SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2005

The drive home. The following pictures are from my little "detours" home.





















Downtown Randsburg. This town is 22 miles from Ridgecrest on the 395. It is a "living" ghost town.
















Randsburg Post Office.


















I did not see one single hubcap! Pearsonville is on the 395.

















Fossil Falls. That's a 200-foot drop. The basalt has been worn smooth by the river that used to flow during "wetter" times.





























































Coso Junction. Wonder what this place was like back in its heyday?

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2005

Thought I would work on my tan after feasting on bacon, eggs, bread, and Minute Rice. Weather was quite warm. The radiant brilliance of the sun felt good agains my face and body.

I yelled out a rebel yell and probably scared the bejeezus out of everyone at the campsite. "It's okay folks! I just had to do it!"

My RV neighbors across from my campsite are good people. They are retired and are just living the life. We chat about life in general. I told them my story as to what has transpired in the course of almost 3 months. They have two nephews in the Army serving in Iraq. They are about to rotate out and come home for the holidays. They have two dogs with them. I offered both dogs a piece of bacon and my did I make new friends! I had two little shadows everywhere I went.

My whole day was spent cleaning up the site and putting away the non-essentials to get ready for my drive back to reality on Sunday. When all was done, I downed my traditional two cans of Fosters that I always have for my birthday (due to yesterday's adventure I had to postpone my celebration) as well as some Jack Daniel! Then it was a Mountain House meal of spaghetti with fresh minced garlic and parmesan cheese. I just love my Jetboil system!

The winds returned and not as strong, but this time I was in my REI Half Dome tent up against the rock. Through my tent, I could see the canopy of stars on this clear late November evening.

Where I lay my head is home...

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2005

Today is my birthday #39! Yeah, right! Age ain't nothing but a number.

This card is from my co-workers.
Lonepine Campground Site #1. Basecamp.
Sunrise. The clouds were an ominous sign.

















What started out as a routine day turned out to be a hike of a lifetime. As you can plainly see from the photos, it was a nice sunny day except for the clouds at the top of Whitney. Yesterday, I got an updated weather report. A storm front was moving through. Meteorologists, BAH! What do they know!

I left my itinerary with my campground neighbors and my approximate time of return.

I struck out for the trail at around 7:00 a.m. and went up the old stock trail. I slowly paced myself past Lone Pine Lake, Outpost Camp, Mirror Lake, Trailside Meadows, Trail Camp.

At 11:45 a.m., I had reached the cables along the 99 switchbacks. All the trailrunning I have done since August did the trick. I experience no altitude sickness symptoms. No headaches and no breathing problems. I was making good time! Beyond the cables I could tell that this would be the end of the hike and it was time to head home. No sense of taking chances. Besides it was starting to snow.

I immediately went into descent mode. If I were to be snowed in, I was prepared. In my 30-pound Gregory Whitney pack, I packed my sleeping bag, bivy, Jetboil cooking system, 2 Mountain House dehydrated packages (Noodles & Chicken, Beef Stroganoff), 1 liter of water, Katadyn Hiker, Snickers, down jacket, balaclava, gloves, goggles, hunter orange cap. If I die, I die warm!

I literally ran off down the entire way doing the "recon shuffle." I got off the trail around 4:00 p.m. I did stop to take a look around to see the current conditions. It is snowing on my birthday! Yeah buddy!

My next worry was driving out of the portal area. I had snow cables, but my pickup does not come with four-wheel drive.

I got to Lone Pine campground in no time. No worries. As I made my way down along the road, I could see to the north that it was raining in the valley. As I made my way into camp, it started to rain.

Later that night, the winds had to be gusting 40 mph! It was blowing so hard that the tent was pressing against my face as if someone was sitting on the tent itself.

I took out my gear and placed it in the bed of my truck and strapped everything down. I moved my truck forward just to ensure that the tree would not get blown over. I doused the fire with and stirred it to make sure the embers were out. I place huge rocks inside the tent to keep it from blowing away.

I hunkered down in the cab of my truck for the rest of the night.

Happy Birthday, Gary!

THANKSGIVING DAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2005

Thanksgiving Day. After a restful (and warm) sleep, I awoke to cook breakfast. It consisted of six sausage patties, three eggs, Minute Rice (had to have it), and V8 juice. There is nothing like cooking on an open fire. I tried to go over easy on the eggs, but wound up eating them scrambled. Oh well. I know my neighbors downwind from me were envious of me as I know the smell of sausage cooking made their olfactory senses go into overload.

After feasting, I cleaned my dishes, straightened up the campsite and put everything into the bear lockers, I drove to the Manzanar War Relocation Center eight miles north of Lone Pine to pay my respects.

