On our way White Mountain Peak, we stopped for a couple of short hikes to break up the 6+ hour drive. Here are some photos and info on the places we stopped:
Fossil Falls
“Fed by the rains and snows of the last Ice Age, the Owens River once flowed from Owens lake down through this narrow valley between the Coso and Sierra Nevada Mountain ranges. Several times during the last 100,000 years, the discharge from the Owens river has been great enough to form a vast interconnected system of lakes in what are now the arid basins of the Mojave Desert. The rugged and primitive features of Fossil Falls are the produce of volcanic activity. As recent as 20,000 years ago, lava from the local volcanic eruptions poured into the Owens River channel. The erosional forces of the Owens River acted upon this volcanic rock, forming the polished and sculptured features that now can be seen at Fossil Falls. The red cinder cone visible to the north is the result of the violent ejection of trapped gases and molten material into the air from vent in the earth’s crust. Cooling quickly when exposed to the air, the molten material formed a porous rock known as scoria, which built up around the original vent forming a cone-shaped hill.” source: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/ridgecrest/fossil.html
The gallery below (~35 photos) loads slowly. Thank you for your patience.
Patriarch Grove
“Its splendid remoteness and moonscape appearance gives the Patriarch Grove a surreal atmosphere. Bristlecone pines and limber pines dot the landscape with a background view of the Great Basin in Nevada. Patriarch Grove is a favorite location for filming and photography in the early morning light. Picnic tables, restrooms (vault toilet) and a self-guided nature trail are available.” source: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/inyo/specialplaces/?cid=stelprdb5129900
The gallery below (~35 photos) loads slowly. Thank you for your patience.
Gear
The stops were short and we didn’t hike that far, but I still go out with some of my gear:
- WoolX Merino Wool
- Lightweight Merino Wool T-shirt
- I wore my black tee, after using it in the gym 4 days this week. I also wore it for the White Mountain Peak hike the next day.
- Merino Wool Boxers
- Also wore these for White Mountain Peak the next day.
- Lightweight Merino Wool T-shirt
- Oboz Traverse Lows
- They’ve become my goto footwear for hikes where I don’t need waterproofing or the protection of my Beartooth BDrys.
- Cotton Carrier STRAPSHOT EV1
- I used our Nikon D80 for most of the pictures I took on this trip. The Strapshot carried the D80 well, but I prefer the Camera Vest for a large camera.
- Geigerrig
- Rig 710
- Used it to carry my camera gear. Nice little pack for short hikes.
- Hydration Pack Engine
- I was looking forward to trying this bladder our again at 14,000+ feet, so it was my primary means of carrying water on this trip.
- Insulated Drink Tube
- This was an interesting weekend to test this tube. The temps at Fossil Falls were in the 90s and we saw temps in the 30s on White Mountain Peak. More on this later.
- Rig 710
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