The Getaway...Crom's build and adventures

Looks like you folks in Cali are experiencing brutal hot temperatures this year, we are As well. We had the hottest July on Record. Glad the Tacoma stayed up and running and didn't leave you broken down on the highway in those conditions. In that kind of heat it was probably a good call to bed down in the comfortable Hotel Room. Thanks for sharing another adventure!! Looking forward to seeing the next one!

 

At least its dry heat up there The part about turning on the heater when its 100+ reminds me of one of my first cars - A 69 Dodge Coronet 440. It had engine mods but not cooling mods so had to do that whenever it got too hot! Got to love that but its better than being one of the folks on the side of the road . But me and my buddies were young then, your family members are troopers! Wise choice in the hotel room in that heat. Way to go.

 

For future reference Cajon Blvd is a perfectly serviceable road that parallels the 15 up to one exit before the 138. If you keep your eye on Google on the way up and can see the disaster coming this is a good alternate. Of course sometimes traffic blows up right in front of you and exits are few and far between on the Cajon pass to bail out...

Growing up we would tow a 21 foot boat from San Diego to Lake Powell with a Chevy Impala. Usually in June but sometimes in August. I am extremely familiar with sitting in a car in 110F temps with a heater on full blast. We would carry squirt bottles full of water to spray ourselves cool. For some reason it took us about six years to realize that if we just did the drive at night things would be a lot more pleasant...

I think it has been almost two decades since I last ate there. Keep meaning to visit it again but from where we are in LA this year the route I take is up the 14 and not that section of the 395. And when the truck is stored in Las Vegas again I rarely if ever see that section of the 395.

Yes, I see your daughter has the same simple answers to these problems as my daughter...

Yeah, sometimes this is the best way to do it though I feel wimpy with hotel stays. But the Owens Valley is one of those perfect places for some good hotel based exploring.

Can't wait for the rest of your trip report!

 

Thank you.

That's awesome! Thx for sharing that. I once had a Dodge 79 Van and it had a powerful V8 motor.

Appreciate the info on the bypass, I'll remember that. I think I saw a post on ExPo regarding dirt trails that connect through the pass to avoid concrete for a large part of it... I'll try to find it again.

Speaking of bypasses, the 395 has a powerline road between Boron and Red Mountain that's in great shape. I've used it on occasion when I couldn't wait to get the tires in the dirt. And route CA-14, I've been trying to get over that way for several years. @Maticuno is usually located at Red Rock State Park, and I've always wanted to drop in and visit (time and scheduling permitting). I think one day I'll just have to schedule a trip over there and explore Last Chance Canyon and surrounding areas, etc.

 

Eastern Sierra Summer Trip #2; Bishop, Mammoth, Day 2, part 1

After eating a yummy breakfast at the hotel, we set out for Crowley Lake, in search of the Crowley Lake Pillars.

First a little background information provided by Wikipedia.

Crowley Lake is a reservoir on the upper Owens River in southern Mono County, California. It's 15 miles south of Mammoth Lakes.

The lake was created in 1941 by the building of the Long Valley Dam by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP), as storage for the Los Angeles Aqueduct and for flood control. The dam is 126 feet high and impounds 183,465 acre-feet.

It is known for its trout fishing: Between 6,000 and 10,000 anglers hit the lake on opening day. The largest brown trout taken from the lake weighed 26 pounds. Many people from all over California head here for late summer and fall fly fishing since the lake contains some of the largest trout around. Crowley Lake Fish Camp, run in cooperation with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, is the only way to access the lake, and visitors can rent boats, book camping sites, and buy supplies at the Fish Camp.

The lake is named after Father John J. Crowley, “the desert Padre”, who was a key figure in Owens Valley history and a local hero. When it became obvious that the city of Los Angeles’s appropriation of the water supply had made agriculture impossible in the Owens Valley, many of the residents of the Valley lost all hope. Father Crowley traveled up and down the Valley, convincing many of them that it could become a tourist destination. Thus, it is fitting that while it exists to serve the Los Angeles aqueduct, Crowley Lake is also a prime destination for anglers. Father Crowley was killed in 1940 in an automobile accident.