When I was growing up in Spanaway, Washington, my mother was friends with a "nisei" who was interned there. I wish I could turn back the hands of time and relive what this lady had to go through. I drove to the cemetery and said a prayer. I later drove around the camp to collect my thoughts.

The Manzanar War Relocation Center was a Japanese-American internment camp during World War II. Manazanar was one of ten camps at which Japanese-Americans, both citizens and resident "aliens," were detained as a "precautionary measure" during World War II. Located at the foot of the imposing, Manzanar held 10,046 internees at its height. Many Japanese-Americans were forcibly relocated and interned. Most lost everything they owned. The camp was closed in November 1945. Many internees did not want to leave because most had nothing to return to. One hundred and thirty-five people died here, but only 15 were buried there (the rest were buried in hometown cemeteries). There is also a pet cemetery, too.

An obelisk shrine was built in the cemetery by a group of internees. There is an inscription in Japanese on the shrine that reads, "Monument to console the souls of the dead." The shrine currently is draped in strings of origami and has offerings of personal items left by survivors and visitors. The park service periodically itemizes and collects these items in order to gauge the changing feelings of visitors.

I left an origami crane I made myself and placed it at the base of the shrine. The winds will carry my crane to the site where my mother's friend once resided.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2005

I started my trip at 5:10 a.m. I went up the 241-261-91-15-395 route. I made a little detour through the town of Ridgecrest and stopped at the Walmart and purchased the Steve Earle CD with the song, "Copperhead Road." I reached Lone Pine around 10:13 and was able to take a few pictures of the surrounding area. After my photo shoots, I proceeded up Whitney Portal Road to my destination at the Whitney Portal area. My first night at Whitney Portal was a very cold one. At this time of year, the portal area is shaded. The pine trees provided some protection from the elements, but I still froze my butt off. It is amazing how one can stare at a fire for hours to pass the time.


On March 16, 1872 at 2:30 a.m. Lone Pine, California was violently awakened by an earthquake. The magnitude of the quake was about the same as the "Big One" in San Francisco in 1906. It literally leveled the town of Lone Pine. Of the 80 buildings, built of mud and adobe, only 20 structures were left standing. Diaz Lake was formed by this quake. Twenty-six people lost their lives that day in the disaster. A mass grave, located just north of Lone Pine, on the upthrust block of the main fault that caused the quake commemorates the site.

They still do this.










Yes, this is Lone Pine's version of Sex
Drive. A fellow ODCer directed me to this ranch. It belongs to her uncle.



Movie Flats Road and Mt. Whitney. Many westerns were shot here. With its dramatic High Sierra backdrop, the Alabama Hills has long been a favorite location for television and movie companies. Since the early 1920's, movie stars such as Tom Mix, Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry and the Lone Ranger, have been shooting it out with outlaws. Classics such as "Gunga Din," "Springfield Rifle," and "How the West Was Won," were filmed on sites now known as "Movie Flats" and Movie Flat Rd. The area has been used for current movies such as Speilbergs "Tremors" shot in the 80s and most recently, in1992, "Joshua Tree." Some automobile commercials and advertisements are often filmed in this location.
The plaque.




It took me forever to find this granite formation. There are two more. One requires a ladder to get the picture of a lifetime. Maybe next time. The Lone Pine Visitor Center provided me with the "secret map."

I call this "Thumbs Up Rock." This was nearby the rock formation photo I took above.


On the way up.
The Whitney Portal Store is closed for the winter season from November 1 until April 30.
The frozen pond. People actually fish for brown trout here.

RECOMPRESSION

He has spent his life best who has enjoyed it most.

Samuel Butler

I have been invited to some of my co-workers' homes for Thanksgiving. They are trying to coax me out of going to Whitney alone. Bless their hearts. I thanked them for asking me into their homes, but my mind is set and I am going to do what I set out to do.

Alone, possibly yes. Lonely, no. Alone is a state of being, lonely is a state of mind. I am going to have fun!

I had planned to leave at 2:00 a.m., but I will leave at 4:00 a.m. instead. Instead of heading up the 405 to the 5 and to the 14, I will take the 91 to the I-15 to the 395 and northwards to the holy city of Lone Pine. I feel in my heart this may be the better way to go, but I won't know that until I am on the road jamming to the sounds of Metallica, Steve Earle ("Copperhead Road"), Ozzy, Nugent, Dio, REO Speedwagon. Sunrise will be around 6:30 and I hope to be in the middle of nowhere as it peeks above the eastern horizon.

I expect to be at "base camp" around 8:3o a.m. My first stop is the Sierra Cafe for a big, and I mean big, breakfast. I will keep my ears open for any bit of information. The ranger station is closed this time of year and the locals aren't exactly a good source of information. To them, Mt. Whitney is just another mountain. After gorging myself, I will head up to Whitney Portal to claim my spot. The early bird is going to get his "worm."

