Sierras

As we prepared for this trip, it was much easier to get ready for than the last one because we weren’t going for as long. We loaded up the snacks, food, and organized the bins again and were heading out bright and early the next morning. Once everything was loaded up, we headed out to one of our favorite places, the Eastern Sierra Mountains. We also brought our favorite camp buddy, Mr. Bubba, Charlie’s pitbull. We got on the road about 5:45am and landed in some classic California traffic. Once we surpassed the traffic, it was an open road for miles heading up the 395. While driving up the 395 you have a mixture of desert, black volcanic rocks, rivers, and best of all the unreal mountains topped with snow. On our way up, we made a pit stop to overlook Owen’s River for lunch. One direction we stared at the beautiful view of the Sierra mountains with snow and then the other side of us was a small pond that waterfalled down into the snaking of Owen’s River. We ended up making our favorite go-to lunch meal, wraps with lots of veggies, with a side of delicious HU crackers and cold brew coffees to top it off. After lunch we headed back onto the road to our first camp spot of the trip.

This is our go to lunch while out! super quick and easy

Home sweet home. Our GFC offers us such a cozy basecamp while in the backcountry!

These mountains just make you sit back in awe

The Eastern Sierra Mountains make you feel so small, but at home. We have explored these mountains since we first started camping, yet there is still so much to see. We have barely Scratched the surface of what these mountains have to offer. It’s a very cool feeling to experience this sense of ever-increasing unknowingness of the area. We keep coming back to the Sierras to explore, and the more we spend time in them, the more apparent it becomes that there are endless places to see. The more we think we know these areas, the more we are surprised with countless new backdrops in these beautiful mountains. It seems like every single mountain road can take one to another paradise if they just have the desire to take the time to explore.

We ended up in a location that we had never been to previously. It was a beautiful spot nestled in the foothills of some truly breathtaking mountains that towered over the plain on which we were staying. We spent the afternoon reading, napping, and climbing some of the rocks around our camp. It’s always nice to take the time to explore around camp. It really results in a deeper experience , rather than just setting up camp and staying near the vehicle. We had a lovely evening spent around the campfire and finished off the night watching Star Wars in the GFC.

We woke up the following morning with the stars still dancing for the mountains, and the sounds of grinding coffee spoke out to the sun, asking it to light up this Eastern Sierra amphitheater for us. Mornings spent laying in the camper waiting for sunrise is such a special time of the day for us. Being outdoors is so special to us because it offers silence from life both literally and figuratively. Viewing the sunrise from our camper has become one of our favorite pastimes. It gives time to reflect and connect internally. We enjoyed a nice breakfast in camp and then set out on the trail to check out the backcountry of this area. On the start of the trail, we stopped by a trailhead of an insane looking hike that we had spotted from camp, and noted this in our minds to hopefully circle back before we headed home to do the trail. Our trail offered countless views that were very diverse. In the span of just an hours’ worth of off-roading, we got to see pine trees, creeks, towering peaks, spanning valleys, snowfields, and green grass fields. We are very thankful for our Toyota allowing us to go into the backcountry with confidence, knowing that we can most likely take on whatever terrain we may encounter. Because of our vehicle, we’re able to reach areas that are rugged, untouched, and in a natural state. We are very thankful to be able to do this often.

We looped back to the highway, aired up, and went to our next destination for the day; the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. This relatively unknown forest nestled in the White Mountains is a protected area home to the oldest trees in the world. Yes, in the world. Some of these trees are older than 4000 years old. It was fascinating to hike around these trees and read about the history of them. These resilient trees are very interesting to observe. The austere climate of the slopes they find themselves on result in crazy shapes of their limbs. After hiking around, we had lunch in the parking lot and Bubba had a failed attempt at catching a chipmunk who seemed to taunt him, knowing that there was zero chance he would be caught. We headed back down the mountain, marveling at the incredible panoramic view of the mountain tops opposite of us. We went down the 395 to set up a campsite for the night. Our good friends Chris and Mandy were going to be meeting us that night so we made sure to set up in a camp that would be easy to access late in the dark. We were fortunate to have a really cool campsite sitting at the base of tall rock features. We had a great afternoon of hanging out, playing cards, and enjoying a beautiful view of the marvelous Mount Whitney portal! We put a movie on and waited for the sound of a Toyota engine announcing the arrival of our friends! Bubby thought they were intruders to camp and tried to act tough when they showed up, even though he was growling from layers of down blankets in our camper lol. He ended up making amends with Chris and Mandy the following morning however, and they became big fans of him over the course of the trip.

