TR: Eastern Sierra Nevada and White Mountains
If you have never experienced Fossil Falls before off the 395 near lone pine this place is pretty awesome. It was pretty warm here a couple weeks ago, but our Honda 2000 genny kept the inside cozy.
Pretty good views with no one around, just the way we like it
evidence this area had masses of water flowing through at one time
we headed up to the White Mountains to check out the Ancient Bristlecone pine forest. California has the tallest trees in the world, the largest trees and the oldest trees...go figure...Also want to add the most number of charred trees
and Falling trees!!
oldest trees in the world
while on the trail a major thunderstorm rolled through the area
pelted us with hail...dropping a ton of rain
parking lot at the visitor center before the strom
and after
video of us freaking out
we headed for calmer waters to grant lake to see if our inflatable kayaks still could hold air
We decided to put these Torklift talon tie downs and fastguns to the test once again and head up to Leavitt lake, how much rattling and rolling can these things handle?
I got pretty sketched out when a full size truck coming down the mountain said there was no way we would make it....
the next vehicle we passed said, we were good....
4X4 Low in this truck is amazing...had one slip of the wheel, and slight scrape with the running board but for the most part all was well with an 11k+ load climbing to 11K feet @ not sure what the grade but it is extreme
the goods
you know your off the beaten path when....the only other camper you see is in a Tee-pee tent with a pet goat, who brings 3 assault rifles and a chain saw to cut his fire wood
we planned on staying at least 5 nights, just got settled when the smoke started rolling in
California seemed to ignite all at once, this was smoke rolling in from the Ferguson fire as when we were there is just had started :(
we were able to test again and see if our inflatable kayaks had any holes in them
we got 2 nights in but the air quality @ high altitude was not a good mix, we tucked tailed out of there in search for fresher pastures
we ended up in Reds meadow for a night and hiked to rainbow falls (diclaimer: there are approx 100,000 people behind me in this pic)
this was bit of a dissapointment since we are not used to such heavy crowds and a dirt campsite costing $23, but a crowded day camping is 100 million times better than the best day working!!
we did find our own slice of heaven @ reds
and a refreshing dip
We headed up to Little lakes valley, which is a bit of an upgrade from a walmart parking lot to a backpackers parking lot
finally had the clean air we were looking for and untouched by fire
this might be one of the last places to visit before the all the burned out sierras turn into shrub bushes
all in all we had 10 nigths in the TC, and just love the freedom it provides. From sheltering against a hail storm, getting free lake front camping, to offroading deep into the sierras to boondocking in a backpackers parking lot...we love our TC, and our TL's
off course as soon as we got home all of California appeared to erupt in flames, not to mention literraly right out our own backyard!!! Prayers to all those familys that have lost loved ones and/or their homes
Pretty good views with no one around, just the way we like it
evidence this area had masses of water flowing through at one time
we headed up to the White Mountains to check out the Ancient Bristlecone pine forest. California has the tallest trees in the world, the largest trees and the oldest trees...go figure...Also want to add the most number of charred trees
and Falling trees!!
oldest trees in the world
while on the trail a major thunderstorm rolled through the area
pelted us with hail...dropping a ton of rain
parking lot at the visitor center before the strom
and after
video of us freaking out
we headed for calmer waters to grant lake to see if our inflatable kayaks still could hold air
We decided to put these Torklift talon tie downs and fastguns to the test once again and head up to Leavitt lake, how much rattling and rolling can these things handle?
I got pretty sketched out when a full size truck coming down the mountain said there was no way we would make it....
the next vehicle we passed said, we were good....
4X4 Low in this truck is amazing...had one slip of the wheel, and slight scrape with the running board but for the most part all was well with an 11k+ load climbing to 11K feet @ not sure what the grade but it is extreme
the goods
you know your off the beaten path when....the only other camper you see is in a Tee-pee tent with a pet goat, who brings 3 assault rifles and a chain saw to cut his fire wood
we planned on staying at least 5 nights, just got settled when the smoke started rolling in
California seemed to ignite all at once, this was smoke rolling in from the Ferguson fire as when we were there is just had started :(
we were able to test again and see if our inflatable kayaks had any holes in them
we got 2 nights in but the air quality @ high altitude was not a good mix, we tucked tailed out of there in search for fresher pastures
we ended up in Reds meadow for a night and hiked to rainbow falls (diclaimer: there are approx 100,000 people behind me in this pic)
this was bit of a dissapointment since we are not used to such heavy crowds and a dirt campsite costing $23, but a crowded day camping is 100 million times better than the best day working!!
we did find our own slice of heaven @ reds
and a refreshing dip
We headed up to Little lakes valley, which is a bit of an upgrade from a walmart parking lot to a backpackers parking lot
finally had the clean air we were looking for and untouched by fire
this might be one of the last places to visit before the all the burned out sierras turn into shrub bushes
all in all we had 10 nigths in the TC, and just love the freedom it provides. From sheltering against a hail storm, getting free lake front camping, to offroading deep into the sierras to boondocking in a backpackers parking lot...we love our TC, and our TL's
off course as soon as we got home all of California appeared to erupt in flames, not to mention literraly right out our own backyard!!! Prayers to all those familys that have lost loved ones and/or their homes