Upon completion of the reservoir in 1941, strange columnar formations, some of which reached heights of as much as 20 feet, were spotted along the reservoir's eastern shore. Some described them as stone cylinders connected by fortified stone arches that had been completely covered and obscured for millions of years but which had been gradually unmasked by the incessant pummeling of the lake's powerful waves, whose constant pounding had eroded the more malleable rock at the base of the cliffs encasing these pillars. The pillars were simply regarded as oddities until 2015, when geologists realized that they were the result of frigid water from melting snow seeping down into volcanic ash (the result of a catastrophic explosion more than 700,000 years prior), creating tiny holes in the hot ash, the byproduct being boiling water and steam, which then rose up and out of these same holes. Samples of the resulting "evenly spaced convection cells similar to heat pipes" (a quote from a study at UC Berkeley) were analyzed using X-rays and electronic microscopes; and researchers found that minute crevices in these "convection pipes" were literally bonded into place by minerals that were able to resist the corrosive force of the lake's waves. Researchers have now counted nearly 5,000 of these pillars, which appear in groups and vary widely in shape, size and color over an area of 4000 acres, with some of the columns standing as erect as towering pylons and sporting ringed apertures approximately a foot apart; others which are warped or leaning at various angles; and still others that are half-submerged and, some say, resemble the petrified remains of dinosaur vertebrae.​

Our main goal was to visit the ancient pillars. The pillars are accessible by two ways, boat, and four-wheel drive. You can guess which way we chose.

It is my understanding that it's the policy of DWP to allow public access to the lake, and accessing the eastern shore by 4wd is done through a network of trails. What I did was plot a course using satellite imagery and it worked very well. The trails are easy and pleasant.

I let the air out the tires, down to 18 PSI which is where I like it for general purpose wheeling. I feel it's a great balance for increased traction, ride comfort, and helping maintain sidewall integrity.

In the time it took to air down, about 5 minutes, my oldest played around outside and built a miniature kid sized fire ring with rocks and kindling inside. I complemented her on her good work, before jumping back in and hitting the trail.



Lake Crowley, looking North-West.


After 10 minutes on the trail, we arrived on the east beach of Lake Crowley


Water. It doesn't matter much where it is, or what kind, my kids are magnetized to play in it.


And finally after some searching a bit to the south we found the legendary Crowley Lake Pillars, that are 700,000 years old, crated by snow melt, interacting with volcanic ash. Who would have thought?



My kids liked going in and out of the small caves formed between the pillars. It was a nice cool spot on a hot day.
They were informed that this was a special place and to treat it well; and they did.




There were other caves located further south, and I decided to leave those for another day.



On way back to truck, I noted this nice sail boat. Owners nowhere to be found.


And these folks water skiing on the lake. Not too sure the anglers like that?!?


We piled back in the truck and hit the patchwork of trails back to pavement, exiting to the North. Trails were fun on the way out, and my kids were happy again to be on the bumpy trail.



Our next stop was Convict Lake for some swimming!

 

I've been fishing in Crowely, but did not know about the pillars.

Thank you for that research.

I will definitely have to visit them on my next trip to Cali...

 

@Scott B. You're welcome!

 

I live at the top of the Cajon Pass and have found several bypasses for the 15, at least if the conjestion is at the top. Two are Forest Service roads that start from the 138 and follow either power lines or fiber optic cables up to the top. 3N45 is on the east side of the 15 and 3N21 is on the west. Last check, 21 was closed due to the fire that nearly burned down my house last year.

 

Eastern Sierra Summer Trip #2; Bishop, Mammoth, Day 2, part 2

The trail leaving Lake Crowley to the north, put us in touch with asphalt on Benton Crossing Road, where I aired up the tires.

And as much as I love the speed of the ARB Twin air compressor, I'm not going to stand there holding the air chuck airing up tires. Just not my style. Instead, I set my watch as a count down timer, attach the air chuck, and use a bit of velcro to hold the handle down. The truck can air itself back up.

I use the extra time to play games and keep my kids entertained.



From Benton Crossing Rd to Convict Lake is 15 miles of asphalt / pavement which takes about 19 minutes to travel.

I was able to get us some great parking at the end of the pavement, where I deployed a tarp to make shade and we had our lunches.

