East Side / Death Valley

Lighthawk

Lighthawk

Weekend warrior
Joined
Jun 22, 2010
Messages
3,331
Location
Nevada City, CA
All the wonderful TR's from other members have been inspiring me to share some of our recent travels. I've been too busy to write much, so maybe I'll do my best to tell a story with photos and limit the words to the essential.

We delayed our departure due to 50mph winds and 200 miles of blizzard conditions.
The next day rolling through Kings Beach, it was a fantastic day. Timing is everything. ;)













 
After enjoying Tahoe in her winter finery, we headed south on 395.
We arrived at Bridgeport, just as the sun set.



Surprisingly, on Christmas Eve, no one had driven up to Travertine Hot Springs all day.
There was 12-18" of fresh, dry snow on the road, which our loaded camper cruised with ease.





We put on our gators and grabbed a ski pole each to post hole out to the springs. It was the best I've experienced there, surrounded by deep snow and having the place to ourselves.





This shot required me to sprint barefooted and bare-a$$ed across the snow to trigger the tripod. I'm not sharing the shot showing me leaping back in the spring :eek:



Back into town for one more night time shot of the courthouse.



Next stop, Alabama Hills, of course! :D
 
Lighthawk! You were a couple days behind me! I swear I saw your rig up in the Tahoe area with the two bikes on top! Funny!

Where what that hot spring? We were out near the Hot Creek Area outside Mammoth Lakes.
Looks like a great trip.

Paul
 
Thanks for sharing. Wonderful pictures, well-exposed for snow. Looks like we will be hitting some hot springs on our way to Death Valley in March. How far is it from where you parked? Can you camp nearby? Looks like you were there in the evening.
 
Lighthawk! You were a couple days behind me! I swear I saw your rig up in the Tahoe area with the two bikes on top! Funny!

Where what that hot spring? We were out near the Hot Creek Area outside Mammoth Lakes.
Looks like a great trip.

Paul


Hey Paul,

Your TR was like a preview for us. Great report. I really enjoyed your White Mtn trip too.
We like Shepherd's too, but usually camping at the springs is discouraged by LADWP. Loved the shots of snowshoeing the springs area in the morning.

The Bridgeport springs are pretty well known, so I will tell you they are behind the ranger station south of Bridgeport. Look for Travertine Hot Springs in a book and you'll find them, or PM me. They are popular, so we usually show up on off hours, or when a foot or two of snow flies. :D
 
Wonderful photos. Thanks for posting.

What kind of bike rack is that?


Bosque Bill,

Check out this bike mount thread

This system has been tested on several rough road trips and has had no issues.
It does take a steady arm to hold the bike forks up while adjusting the bike mount nut.
I put a carabiner through the clamp as a lock. The rear wheels are just strapped to whatever
is handy: our ladder on the left and our newly mounted hi lift jack (thanks to Camelracer's awesome design).
 
We rolled into Lone Pine well after dark. I wanted to park somewhere where I would see Whitney at dawn, but missed the mark. We had a quiet night in the Alabama Hills and a great walk about in the morning. Lot's of sporty bolt routes for climbers here!










The requisite shot of Whitney. What memories I have from the East Buttress!







Next stop, Saline Valley . . .
 
Heading into Saline V.

We used S. Pass, since we had no reports of N. Pass being open after all the heavy storms.
It turns out we could have gone North, but then we would have missed the Alabama Hills.

I stopped at the High Clearance/ Road Closed signage and aired down.
The crew was ready.




The J Trees are amazing on this first stretch




The road was improved, but I still took one good hit on the way down. I heard a sound, but saw nothing when inspecting. :unsure: I wrote it off to a thrown rock . . .

Next stop: Saline Dunes
I knew the puppy would have a blast playing in the sand.


Not to mention the girl





I thought about surfing this down a dune. Looks like an VW hood or Studebaker??


We set up camp at the Palm Spring with only half a dozen other campers about. It was Christmas Day. What a gift to be here!

Dawn shot of the Inyo's




more Saline to come . . .
 
Each morning we took our ritual dawn soak with coffee in hand. What a life! Good company too. After breakfast I did a daily bike ride up to the upper springs and beyond.

The upper springs are a special place, especially when approached quietly and alone.
Riding a bike slows down the world so I notice small things, such as a solitary burro track or the golden early light illuminating cholla cacti.







We filled our days with local hikes, wandering along burro trails up and over the Black Mtn.








The moon waxed each night until the full moon was upon us.




Moonrise over the Last Chance Range


still more to come . . .
 
More great photos! Those night long-exposures are especially sweet.

Thanks for the link to your earlier bike hitch thread, Andy. I've bookmarked that and the product webpage, too.

Question: do you drain or winterize your plumbing when doing winter camping? This may be answered elsewhere, but as I'm a newbie, I'm still working my way through the forum.
 
More great photos! Those night long-exposures are especially sweet.

Thanks for the link to your earlier bike hitch thread, Andy. I've bookmarked that and the product webpage, too.

Question: do you drain or winterize your plumbing when doing winter camping? This may be answered elsewhere, but as I'm a newbie, I'm still working my way through the forum.


I'm a California guy, so we don't have much issues with freezing. I know others have discussed it in the forums.
 
Hey, Andy, thanks for all the great photos of some of my favorite places along 395 and in DV! Love the moon shots.
 
Hey, Andy, thanks for all the great photos of some of my favorite places along 395 and in DV! Love the moon shots.


Thanks Stew. I know you appreciate your old stompn grounds.

Whatever happened to the World Champion Backer Upper? Did you hit something? ; )
 
Whatever happened to the World Champion Backer Upper? Did you hit something? ; )


Ya, punctured the door with a sharp Juniper branch so somebody took away my old championship title and gave me a new one. But it is indeed good to be Stew!
 
Hey Paul,

Your TR was like a preview for us. Great report. I really enjoyed your White Mtn trip too.
We like Shepherd's too, but usually camping at the springs is discouraged by LADWP. Loved the shots of snowshoeing the springs area in the morning.

The Bridgeport springs are pretty well known, so I will tell you they are behind the ranger station south of Bridgeport. Look for Travertine Hot Springs in a book and you'll find them, or PM me. They are popular, so we usually show up on off hours, or when a foot or two of snow flies. :D


Lighthawk,
Thanks! I didn't know they "discouraged" it. Its BLM on the map. The sheriff even stopped by and said we were tough and said have fun. Really nice guy.

Ahh Bridgeport. I've been there but didn't explore too much as it was crowded and we usually try to get away. But from my understanding there are a number of pools out there too be found.

Ill have to check out Saline Valley. Looks great! Thanks for the picts & Keep em coming! :D
 
Lighthawk,
Thanks! I didn't know they "discouraged" it. Its BLM on the map. The sheriff even stopped by and said we were tough and said have fun. Really nice guy.



My vague understanding is that the land is controlled by LADWP and that they did not allow camping, but I could be mistaken. That said, I appreciate driving up and feeling good about the space around the springs, as a shared resource. I've also thrown my sleeping bag out onto the meadow above the spring and spent the night. :p

I think you were lucky to be there during a rare time when snow limits the amount of traffic.
 
Ya, punctured the door with a sharp Juniper branch so somebody took away my old championship title and gave me a new one. But it is indeed good to be Stew!


Just a flesh wound!

Hey, I punctured my roof! on my first outing. So what's the big deal? :D
 
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