The 395 and Owens Valley-Eastern Sierra Region

How were the temps up there? Sounds like it's been pretty warm in the area, even at elevation, with tons of flies.

 

60s by night. Still damn nice after a leisurely breakfast at 9am. Perfect weather.

Buggy as hell though... I thought the Inyos would be less buggy than the Sierras, and maybe they are, but still flies by day and mosquitos by night.



The view sucks too.

 

I did an Inyo trip right after the melt once. Once...

But yeah, they probably are still "less" buggy than the Sierras right now. Both are probably still well above my (admittedly wimpy) threshold for bugs!

 

Installing new spots right now and considering a two night run out to the Inyos.

 

Didn't make it up to the Inyos but I have a good secluded spot near Big Bear to spend two nights.

 

Lee Vining Creek

 

Saw this unfold yesterday from 395. A drunk white male in his 20s?

 

I was out there most of Sunday and yesterday, and thankfully missed that. The creeks and rivers out there are no joke right. The water crossing between the old marina and South Tufa was raging on Sunday. Did it in winter 2022 without thinking twice, but even with another inch of clearance and a rerouted intake, I noped out and headed back to 395 this time. The current was so strong as to make it not worth the risk.

 

Weekend photodump! Didn't make it down to Manzanar as originally planned (probably should have gotten the dog groomed before the trip, instead of this morning), but we still got a lot in, including driving through some unexpected sand dunes and mud pits. A few notes:

• Some hikers we ran into on the road to Leavitt mentioned that there is a significant amount of avalanche debris on the road, and implied it may be impassable to vehicles without equipment. We couldn't find out for ourselves because, at the first thin snow drift, some people had left their truck and a Jeep blocking the entire trail.
  
• Cottonwood Road to/from Bodie was closed on Sunday, but I believe it may have opened on Monday. SR-3C from NV is still closed. Bodie-Masonic Road has a short but thick "snow" drift preventing access maybe two miles or so from Bodie. Since it was packed ice, steeply inclined, and right up to the edge of the road, I didn't risk attempting to pass it. I'm guessing that they'll be clearing that road shortly, though.
• Found my first geocache in about 15 years. Makes me curious if my signature is still up at the top of Dunderberg Peak.
  
• I may need to get a plate on the rear half of my driver-side slider, because Dolly has discovered that not only does she love her new and improved doggy deck, but that she can get up onto it with ease by using the slider as a step. She's also much, much better off-leash, to the point that she really only needs to be leashed where it's required and at camp in the evenings.
  
• The butcher shop in Bridgeport is killer. Picked up some elk sausage on the way home, and it paired very nicely with elote and a Lodi red blend.

 

What's grooming?

Some great photos! Especially that "caldera".

 

Glad you recognized that for what it is. I was having a hard time finding a good angle to get a photo of it from that kept the mountains in the background, mostly because of all the trees. I suppose that maybe the devil uses them to mix the punch?

 

Maybe?

edit: I should add there's a spot you can get to the top of one of a caldera and hike around it. You always hear about the Long Valley Caldera but it's hard to put that into context because you're in it. But seeing these little calderas, you get the idea there could be more.

 

Truth. Consider this a PSA. DO NOT TRY AND WADE STREAM CROSSINGS. This is the West Walker where you usually cross to head up to Fremont Lake. The crossing is a shallow sand bar at the tail out of pool that's usually there. This class 4 white water is not usually there. lol



Ended up doing another 7 miles to get past Upper Paiute Meadow. Both it and Lower Piaute Meadow are lakes and not meadows currently. Not the trip we planned but exploring up Kirkwood Creek was worth it.

Lower


Upper.


Unclimbed peaks all over. Tower peak actually has a few routes on it but the others are virgin.

 

Well damn, the Inyos were just so damn delightful, we decided to abandon destinations further to the north, and just enjoy hanging out in and above the Owens Valley all weekend. Guess it worked out given the snow report and road closures near Bodie.


A damn toll booth? This guy demanded $3. Avoided him on the way back.