It doesn't matter if I am the only one at Whitney Portal or one of a few dozen camping up there on Thanksgiving Day. I hope to meet some interesting people. You never know who you might meet.

If my fellow campers are experiencing their first visit ever at Whitney Portal or have never been on the Mt. Whitney Trail, you can guarantee it I will provide them with as much information as I can. I like to share my Mt. Whitney experiences. I am a valuable resource. I am almost a docent in these here parts.

I will take the time to show them around some of the great trails in the area. Meysan Lakes trail. Whitney Portal National Recreation Trail. The Mt. Whitney Trail where I will show them the "dry" route (old stock trail) and the "wet" one (the current trail).

If trail conditions are favorable, I will take them to the John Muir Wilderness sign, Lone Pine Lake and Outpost Camp. I will show them the secret spring near Big Horn Park.

I will tell them about other places to visit while in the area like the town of Lone Pine (the film festival occurs the first half of every October), the Alabama Hills (where some of the greatest western movies were filmed), the Manzanar War Relocation Center (Japanese internment camp during WWII 8 miles north of Lone Pine), and the ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest (home to Methuselah, the oldest living thing on this planet at 4,767 years-old). There are other places too many to mention. They, too, have a rich history.

On the flip side, should I be the only soul on the mountainside, then I will make good use of my time. Come and go and wander whenever I want. I am bringing a lot of food. The my breakfasts I am bringing bacon, eggs, sausage, muffins. For my lunches and dinners, I will dine on various entrees by Mountain House, hot dogs, hamburgers, potato chips, chili. One thing is for certain, if there are any bears hibernating up there, they won't be as long as I am there. Yes, I will be bringing Minute Rice. Can't bring my small rice cooker. Can't find an extension cord long enough to reach Lone Pine. There are plenty of bear lockers in the area so my food will be safe. I just have to make sure I don't cook, eat and sleep in the same clothes. Wouldn't be prudent!

No portable CD player, portable radio, cellular phone (it will be turned off), musical instrument, newspaper. Just me, my digital camera, and the sights and sounds of the Sierra Nevada. I may bring a book or magazine, but I doubt I will ever open up the pages.

I am looking forward to this trip no matter what the circumstances are. Snow or no snow.

To all my fellow bloggers out there, if there are no more posts on this blog long after the Thanksgiving Day weekend, you can assume that I had died enjoying what I like to do most. Common sense will dictate my actions during my stay. I did not request permission to die on this trip. By God, if I had to drive 5 hours to get here I am going to get my time worth!

Accidents do happen. If something does happen, all is taken care of. My organs are to be donated so that others may live to enjoy life the way I have. My body is to be cremated and my ashes scattered at a pre-determined location. I do not want to be buried in a stainless steel box six feet under with a granite marker telling the world when I was born and when I died. No one is going to care in 20 years anyhow. The world is one big burial ground as it is. My ashes will make great fertilizer!

It is said that when people are born, their hands are clenched. When they leave this world, their hands are open. Upon entering life, they tend to grab everything. Upon leaving, everything they had possessed has slipped away.

The only marker I ask is that a bristlecone pine be planted so that others can marvel the beauty of my tree 4,000 years from now.

Move over, Methuselah!

SOLO

Received word this morning that an interested ODClub hiker from the Bay Area will not be joining me for my trip to Mt. Whitney area during the Thanksgiving Day weekend. At least he told me in advance. So it is I who is the only one listed on the activity. I get to be my own leader and follower and sweeper. How about that!

Solo I go.

I wonder who I will meet at Whitney Portal? What will I see? What will the weather be like? That would be interesting. You never know who you might meet, or what you might see, or what you may experience. I may have the whole place to myself with the exception of possibly a bear, a marmot, a chipmunk, a squirrel, a mule deer, a Clark's jay letting me know I am in THEIR house and in THEIR yard!

At home last night while I was going through my my cold weather gear to prepare for my trip, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do on my birthday that I have never done in my life. I came here last year but didn't stay for my birthday on Thanksgiving Day. This time I wanted to make it special to make up for last year. Then it hit me like a bolt out of the blue.

This is what I will do on Friday, November 25:

I will try to do what I always wanted to do but never got around to doing during my summer visits. If during my reconaissance hike on Wednesday I find the trails are clear of snow, I will run from Whitney Portal to Lone Pine Lake and back. That's a 5.6 mile roundtrip "run" starting from 8,365 feet above sea level to 9,960 feet. You can guarantee I will run a little further and top out at 10,000 feet before I make my descent.

I know someone out there has done this and it was a walk in the park for them. For me, it's a challenge. I remember a quote I once read: Never back away from a challenge if it is something you really want to do. Duck it, and it will nag you the rest of your life.

Time to put that "nag" to rest!

What I will do to have fun.