The 395 and Owens Valley-Eastern Sierra Region

Exactly. That’s what I posted above.

 

The other question is the campground. Even if the paved road was maintained, the campground would probably be inaccessible.

Idk if anyone records snow depth. Might be worth looking. Or checking road conditions. That might help.

@DarthPow is right. Don’t go farther than is safe. Know the weather and have a good time.

 

You won't make it to Grandview. White Mt Road is gated at 168. Are there back ways in? Yep. Easy to find? Nope. Passable without dual lockers and at least 35's and the willingness to be stuck more then your moving? Nope. Save it for summer.

 

Thanks, I am pretty experienced (and very conservative) with winter conditions in the Sierra. Just not on the east side or White Mountains. Last time I was there in February, after a fairly cold storm, the snow level was above the turnoff from 168 to the Death Valley Rd, and North Pass, though snow-covered, was quite drivable at over 8000’ so I was extrapolating that to similar elevations on the White Mtn Rd, and curious about whether the campground itself was plowed out as it is explicitly listed as NOT closed. Anyway, further poking around on the Inyo NF web site I found this:

The normal winter closure for White Mountain Road is at Sierra Viewpoint, two miles before Schulman Grove. However, White Mountain Road is not plowed, so the closure could be as many as ten miles below Schulman Grove (at the junction with Hwy 168) after winter storms. For current road closure information, please call the White Mountain Ranger Station at 760-873-2500.
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That number redirected me to the Interagency Center in Lone Pine which wasn’t open. Sierra Viewpoint is above (after, north of) Grandview so it seems that with the usual caveats about plowing, the road is technically open to and past the campground.

 

Oops, I posted my comments above before seeing your reply. Since you’re local I probably trust you better than the FS website. I have noticed the gate at 168 (in summer) but the site is pretty clear that the normal winter closure much higher up. But of course maybe it hasn’t been updated for 25 years, not since they had a bigger plowing budget It wouldn’t be the first time a USFS web site was woefully out of date …

 

It's hit or miss. In big snow years that gate is closes 90% of the time. In normal years it's open. I haven't been up that way in a while but I'd bet it's shut.

Last really good year was FEB 2019. That shit was insane. Mammoth got 26 feet.

Anyway, I decided to head up Silver Canyon. There's 3 gates on it. Only 2 are ever locked. I though for sure the lower gate at 6000' would be locked. It wasn't. So I plow threw ever deepening snow to the next gate. It's at about 7500' and is at the start of the switchbacks. That gate is ALWAYS locked in winter. It was open.

Now, I'm stoked. The last gate is about 9500' and I have never seen it locked. Ever. It barely looks like it would close it's so beat up. So I lock up front and rear and start my journey through deeper and deeper snow and drifts. It's typical snow wheeling. Tires at 6 psi. Rev limiter getting worked. Backing up a bunch to get a run to break the next 100 feet.

I'm about a 1/2 mile from where Silver connects to White Mt Rd and it's 3-4 feet. Trucks running strong and the snow is damn near perfect. Rigs staying on top and the winch hasn't come out once. I've already broken 4 miles of trail and have a real shot at getting to the top. I know if the snow stays good I can make it over to Wyman and get home by dinner. I didn't know if that loops ever been completed in a real winter but I was sure I could get it done. Did I mention I was stoked?

Then it happened. That gate that is never, ever locked. Yeah, that one. It was fucking locked. I thought long and hard about my options. There was a spot about 200 yards back I could reverse to and turn around. But what I really, really, really wanted to do was hook my winch to that POS gate and rip it open. I mean for fucks sake, the shit I just went through would have stopped 99% of people long, long, long before this old decrepit gate. The other 1% would have the skills and ability to self-recover if anything went south.

After a few minutes I did the right thing and turned around. Then I went to the local FS office to express my displeasure at the situation. Luckily, they know me pretty well and got a laugh at my ramblings. lol

 

White Mtn Rd in the snow should be a piece of cake compared to Silver Canyon. And my one experience on washed-out Wyman a few summers ago was fun; can’t imagine it in snow. I first drove Silver Canyon in 1984 in my Datsun pickup.

 

Garmin used to send you up Silver Canyon if you have shortest route selected.

 

I was on a Geology field camp back in 1990 or 91 at the Barcroft station trying to get my Geology degree. I came down to Bishop for dinner and tried to go up Silver Canyon. This was in May so no weather concerns. I got to what must have been the 3rd gate and it was locked. Had to go all the way back to Bishop, Big Pine and White Mtn rd to get back to camp. I was in a 1981 Datsun pickup. We did have a freak snowstorm that left 6" of snow on the top, that was damn fun getting out. My first snow in my truck. I was only 22 but didn't have much solo off-road experience.

 

I'm camping at june lake this end of may 2022. I want to hit up laurel lakes, but want to check on my way up to june lake. Where does it show if its open or closed? the beginning of the trailhead? any help is appreciated.

 

Looks like it's no longer officially closed, but...

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/inyo/recreation/recarea/?recid=20464&actid=50

Also:

The gate or closure order would be at the bottom, not far from the 395. They closed it while I was camping up at the lake; I found the barrier on my way out.

