Yes, I checked it out on Earth when I go back home. I had looked before going but I spaced on the left I needed to make when I saw the structure on the side of the mountain.
Lone Pine to Laurel Lakes - Things don't always go according to plan.
- Thread starter KSL22
- Start date
Yes, I checked it out on Earth when I go back home. I had looked before going but I spaced on the left I needed to make when I saw the structure on the side of the mountain.
The original plan leaving Bishop was to take the dirt road Casa Diablo out of Bishop. This road will take you all the way to the back side of lake Crowley. We planned to exit right before Crowley onto Benton Crossing rd and either take Benton Crossing to the 395 of cut back into the dirt at Owens River road and cross through to Hot Creek Hatchery road and then cross the 395 to Sherwin Creek road and up to Laurel Lakes.
The reality had us racing up the 395 to find a camp spot before dark if possible. We turned at the green church (Benton Crossing) and took it up to Whitmore Tubs road. Whitmore Tubs road was a little rougher than what I remember but the shocks did their job and we were able to find camp along Little Hot Creek. I was surprised at the amount of standing water on the graded roads. The two track along Little Hot Creek had some mud puddles we were splashing through. Some were deeper than others, but nothing needing 4wd. We had planned to hit the hot tub in the area after setting up camp. After getting the tent set up and all our bedding in, my son said he was too tired to go dip in the tub. So he went to sleep and I took the time to organize some stuff that got tossed around while getting out of the canyon.
The next morning we woke up and I made some breakfast for us and some coffee for my self. Well I say coffee but it was Starbucks instant stuff in hot water from the Jet Boil. Luckily our sausage, hash brown, and egg sandwiches were much better. After breakfast we broke down the tent and packed the back of the truck back up.
We drove back down the road to my favorite tub in the area. Unfortunately in the age of the internet it is nowhere near as secret as it was back when I first found out about it. I won't say exactly where it is but I think you can figure it out. The soak is exactly what my body needed after the activity of the day before.
After a good soak we got back in the truck and headed towards Hot Creek.
The reality had us racing up the 395 to find a camp spot before dark if possible. We turned at the green church (Benton Crossing) and took it up to Whitmore Tubs road. Whitmore Tubs road was a little rougher than what I remember but the shocks did their job and we were able to find camp along Little Hot Creek. I was surprised at the amount of standing water on the graded roads. The two track along Little Hot Creek had some mud puddles we were splashing through. Some were deeper than others, but nothing needing 4wd. We had planned to hit the hot tub in the area after setting up camp. After getting the tent set up and all our bedding in, my son said he was too tired to go dip in the tub. So he went to sleep and I took the time to organize some stuff that got tossed around while getting out of the canyon.
The next morning we woke up and I made some breakfast for us and some coffee for my self. Well I say coffee but it was Starbucks instant stuff in hot water from the Jet Boil. Luckily our sausage, hash brown, and egg sandwiches were much better. After breakfast we broke down the tent and packed the back of the truck back up.
We drove back down the road to my favorite tub in the area. Unfortunately in the age of the internet it is nowhere near as secret as it was back when I first found out about it. I won't say exactly where it is but I think you can figure it out. The soak is exactly what my body needed after the activity of the day before.
After a good soak we got back in the truck and headed towards Hot Creek.
Getting to Hot Creek was one of the larger disappointments of the trip. I guess at some point the fun and safety police decided that the place was too dangerous never mind the fact that people have been swimming there for decades. We still walked down to the bottom to check it out and to see if there might still be a place up stream to take a dip.
Truck got a little muddy the night before.
After getting over our disappointment we jumped back into the truck and headed into town to see what changes have been made since last time I had visited. The timing was right so we grabbed lunch at Burgers. I still try to cater to the old businesses as much as possible up there.
Truck got a little muddy the night before.
After getting over our disappointment we jumped back into the truck and headed into town to see what changes have been made since last time I had visited. The timing was right so we grabbed lunch at Burgers. I still try to cater to the old businesses as much as possible up there.
After lunch we headed towards Laurel lakes road. The road up there was a little rougher than last time I had been up. It was nothing to where I was worried about body damage, but it made for some slow going in sections.