After eating lunch we walked about 100' down to the lake which has large trees along the shore line and a rocky beach.

The water was cool, but not cold. I found I could stay in the water all day long if I wanted to. So refreshing.



My kids were in hog heaven, and wife was very happy here as she likes to swim.

I outfitted my youngest with a water sprayer toy, which I showed her how to use and encouraged her to spray her mother. Kid has some fun! Haha!


The water felt so good. It was nice to skip some stones on the lake and try and teach my kids how to do the same.


Other random people enjoying the lake.


After a few hours of this bliss we headed over to the Whitmore Hot Springs BLM area for a soak in one of the natural hot springs.

 

That's awesome! Thanks for chiming in! Glad your house was okay!!!

 

damn that water does look refreshing. I will have to check out convict lake sometime

 

It's so cool you can take your girls out and enjoy the amazing country around you. I sure miss California and all the different places to explore.

 

Your killing me! Looks like were not getting up there this summer. You timed it right for swimming there. I've walked on convict lake with about a foot of ice covered it. Good stuff. Great pics as always.

 

Dammit im so jealous that you have millions of places to go explore. one day ill have to fly out there and join you AZ guys on a trip

 

We aren't AZ guys last I checked.

 

right.... for some reason i thought crom was in az... AZ, CA close enough

 

It's ok lol I claim a lot of the AZ guys since I go wheel with them twice a year or so lol

 

It's a very neat lake. Popular with anglers, good for swimming, and light recreational water craft from what I could tell. Also one of the warmer lakes that we've been too.

Thanks! It's my mission in life to provide for them and i take a lot of pride in trying to produce the best outdoor experience for them.

Bummer you can't make it up. This was our first trip to Convict Lake, passed it many times, so glad we checked it out this year.

Frozen lakes kind of scare me, but intriguing at same time. I'll stay at lands edge. I've walked on frozen ponds (what I and most Californians would probably call a lake) in places like Rode Island, that freaked me out.

Yeah man, come on out to Arizona, or California. I can go to either place. It's all good

Thanks for clarifying. What wheeling trip is this?

 

Eastern Sierra Summer Trip #2; Bishop, Mammoth, Day 2, part 3

After about two hours of water play at Convict Lake, I drove the family over to Whitmore Hot Springs BLM area. It's a few miles downhill and 7.5 miles overall to the springs site.

Whitmore Hot Springs is an unincorporated area in Mono County, California. It is located in the Long Valley 5.5 miles north-northeast of Mount Morrison, at an elevation of 7,018 feet. What makes this place special are the naturally occurring hot springs. People have installed primitive plubming systems to carry the hot water away from the spring and into concrete tubs for soaking enjoyment. The tubs overflow and naturally run off eventually going to Lake Crowley. Common sense rules apply at the hot springs. There are a number to choose from. Some have gone dry over the years based on my observations. I wont detail the exact location, but they are easy to find for anyone who is determined to find them.

This is the source of one of the hot springs. I took this picture last year with my then 4.5 year old staring into the spring.

There is a 2" PVC pipe, about 20' long that siphons off very hot clear water to a concrete soaking tub.


I'm trying to understand what gives the spring the orange-copper color. The springs are rich in minerals. When I search around the web, there is anecdotal evidence stating that it's caused by archaea, according the article I read on the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone.



The spring water was pretty hot, I estimate the tub was overall about 108*F

My youngest liked the tub and the oldest just liked to soak her feet. Wife stayed out. I soaked for as long as I could stay in. It was awesome and made me feel awesome.

Finally we departed this wonderful place, and headed south down the US-395 towards Bishop.

Somewhere around Swall Meadows, we pulled off to cook ourselves dinner.



Both kids explored the camp site area noting the different flora from where we were previously.


Wifey made some pork ribs, mac-n-cheese, and seasoned brussel sprouts. It was delicious!


After our bellies were full, I put everything away while the kids and wife went for a short walk to explore together.


Kids were exhausted from a full day of exploring. It was a quick 25 minute trip back to Bishop, where we cheated and got some ice cream before going to the hotel room.

It was a great end to a great day exploring.

 

Inspiring stuff, man. I always look forward to your updates! Thanks for sharing!