A mine in "the Narrows" on my map... accessible by road, but hiking from the cabin was definitely faster.

One day we ventured down to Big Pine and Bishop. Can't come up the 395 and not get BBQ and pastries, right? ... although somehow we managed to avoid the 395 between Independence and Big Pine both ways.



I tried my luck fishing the canals around Bishop for a few hours, then we watched Indiana Jones. Perfect theater for this movie... took me straight back to my childhood.


Pretty extreme back-country stuff.



The stupid moon ruined night photography. But damn it was nice up there, and while definitely buggy, really not too bad. Temps in the 60s. We didn't even bother with a campfire, it was just perfect. And against all odds... we had the whole place to ourselves despite it being a holiday weekend.



Yesterday on a whim I drove up a fun side-road, whose destination sounded like it should be a burger joint, but turned out to be a mine perched very high above.




Another damn toll booth... this guy wanted $5!

Well we didn't quite make the road's destination... it got super sketchy maybe half a mile from the end. We enjoyed a nice view from above, and got to check out the slightly-closer mine, which was unexpectedly interesting.


Unexpectedly interesting... but also gross and full of mosquitos. More to see if you're prepared for a technical climb; I was not.




Got hung up real good here... even my door is stuck on that stupid rock.



After getting un-stuck, we encountered this improvised barrier, just after an especially terrifying tippy washout. I got the message and turned back. I will have to come back sometime and hike the rest. Or who knows, I see fresh tire tracks continuing, maybe it is drivable? My wife has too strong a sense of instinctive self-preservation for us to find out this time.


The rest of the road looked super fun!

I have to say, this is a fantastic driving route, even for the Inyos, which have no shortage of epic back-country roads. Kind of reminds me of the salt tram summit road... windy and steep but fairly smooth and easy going; constantly fun to drive; and non-stop fantastic views the whole time. Only downside is that it's out-and-back, and sketchy right at the end.



Rounded out this fine independence day by passing through Independence, then stopping by a historic site to ponder a more somber chapter of our nation's history.



With fourth-of-July festivities unfolding in all the towns in the valley, we arrived here late in the day, beneath glaring sun and triple-digit temps, and with no one else in sight... the perfect introspective pause for the end of our trip.



Happy fourth y'all.

 

You need to keep passenger tire almost at the edge then turn hard driver and use your sliders against the rock to pivot.. If you do it right your passenger tire will roll over the small rocks on the shoulder. Of course, if you do it wrong, well, just don't. lol

The road is passable all the way to the upper parking lot. It's scary but not technically hard. The one time I took my wife up there she walked from just after your photo to the parking area. I only beat her by about 3 minutes. lol

 

Great report with awesome photography! Looks like you did almost the exact same plan I had in mind for the holiday weekend but I bailed due to reports of heat, mosquitos and overcrowding. Sounds like only two of those things were an actual issue.

 

Good to know, man! But yeah, the wife was on foot after that rock, and that's my clue to turn around.

I got the line right coming back down. Or at least... less wrong. I'm not saying your way wouldn't have worked... but I was definitely too terrified to find out! Up and over both ways for me, cursing Caltrans the whole time. I mean, who puts a gigantic rock in the middle of a perfectly good road?

It was definitely sweltering down in the valley. Crowded too, and buggy as hell.

Pretty nice up at elevation... we did get bit up, but it wasn't even so bad that we felt compelled to douse ourselves in bug spray. Hate that stuff.



Glad I washed the truck before heading out...


Edit: The above photo depicts the gas gauge pegged below empty. I'm pleased to report a new high-score for refueling: 21.001 gallons. Have yet to run the thing dry. But need an excuse to cycle fresh fuel into the jerry cans... been a few years. Guess I'll keep trying.

 

Looks like it was beautiful up there this weekend despite the stupid moon.

 

Yeah, that windshield is why I usually don’t visit this time of year!

But largely that’s just me consoling myself for living on the other side of the country. If I lived nearby still I’d probably be up whenever I had an excuse.

 

Tahoe