About 3/4 up we passed a group of jeeps going back down saying the lakes were not accessible and the last turn around spot was marked where another truck was parked. We go to where the truck was parked and sure enough just past it was some snow drifts. They were not all the way across and they looked passable so we parked and I hiked up ahead to check out what else we were in for. A little ways past the snow drifts was a corner that could easily be used to turn around. With this knowledge I walked back down and drove up past the two drifts and up to the corner turn around spot. From here I once again hiked up ahead and found another drift. This one was much larger covering all but one to two feet of the road. I hiked on past and saw two massive snow drifts blocking access to the summit. When I got up to the second drift I noticed that it kind of flattened out and got a little wider. It was also right above the lower of the two Laurel lakes.
With this knowledge I hiked back down and got back in the truck. I drove up to the first snow bank and told Shane my plan. If we can dig through this snow bank to make enough room for us to pass, we should have a sweet spot to set up camp right above two lakes that have probably not been fished yet this season. I am a rookie fisherman so I can use all the help I can get. I told him lets make a solid effort and see how much headway we could get in ten minutes. I went to the back and grabbed both the shovels. A long handle spade and a long handle flat. I took the flat shovel and Shane took the spade and we started at it.
We actually made some decent progress fairly quickly. So much so that Shane was actually willing to put in some work. All in all it took us a good hour, maybe two to get through. Shane kept focused until just past the half way point. Which was more than I expected with him being an 11 yr old boy. He still put in some work but he was also trying to bow staff the shovel. As we would dig I would move the truck up so it would look like we were farther along.
We finally go through the other side. At this point I figured I wanted to be backed into the snow bank at the top for camp. I also figured it would ge easier to back up the trail with the edge on my side rather than all the way back down the hard way. So I backed down to the turn around spot, flipped it around, and backed up the trail and through the snow bank we had just dug out. Shane jumped in and we backed all the way up to the top.
Once at the top I got Shane a pole set up and let him hike down to the lake. I figured there was no way to get the ground smooth enough to set up the tent so I just unloaded everything out of the back of the truck and put our pad in the truck bed.
About 3/4 up we passed a group of jeeps going back down saying the lakes were not accessible and the last turn around spot was marked where another truck was parked. We go to where the truck was parked and sure enough just past it was some snow drifts. They were not all the way across and they looked passable so we parked and I hiked up ahead to check out what else we were in for. A little ways past the snow drifts was a corner that could easily be used to turn around. With this knowledge I walked back down and drove up past the two drifts and up to the corner turn around spot. From here I once again hiked up ahead and found another drift. This one was much larger covering all but one to two feet of the road. I hiked on past and saw two massive snow drifts blocking access to the summit. When I got up to the second drift I noticed that it kind of flattened out and got a little wider. It was also right above the lower of the two Laurel lakes.
With this knowledge I hiked back down and got back in the truck. I drove up to the first snow bank and told Shane my plan. If we can dig through this snow bank to make enough room for us to pass, we should have a sweet spot to set up camp right above two lakes that have probably not been fished yet this season. I am a rookie fisherman so I can use all the help I can get. I told him lets make a solid effort and see how much headway we could get in ten minutes. I went to the back and grabbed both the shovels. A long handle spade and a long handle flat. I took the flat shovel and Shane took the spade and we started at it.
We actually made some decent progress fairly quickly. So much so that Shane was actually willing to put in some work. All in all it took us a good hour, maybe two to get through. Shane kept focused until just past the half way point. Which was more than I expected with him being an 11 yr old boy. He still put in some work but he was also trying to bow staff the shovel. As we would dig I would move the truck up so it would look like we were farther along.
We finally go through the other side. At this point I figured I wanted to be backed into the snow bank at the top for camp. I also figured it would ge easier to back up the trail with the edge on my side rather than all the way back down the hard way. So I backed down to the turn around spot, flipped it around, and backed up the trail and through the snow bank we had just dug out. Shane jumped in and we backed all the way up to the top.
Once at the top I got Shane a pole set up and let him hike down to the lake. I figured there was no way to get the ground smooth enough to set up the tent so I just unloaded everything out of the back of the truck and put our pad in the truck bed.
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Desert Dan
Explorer
Sounds like a good trip. Great country. Building road builds character
Sounds like a good trip. Great country. Building road builds character
Yes it does. Character, sore muscles, blisters, and sun burns. But best of all it builds stories.
So here we are backed against a snow bank, on the side of a mountain, at 10k plus feet of elevation.
