This is the perfect time of year to make that long drive up to the north for the Owens Valley area. This is going to be a fairly easy run with some beautiful photo opportunities.
Difficulty: Mostly a rating of
five on a scale of ten but some may rate slightly higher. High-clearance 4WD are required, the stock Xterra minus the step rails ought to do fine. Expect a rough road surface with rocks, substantial sections of one lane road and sections steep enough to cause traction problems, but that’s what the 4WD is for.
Portions of the trail have a rough road surface with rocks up to 9 inches but there will be a reasonable driving line. Portions have steep grades. Most of the trail is a dirt road that is easily passable. There are some areas with deep ruts. This is a “stock friendly” trail.
Scenic Rating: 10 out of 10. The views from the Inyo Mountain ridges to the west across the Owens Valley are among the most beautiful in the world. Mount Whitney and several other +14,000 foot peaks will appear to the west.
Distance: about 50 miles off road.
Communications: FRS channel 9 privacy code 24, 2M amateur radio 146.52
Weather: Day time highs at altitude in the upper 60's, night time lows lower 40's. Below in Lone Pine day time highs in the upper 90's, night time lows around 60.
The fire danger is high so gas stoves and barbeques are required.
Friday 3 SeptemberCamping at Dias Lake Campground: 200 sites for tents or RVs, picnic tables, fire grills, flush and vault toilets, drinking water. Leashed pets. $10 per vehicle. Located three miles south of Lone Pine. Beware of the raccoons and mosquitoes. The lake is at 2890 feet so it’s going to be a bit warm during the day but those who which to arrive in the evening will find the weather much more comfortable. I plan on staying there to make Saturday’s trail easier.
Saturday 4 SeptemberGeneral meet at 10:30 AM at the Lone Pine McDonalds, 601 South Main Street, Lone Pine CA 93545
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Lone+Pine,+CA&sll=33.944599,-117.218901&sspn=0.016537,0.033023&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Lone+Pine,+Inyo,+California&ll=36.6024,-118.061917&spn=0.002009,0.004128&z=19.
Lone Pine has a few gas stations to fill up at. It’s a long 200 mile/3.5 hour ride out of the LA area is long and but the but the Swansea/Cerro Gordo trail is nice and there will be plenty of photo opportunities along the way. One of the major features of the trail is an abandoned 14 mile long aerial tramway which was used to haul salt from the Saline Lake. The altitude has preserved much of the tramway’s timbers from the 1911-1930 era. The area features many silver and lead mines dating back to the 1860’s.
We’re going to start with the first portion of the Cerro Gordo road starting at the site of some ruins at N36 29.19, W117 51.94 which is about 12 miles south east of Lone Pine. The trail quickly climbs towards Cerro Gordo Peak with the private town of Cerro Gordo ((760) 876-5030) which offers tours for a price. The American Hotel was used by Ghost Hunters in one of their investigations. Once past the ghost town we’ll join the Swansea Trail and head north. Along the trail we’ll pass the Mexican Spring and Craig Canyon before visiting the Burgess Mine and New York Peak area. There are several disbursed campgrounds at altitude (+9000 feet) which will make for cooler temperatures. I’m hoping to set up camp, eat dinner, and then do a sunset run to take photos of the sunset across Owens Valley of the “New York Skyline”. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and give us some color with some clouds.
If the camping areas up there are filled we’ll continue from the New York Peak south and hit pavement at the trail end approximately 10 miles south east of Lone Pine on Calfiornia 136 at N36 31.46’, W117 54.26’. From there it could be back to the comforts of Diaz Lake.
Sunday 5 SeptemberSunday it’s an easy day finishing the downhill portion of Swansea. If we end up at Diaz Lake Saturday night or for those with energy and want to make Sunday a longer day the Alabama Hills/Movie Flat trails (Massey central mountains #1) is a very easy fairly scenic area that harkens back to the thrilling days of yesteryear … hi ho Silver! Many westerns were filmed here staring in the 1920s through today – The Lone Ranger (1952-1954), Gunga Din (1939 with Cary Grant and Douglas Fairbanks), Tremors (1990 with Kevin Bacon), Joshua Tree (1993 with Dolph Lungren) and many other TV shows and movies. Movie Flat Trail is purely optional but if we take it we ought to be done with the area by noon time and back to Lone Pine for a hot meal prior to the long drive home.
Depending on how I feel I might head north through Independence and run up Mazouka Peak and camp a third night on Papoose Flat.
Monday 6 SeptemberLabor Day!
Reference: Massey and Wilson’s Backcountry Adventures SoCal desert #47 and #48 (and central mountain #1 optionally).
