Misdirection trip – Fall Colors

Why is this the Misdirection Trip?  Because I’m heading due south down 395, yet the plan is to end up in Eureka, north and west from here, to be with the family for my birthday.

The plan in brief is a Fall Color Tour through June Lake and the Owens Valley, jog east at Death Valley, then a run up the gut of Nevada, through my friend Tim’s family place in Kingston NV, to Sheldon NWR, then the Klamath NWRs, thence to the coast to Eureka – whew!  We’ll look back when it’s over and see how that worked out.

I was to start on Monday, but I postponed a day to see the Niners on MNF.  Then Tuesday I just wasn’t feeling it. It’s overcast and gloomy and I’m still sick. I rationalized that I could shop today and hit the ground running tomorrow.

Wednesday (Oct 15)

Wednesday, even more overcast, high winds, still not really feeing it, but I know I’ll be happy once I’m out there, so … up at the crack of noon, eat and pack and final cleanup, … to Start Your Engines at 3:30. Since the sun sets before 6 now, that’s a pretty late start.

Washoe Valley was closed to trucks and RVs due to high wind, but I went slow and snuck through. Did not stop at the beloved Trader Joe’s + In n Out exit, no real need for either and no time anyway.

I skipped In n Out in favor of the Topaz Casino for their excellent steak and eggs special – can’t pass that up. Filling and tasty and I enjoyed the great view as always … but there’s not much daylight left. So, blast on through Walker Valley and everything else, straight to Travertine Hot Springs.

I had noticed a likely looking camping spot on the rutty gravel road to the springs previous trips, and this late in the day, now is the time to try it out!  It’s level, off the road, quiet and private and unoccupied, so I’m in business!  The smart thing to do would be to drive the bumpy 3/4 mile to the springs, but I’m feeling  energetic and god knows I need the exercise, so I decide to walk.  No moonlight tonight, so it’s a very dark walk. I’m glad my headlamp batteries hold out.

The springs are always a crapshoot. They are so close to the road, and so well known that they are always busy, sometimes with pretty sketchy people. Tonight I was lucky in my pool-mates. It started out annoying, a Colorado hippie couple had their van parked right next to the spring, with their annoying bright lantern destroying the darkness. But eventually they turned that off and headed down to the other spring leaving me alone for about a minute.  Then a very pleasant couple from Washington DC came to share my tub.  Then a nice but really annoying kid from Sacramento joined us. Annoying because he would NOT shut up.  Yakked non stop at the DC couple until they just got up and left. As it happens I was already making my preparations to walk back, so they gave me a ride back to the van, which I really appreciated – woo! I later regretted not inviting in for a beer. They were nice and interesting and seemed to find me entertaining … I always fall for that!

Thursday

What an excellent spot. Nobody bothered me. I stayed till noon-ish.  Drove into Bridgeport, and ended up at that place with yummy pastries again, and to my annoyance they again did not have wifi. That’s two for two on saying they have it and not having it, which makes it a lie in my book. The woman clearly did not understand what a “breach of trust” this is to us Yelping travelers. She did direct me to the Library around the corner. I sat on the steps and soaked up enough wifi to grab my podcasts for the day, which all I really needed it for.

The beautiful valley of aspens west of 395 and immediately north of the Virginia Lakes turnoff was a little past it’s peak … but only a little! We are at about 8,000′ here, so I have hope that the trees will be peak at lower elevations.

I spent time at the little park at the north end of Mono Lake. I am always a little more centered after visiting that peaceful spot. Even a little troupe of smug yuppie Harley riders (aren’t they all) could not rattle my mellow.

Straight on through Lee Vining and on to the June Lake Loop. The thick aspen groves around Silver Lake were flamin! A bright sunny day showed them off to great advantage. I got to Gull Lake early enough to score a great campsitem with a few bright yellow tress in sight.

Gull Lake was pretty awesome.  I chilled for an hour or so, watching the dude in the site on the lake below me fish and putter around. Why don’t I fish? On any particular day it’s because I don’t have a license, but getting one of those is easy and cheap (although I would need a Cali not Nevada one here). I think if I had a friend who fished I could get back into it, but it seems like a lot of unknown technology to my lazy self right now. The other observation is that this would be yet another great place for me to have an inflatable boat to putter around in. That seems more doable to me than the fishing thing,

Anyway, after a while I close the laptop and lock up and follow the path through the woods to the edge of town.  There’s a quirky little fisherman’s store that I wanted to check out from last time. I assume it used to be a restaurant, because it has a lovely deck, but now it’s just a store and a fish-cleaning stand. They do however sell beer by the bottle, but cannot (or will not) open it for you.

I take a pass in favor of walking up the hill to check out the (new?) June Lake Brewery that Yelp is telling me about. It was a nice place, but a big FAIL for me tonight. It was very busy with those self-satisfied ski types that also annoy the hell out of me in Truckee … or Bend … or the entire state of Colorado. Anyway, I give up my spot at the bar for a cutie to return her glasses, but she stays in my spot to order more. We both are ignored for a while, then I decide that this place just ain’t happening for me tonight. If  that sorry female thinks it’s ok to jump me in line because I was polite, then these aren’t my people and this ain’t my place!

Besides, it’s getting close to sunset and there’s no view windows in the place … So back down the hill to get a beer from the cooler at the little store and walk around the corner to hammer the cap off (much easier than I feared!) then hang out on the deck to enjoy the last rays of sunset reflected off the water – good choice!

I did plan ahead and brought my flashlight, so I feel comfortable return by taking the long way around the lake, to effect a complete circumambulation of Gull Lake! It was pretty long and involved some elevation, so I was righteously tired when I got back (and wished I had worn thicker socks!).

Friday

Quiet morning at the campground. I notice the folks below me signing up for another day, and I seriously consider it. I’ve got a primo site and could easily fill a day with leaf-watching and hiking and coffee-drinking around here. But I decide to stick to my plan and decamp around 12:30.

First stop a little leaf watching back at Silver Lake, then my beloved Looney Beans in Mammoth. Wifi for an hour or so, then stock up on three days worth of food at Vons.

Drive to Bishop, then have afternoon breakfast at the El Ranchito, my favorite Bishop restaurant. Excellent machaca con huevos as always, but then I’m leaving at 5, it gets dark at six, and Lone Pine is an hour away, so I have to give myself a FAIL on planning out today. If I had it to do over I would have camped in or around here somewhere.

I am annoyed with myself for very poor time management today, and I am annoyed at the BLM for the fucking huge and numerous speed bumps on the road to my campground. I was hurrying because it’s getting dark, and the first one kind of fucked me up. They made them diagonal, no doubt to channel runoff better, but it creates a whipsaw effect on my high-rise vehicle. The first one popped one of my cabinet doors and crap flew all over the back of the van. So I’m here, and it’s no moon pitch black about 20 minutes after I get parked.  No, not pleased with myself at all.