I would expect snow to be a problem in May... it's not far from Mammoth after all. Last July, the road was dry, but I still saw snow not far above in some spots. The washouts were extremely treacherous--and they're probably even worse now (beneath the snow lol). I nervously watched the inclinometer bounce around 35 degrees to the side on several occasions. I don't know what the rollover point of my truck is, but it sure felt scary to me, especially on such loose terrain! And the problem of course is the temptation to drive off-trail to avoid these spots, which I didn't do, but then I wound up hopelessly stuck in a rut.

So I would not recommend this destination until the FS repairs the road, or at least until they stop asking the public to avoid it, in which case I would recommend 35"+ tires, a front locker, and/or substantially increased articulation vs. stock, so you could traverse the washouts without illegally bypassing them. And that's based on last year's conditions.

The website above would probably be the best indicator of its status.

Finally, the fish up there are stubborn ass holes. I don't think I'd go up there again until I learn how to work a fly rod.

 

They don't "close" Laurel Lakes very often. Even if there's still a ton of snow your more then welcome to give it a try. You will not make it all the way to the parking area in June unless we don't get anymore snow the rest of the year. In a normal snow year there's an avi chute that covers the road about 1/2 mile from the parking area until at least early July. In heavy years it's still there in August.

I went up during the closure to give the FS a conditions report. I had their blessing and they knew even if I got into trouble I could get out of it. Long story short I made it up to the upper lake with no issues. I'm dual cased, dual locked on 35's with a lot of experience. After I got back down I filled them in on my thoughts. Which where "open the damn road". A few days later the website was updated to what you linked above. Which is a voluntary closure. That allows guys with more built rigs to still go out and have fun.

As for the elusive Goldens of Laurel Lakes. Get up before sunrise for your best shot. It's one of those lakes that's off more then it's on but when it's on it's hard to leave. I fish the upper lake from a tube and the lower lake from shore. Mini-jigs in frog or orange/brown are the go to here for me. I've out fished more flyrod guys then I can count with that set-up. Do me a favor though. If you are ever up there and see asshats fishing with worms or power bait tell them about the regs. It's a major pet peeve of mine.

 

I concur 100%. Didn't mean to suggest it was impassible, just wanted to discourage it for more casual folks such as myself. I was on 33s with an open front (well, a yet-unwired front e-locker, doh!), and didn't have much experience with that type of terrain. What got me was that the washouts were very fresh, with vertical or perhaps undercut sidewalls. Driving a foot or two from the edge, the road collapsed out from under me and I slid down 3 feet sideways into the rut, bottomed out against the remaining terrain. I'd like to think I'd be better at picking lines in that type of situation in the future. Heck, if the road isn't much worse this year, and someone told me the fish were biting, I'd try it again.

It is so refreshing to see the forest service up there leaving the road open though. Glad they listen to folks like you! I am so fed-up with bogus closures. That's how wilderness areas metastatasize.

And thanks for the hints on catching those Goldens! I was up there for three days, worked the whole lake in an inflatable boat, at dawn, at dusk, and randomly throughout the day, trying everything in my tackle box (except bait of course). But I'm even worse at fishing than I am at driving. Or maybe it was just one of those times when the lake is off. I keep buying lures, though, gotta keep the dream alive!

We were the last ones out. Met a guy halfway down who was hiking up with a fly rod. He was already out of water... it's quite the hike! Hopefully he had better luck than I did.

 

I agree. I listed my rigs specs and my experience for a reason. For a well built crawler the trail is not that hard currently. I still had to lock the front a few times to make life easier. If I was in my wife's 2009 4Runner with 32's and open diffs it would have been a whole lot more challenging and time consuming.

 

Sorry if this has been shared previously, but we just learned about this project, this morning.

Basically, Caltrans is closing up the 2-lane gap at Cartigo and Olancha, connecting the divided highways to the north and south.

https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me...rrent-projects/olancha-cartago-4-lane-project

Olancha Cartago 4 Lane Project
Project Information
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), as CEQA lead agency, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), as NEPA lead agency with the support of Inyo County Local Transportation Commission, will convert approximately 12.6 miles of the existing U.S. Highway 395 in Olancha and Cartago from a two-lane conventional highway into a four-lane expressway from postmile 29.2 to postmile 41.8 in Inyo County.

The Olancha-Cartago 4-Lane Expressway project will pass west of the town of Olancha and the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Once the alignment crosses Olancha Creek, the project will cross the Los Angeles Aqueduct and continue north through Cartago along the existing highway to meet up with the four-lane section of U.S. Highway 395 to the north of Cartago. The northbound and southbound lanes will be separated by a 100-foot unpaved median.

The project will increase roadway safety, close the gap between existing four-lane sections to the north and south, meet present and future vehicular and goods movement traffic demands, and bring the highway up to current design standards. It will include features such as new 10-foot shoulders, new at-grade intersections, two new structures over the Los Angeles Aqueduct, and a new non-motorized multi-use undercrossing.

 

I've been stuck coming home on the 395 twice because of head-on collisions in Olancha. One time we just sat outside with coolers open and a Nerf football for nearly two hours. It's hard to tell on their map, are they widening the whole thing or bypassing it?

 

We were told they are realigning 395 to against the base of the mountains, roughly following the aqueduct. The current 395 alignment will just be local access.

 

Wonder how Olancha Cafe will fare, a decent breakfast stop.

 

We had dinner there last night, very tasty. The lady running the place said they are adding onto their RV park in the back -- I wonder if that will give them new 395 frontage?