The trees are shaped very uniquely by the weather on theses slopes!

This area always makes the evening show so special

The next morning, Breanne made everyone her (should be world famous) pancakes during which we thoroughly enjoyed gorging themselves to get the day going. We loaded up camp, and headed back up the 395 to get to the truck trail that we wanted to camp off of that night. We got to dirt, aired down, and went off with a sense of excitement for what the day would bring. We got to explore some abandoned mines in the nearby area, which were very cool! It was fun to bust out the flashlights and disappear into the rocksides, thinking of what it would have been like working in these mines in the old days! The trail we were running that day gave us lots of changes of scenery. We started in the desert and slowly rose our way towards more mountainous terrain. We drove to the top of a 10,000 foot peak to have lunch and enjoy the views before hitting more track, in search of camp. After another hour or so of wheeling, we made our way into the camp that Charlie had mapped out previously. We had never been in this area before, but this campsite was truly remarkable. We camped at the base of an insanely big rock (probably 75 feet high), and looked out onto the skyline of the snow capped Eastern Sierras! There was even a little secluded rock room behind camp that was host to the fire ring and stadium seating. It was a great afternoon spent lounging, climbing on rocks, playing cards, snacking, and talking. We made dinner and set up the campfire for the night's festivities! From the glow of the fire, we enjoyed the company greatly. We shared stories, talked about this and that, played cards, and made smores. As we lay in bed that night, we closed out the day reflecting on how that was truly a perfect day. Good views, hours of offroading, exploring, and a breathtaking campsite to end the day.

It was fascinating to see the old mining camps

The boys always enjoy getting to do some wheeling

Our campsite had such a great view of the mountains

This was the campfire “room” that was spoken of.

After being bundled up in our warm sleeping bags, amazing Aeronaut quilt, and with the help of Bubb’s body heat, Charlie made us steaming hot coffee to start the morning off. The wonderful aroma of coffee filled the GFC. We then made a quick breakfast of warm, creamy oats before we found our way back into the truck for another full day of exploring. We packed up everything fairly quickly, being able to get on the road early. Off-roading is such a surreal experience because a majority of the time we don’t go the same way we came. We continued forward on the dirt road surrounded by the snow capped mountains, pine trees, and unparalleled rocks all around. While snaking our way down the mountain, we made tight turns, went over snow patches, and inched our way past branches and trees until we reached the road. At this point it was still fairly early and the air was still crisp out when we got to the road that would lead us back into town. We took the twisted mountain road back into Bishop and grabbed some lunch at our favorite açai place and continued onto another trail for more fun. We were so excited to show Chris and Mandy one of our favorite spots we had gone to a couple years ago when we first started off roading. Although on a time limit, we were determined to make our way back to the breathtaking, secluded spot. As we headed back onto dirt, climbing the mountain side, around and over rocks we made our way up, inching closer to our final destination. We knew that we were getting closer and closer, until we ran into an off camber section enclosed in snow. This meant we were unable to move forward to the lake. Gutted, we made the best of it. Floating on the snow patch, and throwing snowballs for Bubba to fetch. Reversing back to turn around and head back down. Regardless of not being able to reach the final push of the journey, we experienced more memories with good company. The terrain had changed so much in the past couple years, showing off what mother nature can do in a short period of time. The wind, rain, and snow has made deep ruts within the dirt, rocks had fallen, new growth of plants and trees. While taking in all the changes, we made our way to the bottom to air back up. At the bottom, we admired the mountains and used the binoculars to seek out where we would be hiking the next day. It was time for us to say our goodbyes to Chris and Mandy as they headed back home and we continued on to our next destination.