And in case you are still keeping track of my plans getting thrown out the window:
1) Lone Pine Film Museum not open yet. (got there an hour too early)
2) Didn't find Reward Mine.
3) Got stuck for four hours. (skipped a few adventures due to lost time / energy)
4) Snow drifts kept us from camping at the lakes.
I got the truck bed unloaded and set up as a people bed. I then set up the other fishing pole and grabbed some extra tackle and began the hike down to the lake. It was a lot further down than it looked and the temperature in the area was dropping quickly. I met up with my son and we started casting. Our lures were working real good. We caught all sorts of stuff...underwater branches, grass, bushes, and rocks. I only had to go wading once to free my lure, luckily it wasn't much past my knees as the water was icy. After freezing for a bit longer we called it a day and started the hike back up the hill at dusk. We got to the top and I had Shane stack up some rocks for a makeshift fire ring / wind block. We got on warmer cloths and started a small fire in the attempt to warm up and so we could cook our steak and beans.
As the sun went down, the wind picked up blowing over the top of the pass. Felt like it was coming from the polar ice caps. I couldn't get my son to stay up late enough to get the full effect of the starts as it seemed like the sun would never fully set from our location. He was cold so I couldn't blame him. I joined him a hour or so later, but I did get to see some stars come out first.
It was a cold night. The back of the truck was facing into the wind and the shell door and the tailgate are not exactly air tight. Luckily I grabbed a few of our extra heavy blankets from the trailer to use to cover us in our sleeping bags. The next morning we woke up early and it was still real cold out, and Shane wasn't exactly in the best of moods. I asked him if he wanted to hike back down to the lakes and he said he just wanted to go somewhere else. So we packed everything back into the truck and headed for lower elevations. Before we left we hiked up to the road summit so I could show him where I wanted us to camp. Laurel Lakes is really in a great little valley and I am going to try my hardest to make it back up later in the summer.
And in case you are still keeping track of my plans getting thrown out the window:
1) Lone Pine Film Museum not open yet. (got there an hour too early)
2) Didn't find Reward Mine.
3) Got stuck for four hours. (skipped a few adventures due to lost time / energy)
4) Snow drifts kept us from camping at the lakes.
I got the truck bed unloaded and set up as a people bed. I then set up the other fishing pole and grabbed some extra tackle and began the hike down to the lake. It was a lot further down than it looked and the temperature in the area was dropping quickly. I met up with my son and we started casting. Our lures were working real good. We caught all sorts of stuff...underwater branches, grass, bushes, and rocks. I only had to go wading once to free my lure, luckily it wasn't much past my knees as the water was icy. After freezing for a bit longer we called it a day and started the hike back up the hill at dusk. We got to the top and I had Shane stack up some rocks for a makeshift fire ring / wind block. We got on warmer cloths and started a small fire in the attempt to warm up and so we could cook our steak and beans.
As the sun went down, the wind picked up blowing over the top of the pass. Felt like it was coming from the polar ice caps. I couldn't get my son to stay up late enough to get the full effect of the starts as it seemed like the sun would never fully set from our location. He was cold so I couldn't blame him. I joined him a hour or so later, but I did get to see some stars come out first.
It was a cold night. The back of the truck was facing into the wind and the shell door and the tailgate are not exactly air tight. Luckily I grabbed a few of our extra heavy blankets from the trailer to use to cover us in our sleeping bags. The next morning we woke up early and it was still real cold out, and Shane wasn't exactly in the best of moods. I asked him if he wanted to hike back down to the lakes and he said he just wanted to go somewhere else. So we packed everything back into the truck and headed for lower elevations. Before we left we hiked up to the road summit so I could show him where I wanted us to camp. Laurel Lakes is really in a great little valley and I am going to try my hardest to make it back up later in the summer.
Mushin_Noshin
Adventurer
Great report, thanks for taking the time to share
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photo nomad
Adventurer
Great report. I went up there on Friday and met some people coming down shortly after the creek camping area that told me it was still impassable. So we backtracked to the creek area and spent Friday night there.
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Trophycummins
Adventurer
This is great, i always knew there was more to what i was seeing around the 395, but didnt know where to start at all. Im always worried my truck s too big flr the trail (15 cummins). Thanks!
