Okay, so image the stressful start to a year... multiple teams, personalities, and then the personal stuff right on top... just adding and adding all the up to the very tippy top of your mental capacity. Its late January and I've just now realized that its been nearly 6 months since the last trip due to vehicle and gear change ups and i can hear it. the call. the call for adventure. the one that begs for you to get lost in the middle of nowhere and see whats over the next horizon. The problem with that is its now Friday night at 9 PM. I've just finished the Daddy-daughter date night and i'm exhausted. the call comes in from Steve Hobson (best friend since age 9) and hes telling me hes getting the itch too. Is this a sign? the writing on the wall? Perhaps.
After a well thought out and carefully planned 10 minute phone call, steve packed his essentials into his car and headed to my place to transfer goods and hit the road. by 11:00Pm we were out! On the road looking at each other occasionally wondering what in the world we were doing? It was never said, but i'm confident it didn't matter either.
Up the CA-14 to the CA-395 was fairly uneventful. It was dark of course and it is migration season for deer so you do need to be careful. the trip is just shy of the 3 hour mark and then a few more minutes trekking back to the camp site. Arriving at 2:45 AM in the desert, with no light brings some interesting challenges with finding any site to camp in. I highly recommend some sort of lighting solution on the side of your vehicle if you see yourself coming in late one night. Last New years eve, a large group of us camped right along the western ridge of boulders. it blocked the wind but on that night, it didn't seem to make any noticeable difference. tonight was the opposite end of the spectrum however. Not a single cloud and the wind was seemingly dead.
We used a half-massed boulder to level up the pathfinder and make camp. One of my favorite memories as a kid, is stepping out of the light into the vast, infinite darkness of the desert on a clear light. Your eyes quickly adjust to the darkness to reveal billions of stars and the lonely moon igniting the sky, allowing for some vision on the ground. Tonight was just the same and even more. The sierras, specifically mt. Whitney, are covered in snow. every light source that existed caused the snow to pop against the black of night.
Because we had plans on moving on in the morning, we only deployed the arb Simpson iii and headed to bed. The temps stayed in the mid to high 40's and the winds never picked up. due to social programming and my damn commute, i was wide awake by 5:30 only to occasionally usher myself back to sleep. I was able to accomplish about 5 hours of actual sleep! i felt this was enough to make adult decisions at this point. A quick breakfast and pack up and we were back on the road.
The best part of the CA-395 doesn't start until after bishop. Where you climb way into the higher elevations, giving way to alpine trees and other greenery. Driving along here also feeds my adhd way of watching the trails and not the road, fantasizing whats around that next bend.
arriving to the mammoth lakes area is no really noticeable. the town is past the lakes part and only a small airport on the eastern side of the road reads "Mammoth lakes airport". the entire area is thick with adventure and begging for each and every nook and cranny to be explored. Because of the lack of sleep and a hot meal we opted to head into the mammoth lakes downtown area, the village.
if you haven to visited here, i have to say that the experience is spectacular depending on the time of the year. most of the year they host live music and vendors. highly recommend seeing "Pink Freud" when you get the chance. Part of the overlanding experience is just that, experiencing.
My (new) favorite spot is just past the Mexican restaurant on the left. Shelter distillery has been present for 2 years now. They distill/produce vodka, whiskey, agave and rum. i also recommend the food. we tried the tacos and the taste paired with a few drinks created an outstanding experience. The only downside is its very easy to sit there for about 5 hours drinking one crazy creation after another. kudos to the bartender Jenna for her mixology skills. just ask for the egg-white drink, she'll know.
Next stop was the mammoth brewery. sometimes you just need to wash all of the liquor down with a tasty brew or two. The brewery is a blast to visit. especially when the weather turns warmer. the have an outdoor area for patrons with pets. cornhole and a few other games line the outer fence area.
At this point in the night, we realize that although we are having fun, we still have no idea where we are actually camping. Ask a local! The recommendation was quickly thrown out by a few camping veterans. "Crab cooker"! Okay, no its not a restaurant, its a hot spring. now, if you have no idea what a hot spring is, its pretty simple. think natures hot tub. Since mammoth lakes is a volcanic area (non-active) a high level of sulfur lives in the water table and the heat source below heats the water to over 100 deg Fahrenheit! please check the water temp prior to jumping in!
Finding crab cooker was significantly easier than originally figured. i punched in the name to my GPS and it actually existed. You will be traveling down a fairly rough road, so be prepared but a 2wd vehicle with over 8" of ground clearance should be fine. Follow the coordinates at the top of the blog for directions.
mammoth lakes in the beginning of February is not generally a warm place. today was 67 and looking to fall to 28. a very comfortable night in a tent as we've done plenty of nights at lower temps. the higher temps and weekend traffic cause an issue finding a camping spot. after back-tracking from the parking area for the spring, we located a larger site on the right hand side of the road. we quickly pulled in a deployed the tent, chairs and started our camp fire. we sat there, watching vehicle after vehicle get turned around due to the traffic. at one point, they were backed up to our site. i approached the vehicle to speak with the fellow adventurers as they sat looking over a map so find their next option. the driver stated they had been looking and were just going to head further south. i noted it was dark and they were not in a vehicle suited for this terrain and we'd be more than happy to share our site. they obliged and parked for the night. turned out the campers were from my neck of the woods and we stayed up for a while sharing stories from our travels. they had me beat! one noted a trip to Iceland, a top 3 trip for me.
As we ran short on wood, i extinguished the fire and we hauled off to bed. a few hours into my deep slumber i was awaken by heavy winds rocking the pathfinder back and fourth. as i was laying there thinking my weather app said only 7-8 mile per hour winds, i also came to the realization that the temps were well below the 28 i was also assured. by 3 am, we were camping in 11 degrees! i was prepared with my 0 degrees sleeping back but Steve's zipper broke the night before. two extra blankets in a burrito fashion were used to weather proof Steve's sleeping situation.
Nothing... i just couldn't fall asleep, it was way too cold and i was way to stiff. i climbed out of my sack and descended the ladder. the winds were nothing like before but were steady. i threw on some insulated jeans, winter jacked and my other winter gear i keep just in case. hot hands were deployed to each pocket and my socks. i searched for random wood dispersed by other campers and dead bush. unfortunately, most of what i found was enough to keep a very small fire.
in the midst of distraction with the fire and cold, my alarm was going off. 5:30 AM. I set it the day before to catch the sunrise. I turned my focus back to the nights sky. just as the night before, the stars and moon light up the range of snow covered mountains. its in these moments, being silent and lost in thought, that really bring everything together.
I just sat there. watching as the sun broke over the horizon, dawning across the valley floor. Steve was now dealing with breathing issues and not feeling well. I packed up camp as best i could and offered to get him to the truck. he declined and just wanted to lay there a while. i took the opportunity to wander down the road about a mile to the crab cooker hot spring. the trail is muddy and smells like cow shit, so be prepared, its not all great. once you get to the tub, its nice. the rocks line a large area where 6 or so adults can make way into the spring. i sat, dangling my legs into the water talking with some free spirits from Reno Nevada. they gave me insight into who they were and the crazy traveling they had been doing in his mid-progress remodeled Ram Van with a high top. i hung out for about an hour, saying my best wishes and heading back to camp.
At this time, the winds are now back up to crazy. the wind was wicked enough to wake Steve and get him down from the tent to pack it in. In a few minutes, camp was packed, the site was checked for trash and we were home bound.
This trip represents something. yes, its something small. but it still represents the potential freedom from the stress we all deal with. we traveled several hundred miles over a few days, saw some incredible places and met some very cool people.