As we parted ways with our good friends we went back toward where we stayed the first night. A quick stop to the grocery store for more chips, salsa, and water was a necessity then back on the road. At this point a majority of our day had been in the truck. That makes for a long day. The afternoon was slipping away from us. As we approached the dirt road we were familiar with, we made our way past multiple people enjoying their afternoon bouldering on rocks and enjoying each other's company. The rock climbing and bouldering community is such a tight knit group and so entertaining to sit and watch. Continuing on the road we once were on, we saw the sign for our hike we intended on conquering the next morning. Approaching our spot for the night, it was a perfect little nook surrounded by Birch trees that lined a creek flowing gracefully behind camp. After having chips, salsa, and avocado for a snack, we started making dinner. I’d like to think we are getting pretty good at making healthy, quick dinner recipes. It definitely helps us by chopping up all the veggies prior to our trip, so all we have to do is toss them in whatever we are making. As we ate our last dinner of the trip, we gazed at the sunset falling behind the mountain tops, making them gleam with yellow and orange. The swift clouds above quickly rushed their way in making the night chill down quickly. Once we cleaned up from dinner, it was time for us to make sure everything was set to go for our early wake up call to hike. This would be our first sunrise hike. We laid everything out beside the truck, packing our water, snacks, food for Bubba, and making sure our shoes and clothes were laid out so there wasn’t anything that we would need to do at 4:30am. We attempted to watch a little more of Star Wars as we laid under the stars in the tent, but we both fell quickly asleep not long after our heads hit the pillow.

Charlie woke up first, proceeding to do his morning coffee routine, which filled the tent with the glorious smell of coffee. It was 4:30am and Bubba was not happy with us being up when it was still pitch black outside. He was nestled under the quilt, fast asleep still and did not want to be bothered. We sipped on the warmness of the coffee, eager to start that hike. When we got out of the tent we bundled up, grabbed our headlamps, cold brews, and hiking poles and started hiking up to the trailhead. The hike itself was estimated as an 8.6 mile hike, however we camped about .5 miles from the trailhead, which made the hike even longer. Starting a hike before the sun has woken up the sky is a feeling of peace and excitement. There was so much unknown, but it also made the hike seem easier because you couldn’t see how steep the trail was until the sun awoke. Bubba lagged behind, unsure of the sunrise hike idea, but he trekked along the entire way not once needing to lay down because he was fatigued. As we were conquering this mountainside, Charlie came to a halt. No words were coming out of his mouth and then started to yell because we spotted an unknown animal ahead. Our hearts raced a little faster because of this unknown animal in our tracks, we then realized it was just a family of deer enjoying their peaceful early morning roaming the sacred mountainside that they call home. On our way up the winding trail to our destination, we saw the first sign of the sun waking up and kissing the sky. It was breathtaking seeing the first sight of the sun coming up. Still dark with the stars twinkling, yet a golden glow coming up from behind the mountains afar. Continuing on our path we reached fallen snow on the route which we drifted over to reach the other side. Once we finished the first part of the hike we came across a river that rushed by the trail. In the meadow there was an old mining cabin to the right. we were Blown away by the historic site of the first mining cabin, that once many years ago, was a working mining camp. There was so much history along this trail and we knew there was more to come. Charlie led the way through the different sceneries and terrain and we started approaching the top. Below us on the left we saw sight of the first lake with a waterfall rushing down making its way into the river. Rounding a corner the sunrise lit the mountain side and set the mountain on fire with the glow of the sun. Once we came around the final corner we ran into the first cabin at the main part of the mining camp. There was a cluster of cabins in surprisingly great shape covered with snow. The weather got a lot cooler once we reached the top of the mountain because we ascended about 2,100 feet reaching a frozen lake surrounded by pine trees and powdered snow. Gazing at the horizon overlooking where we set up camp, the world felt so big. Amazed by our surroundings we sat and admired the views as we ate a quick snack before descending back to camp. Feeling more fatigued descending down the mountain, we quickly made our way back to camp. It felt like a blink of an eye going back down as opposed to going up. Approaching camp, bubba quickly laid down from our long, strenuous hike, he was exhausted. Both of us agreed we didn’t want to clean or cook anything prior to leaving camp, so we decided it would be best to pack up quickly and head into town for coffee and breakfast to end the trip. Looney Bean is our go to coffee spot in Bishop and they have some delicious breakfast choices. It was a nice treat to have someone cook for us after a few days of camp cooking. Our first sunrise hike and last excursion of the trip had come to a close. Maybe next time we do a sunrise hike, it will be the day before leaving, because tired and sweaty, we still had a 6 hour drive home. Each trip we go on makes us fall more and more in love with the adventure that nature has to offer. Every adventure we go on teaches us more lessons and what works and what doesn’t. We have found more places to explore and favorite places to go back and visit. The Eastern Sierras Mountains is a very special place for us and we can’t wait to go back for more exploring.

Headed Out Again

Utah

Open Trails Open Minds