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We loaded up the truck and headed back down the trail. I was a little worried about the area we dug out as it was still early and cold, and I figured it could still be iced over from the night before. Another Dodge had tried to come up a few hours after me and the slush had already set up. I don't know what tires he had but he said he had started to slip while attempting it and decided to turn back down to camp in the lower section. The BFG K02s worked fantastic and we went through with little slippage. I had the tires turned slightly into the bank just to be safe. If anything I just made it a few inches wider.
On the way down I turned down into the camp areas among the aspens along Laurel Creek. I wanted to take a closer look at the area and we still needed to cook breakfast. The temperature was much warmer down there and the trees blocked the winds coming down the canyon. I told Shane to go explore the area while I got break fast cooking. I couldn't have picked a better spot to cook breakfast if I had tried. I rate it number one on the list of many great places I have cooked up a meal. I wish I had my Camp Chef three burner stove with the giant cast iron girdle, but I made due. I added some Philly Cheese-steak meat to our sausage, hash brown, and egg sandwiches. Amazing might be selling the signals my taste buds were sending my brain a little short.
After breakfast Shane surprised me with the statement of, "maybe we could just camp here tonight". Which was good since I didn't really know where else to co other than the organized camp grounds, and that just didn't fir the theme of the trip. So I had him help me set up the tent, and then let him go try to catch the little brook trout while I set up the rest of the camp. After setting up camp I joined him "fishing". After fishing for a bit I found two nice trees and set up the hammock and started on some lunch. After lunch Shane went back down stream wile I went down for a nap.
Shane woke me up with tales of this monster fish he hooked.
And then he promptly stole my hammock
With camp all set up I started gathering some dry fallen limbs from the Aspen groves to add to the few logs I had left from what I had brought up with me. I figured it was the last night so I might as well be warm and we might as well burn it all. The night before I had shown Shane how to use a flint with some Vaseline soaked cotton balls to start a fire. Tonight was his turn to get it lit for us. If I had the trailer and the bikes I would have probably used my normal hillbilly kindling (12oz of gas), but this was a learning trip. Plus I didn't want the food tasting like fuel. After the fire got going and we got a good coal base we started cooking dinner. Since we didn't haul in any whoppers out of the creek, I guess we would just have to settle for bone in rib eye and beans again.
On the way down I turned down into the camp areas among the aspens along Laurel Creek. I wanted to take a closer look at the area and we still needed to cook breakfast. The temperature was much warmer down there and the trees blocked the winds coming down the canyon. I told Shane to go explore the area while I got break fast cooking. I couldn't have picked a better spot to cook breakfast if I had tried. I rate it number one on the list of many great places I have cooked up a meal. I wish I had my Camp Chef three burner stove with the giant cast iron girdle, but I made due.
I added some Philly Cheese-steak meat to our sausage, hash brown, and egg sandwiches. Amazing might be selling the signals my taste buds were sending my brain a little short. After breakfast Shane surprised me with the statement of, "maybe we could just camp here tonight". Which was good since I didn't really know where else to co other than the organized camp grounds, and that just didn't fir the theme of the trip. So I had him help me set up the tent, and then let him go try to catch the little brook trout while I set up the rest of the camp. After setting up camp I joined him "fishing". After fishing for a bit I found two nice trees and set up the hammock and started on some lunch. After lunch Shane went back down stream wile I went down for a nap.
Shane woke me up with tales of this monster fish he hooked.
And then he promptly stole my hammock
With camp all set up I started gathering some dry fallen limbs from the Aspen groves to add to the few logs I had left from what I had brought up with me. I figured it was the last night so I might as well be warm and we might as well burn it all. The night before I had shown Shane how to use a flint with some Vaseline soaked cotton balls to start a fire. Tonight was his turn to get it lit for us. If I had the trailer and the bikes I would have probably used my normal hillbilly kindling (12oz of gas), but this was a learning trip. Plus I didn't want the food tasting like fuel. After the fire got going and we got a good coal base we started cooking dinner. Since we didn't haul in any whoppers out of the creek, I guess we would just have to settle for bone in rib eye and beans again.
It's funny, I have been going up there for years. I even spent a season working the mountain 93-94. All the time driving back and forth was always point a to b. Except I did cut through Dove Springs alot to play rally car driver. This was the first time ever exploring off the main highway between here and Bishop.
