the UTV morons, or the local guys that pull closure signs out of the ground , or the drunken tourist that trashes his campsite, or the social media influencer that'll pimp his girlfriend out for clicks... Fighting amongst ourselves is just what they want.

 

Speaking of sheep...

Influencers are Digital Grazers. And their followers are wearing woolen cardigans.

 

It's a good way to put it.

 

I thought it was clever. I could go on about the comparisons of profiting on public resources but y'all know what I'm getting at

 

Tioga Pass is set to open Monday the 10th of June by 7am!

 

Beautiful morning over Bishop…

 

Now for the hard part…

 

Alright dude, what am I looking at? White Mtn? I’ll be up there next week and into the following week. Crux of my trip will be Whitney 26-27th. After that mostly fun driving. ;-)

 

Looks like a Tundra could make it to the top...

 

Made it!

 

Glad you Made it!. check out this link for a slightly dif approach
https://youtu.be/Xh7Eutup9Mc?si=sVHwtgy-8nOo60cP

 

Wtg! I’ll be up there next week. Looks to be clear of snow …do we get a trip report?

 

Heading back there next month.

 

Ready to go back

 

Just home, apologies for the delay.

Would be cool to drive up for sure. Only catch is that you'd have to be a researcher at Barcroft, and I think even they don't drive past the research station very often. Speaking of which - the only vehicle they had up there (at least, on Saturday) was a beautiful old '95 Toyota Pickup.

Yes, I know of the West Ridge route. That's some craziness. I pointed it out to @mrs.turbodb when we got to the top, and we could see it crossing the scree field. She knows me well because she said, "you're doing that one alone."

Going up the road - if you aren't susceptible to altitude sickness - was a fun, easy hike. That turned out to be a very good thing for me, as @mrs.turbodb had been hinting at me about how bad an idea it was for two full days before we breezed through it. Hiking the Champion Spark Plug a couple days before had been a bear, and she'd bailed back down to the camp as I continued to the upper mine workings.

Thanks!

There was only one spot on the trail that was still snow covered. About a quarter mile long and ~10-15' deep on the final ascent. Looked to be the last place to melt every year, because there was a very well-established bypass.

I'd love to do Whitney some day, so jealous that you're headed over there. Will be fun to see each range from the other! Speaking of seeing each range - we hiked up (mostly) Mt. Tom a couple years ago and it was probably the most beautiful fall hike I've ever done. Highly recommend since it sounds like you're into that sort of things. Lots of fun "things" at the end to poke around as well.

They Built a Road to the Sky | Eastern Sierra #3 – ADVENTURETACO

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Barcroft is a weird place. It's more like a collection of buildings they call "research stations" (including the hut on the summit). You can apply for space to do your research and then pay a fee for accommodation (which isn't exactly glorious) and meals. You can also apply for a permit to drive onto the summit. I'd always thought Barcroft was more geared toward the Bristlecone Pines since there are only a couple of places with large numbers (Whites and in the Great Basin).

WMRS usually holds an open house every year where they open the gate. That's not happening this year but it's an interesting place to visit. There's also a campground at the entrance to Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest called Grandview or something. Dusty as F* but cheap and the stars are amazing (less so since Bishop has grown).

 

That's interesting with Barcroft - I had no idea that it wasn't more organized, but now that you say it, I can totally see what you're saying. It's a total mismash up there. The hut on the top was open (or rather, unlocked) and I peeked in for a second; it was a mess!

The lower elevation station - along Crooked Creek - looked a lot more organized, and we saw folks working out of that station several times across quite a large distance.

We saw Grandview as we drove down the road to 168 (we wanted to drive up Wyman rather than down after driving as far down Dead Horse as we could), but there's so much other dispersed (view) camping in the Whites that we wondered why anyone would camp in a campground... Although, as I type that, I realize that folks have different priorities than we do (toilets, water, fire pits, etc.)