Lone Pine Trip

Lone Pine Trip

Day 1: Yosemite to Mammoth

It all started back in 2019. Linda and I were on our annual trip to our timeshare in Sedona, Arizona and we were headed to Robber’s Roost. It’s a hike up to a cave located off a cliff where supposed bank robbers and others of the lawless sort would hang out to avoid the law. It’s awesome if you’ve never done it before!

Robbers Roost

Anyway, it’s way off the beaten path and you must travel on a heavily wash-boarded dirt road for 10+ miles before you encounter a 4x4-only trail for the last couple of miles to get to the trailhead. I wanted to take that portion of the trail so badly! But we couldn’t, so we hiked that last couple of miles, and on that hike, we realized that we needed a 4x4. We needed a Jeep! Those of you who know us, know that we’re frequently up in the mountains and a Jeep just seemed like it would fit our lifestyle.

Fast forward to mid-2021 and the goal was realized when we finally got the Jeep. And, ever since that time, I’ve wanted to head up to the Lone Pine area and explore the Alabama Hills. This trip has been bouncing around my head for a long time now. We were supposed to have had the rooftop tent on the Jeep and done this completely as an overlanding trip. That would have worked out if we could have left in the mid-October timeframe. But, for November, it would be too cold to chance it, so the rooftop tent was scrapped. And I’m so glad we made that decision because as it turned out, we would have frozen!

Check out our video diary of this trip!

This trip was loosely planned around Linda’s birthday, November 2nd. We would leave on Monday the 6th and head to Yosemite and up Tioga Pass to Mammoth for the first night. The second day we would head out early and on to Lone Pine and spend the day (and part of day 3) exploring the Alabama Hills.

From there we would head just inside of Death Valley and explore the Cerro Gordo Trail, an old salt mine with an aerial tram that leads down the mountain side to what was a lake on the west side at some point. From there we would head over to the Trona Pinnacles  and then to Kernville for night 3.

To be honest, it’s a very true statement to say this trip was loosely planned. It was more of an idea than of any official planning. We made hotel reservations only a few days before we left but this ended up being a big part of the fun of this trip. The fact that we had no serious plans and would just go where we felt led for that day.

On Monday, November 6th, we were slow to leave the house (much to my dismay). We had some work items to wrap up before we left, and I was feeling a bit stressed about our late start. We made it to Oakhurst around 11 am and neither of us had eaten anything so we stopped and grabbed a Sandwich at Deli Delicious before heading on up to Yosemite.

By the time we did hit the entrance gate, the ranger told us that they would be closing Tioga Pass Road that day at 5 pm and if we were headed that way, we’d best be in a hurry. We typically take a trip to Yosemite every year on or around Linda’s birthday because the fall colors are just spectacular in early to mid-November in Yosemite and this year was no exception. The colors were brilliant 🍁🍂. Deep shades of red to vibrant almost glowing shades of yellow and many hues of orange. Linda and I discussed the fact that this was, but a hint of what heaven would be like and that we couldn’t even comprehend the additional colors we’d be able to see there.

As we headed up to Tioga Pass Road, the fall colors gradually started to fade out in favor of a more rocky and evergreen forested landscape. All the years I backpacked; The Ansel Adams Wilderness was always my favorite. The small remote alpine lakes set against beautiful granite rock hillsides are truly breathtaking. And the lakes were everywhere too.

We took our 1-year-old Belgian Malinois dog Kobe with us. This would be his first multi-day adventure and he was so excited. We stopped multiple times off the side of the road and did some small hikes to some lakes that we found, or creeks and meadows, and let Kobe run around and stretch his legs. We’re pretty sure this is the most fun he’s ever had in his short life so far.

It was super cold up on the pass and halfway through, it started snowing and a Winter Weather Advisory popped up on the navigation screen in our Jeep. We made it out of there just in time and had we left on Tuesday, we would have been turned around. Our timing ended up being perfect!

We made it to Mammoth just as the day was waning and headed to our hotel for the night at The Tamarack Lodge. We were fortunate to be able to stay in a small rustic cabin for the night complete with a wood-burning stove which we happily utilized.

After we unpacked and settled in for the night, we headed over to the Mammoth Brewing Company for a quick dinner where we split a small wood-fired pizza, salad, and some pretzel bites.

The next morning, we rose to 26°, and snow was everywhere. It was truly a winter wonderland! We donned our hiking boots and jackets and took Kobe out for a short walk. Kobe absolutely loves the snow and could not contain his excitement.

What an incredible 1st day we had had on our journey up to Mammoth and, this trip was only going to get better.

Stay tuned for Day 2!