They are big trucks but they will take you lots of places if you just watch your width and rockers. I have no problem getting out and scouting if the trail looks like it might pinch in around a corner.
pmatusov
AK6PM
We also used to dip in Hot Creek - but things have changed dramatically after a few small earthquakes in the area. The area in the creek (the Northern shore, right near the blue cauldron-like place) where people used to warm themselves up became very hot. I believe couple of people scalded themselves to death, after which Forest Service closed access to the creek.
Having seen many times the ignorance and stupidity people exhibited near the creek, I tend to agree with FS decision.
The morning of our final day I had to make some decisions. There was still a lot of stuff on my list of activities but only limited time to do any of them. Mentally I narrowed it down to Rainbow Falls / Devils Post pile or Bodie. It was too tough of a decision to make on a empty stomach and before coffee so I fired up the Jet Boil and the stove. After we ate we broke down the tent and packed up the truck. Hiking seemed like too much work so I chose to head up to Bodie. We went into town and grabbed a real coffee for my self and a smoothie for Shane from Stellar Brew. I didn't want to just jump on highway 395 and bee line up to Bodie as that didn't fit the flavor of the trip. I figured Mammoth Scenic Loop to the 395 to the June Lake loop to the 395 and then figure out the best way to Bodie.
We left the coffee shop and headed up towards the Scenic Loop. On the way up Minaret Rd I remembered that there was a fault line that ran right across it. I figured Shane would get a kick out of seeing it so I made an additional stop on the way. There is a parking lot for the fault on the right side of Minaret rd just past the scenic loop turn off. The walk around the fault is fairly short and only took a little bit of time out of our schedule.
We then got back in the truck and headed on up the road. If we had more time we could have found a route off the scenic loop all the way to the June Lake turn off. I was also originally hitting dirt off of Antelope Springs rd on the exit of town and take routes from there to Highway 120. Out in that area is both Lookout Mountain and the Bald Mountain Fire Lookout. I have not visited either place so I cannot speak to them. I have done a lot of these roads in the past on a dual sport, and found them fun. Off of Scenic Loop is the Inyo Craters which also looks interesting.
Okay. back to the trip. Once we hit Lee Vining we filled up at the Mobil Station. There is a cafe inside that is fairly well known for their grub, but we were not yet hungry. We grabbed a couple of ice cream bars instead. We ran into a Porsche Club that we briefly saw in Mammoth Lakes.
I got out the map and my phone and tied to figure out the best way into Bodie. I thought I was going to be sneaky and find some not so used back way in. Ha Ha yeah right. I found Cottonwood Canyon rd on the map off of highway 167 and it looked promising. I turned off the 167 I found out that this was just another of the main ways in. I decided to just put Bodie into Google maps at this point and let it take me there. Imagine my surprise when about half way there I heard my phone state "turn right up ahead" and the only thing was a rough two track up a mountain. Okay Google, you know best. So up we went.
We left the coffee shop and headed up towards the Scenic Loop. On the way up Minaret Rd I remembered that there was a fault line that ran right across it. I figured Shane would get a kick out of seeing it so I made an additional stop on the way. There is a parking lot for the fault on the right side of Minaret rd just past the scenic loop turn off. The walk around the fault is fairly short and only took a little bit of time out of our schedule.
We then got back in the truck and headed on up the road. If we had more time we could have found a route off the scenic loop all the way to the June Lake turn off. I was also originally hitting dirt off of Antelope Springs rd on the exit of town and take routes from there to Highway 120. Out in that area is both Lookout Mountain and the Bald Mountain Fire Lookout. I have not visited either place so I cannot speak to them. I have done a lot of these roads in the past on a dual sport, and found them fun. Off of Scenic Loop is the Inyo Craters which also looks interesting.
Okay. back to the trip. Once we hit Lee Vining we filled up at the Mobil Station. There is a cafe inside that is fairly well known for their grub, but we were not yet hungry. We grabbed a couple of ice cream bars instead. We ran into a Porsche Club that we briefly saw in Mammoth Lakes.
I got out the map and my phone and tied to figure out the best way into Bodie. I thought I was going to be sneaky and find some not so used back way in. Ha Ha yeah right. I found Cottonwood Canyon rd on the map off of highway 167 and it looked promising. I turned off the 167 I found out that this was just another of the main ways in. I decided to just put Bodie into Google maps at this point and let it take me there. Imagine my surprise when about half way there I heard my phone state "turn right up ahead" and the only thing was a rough two track up a mountain. Okay Google, you know best.
So up we went.