Californian or Bust

We found ourselves with some time to wait and were determined to make the best of it. We set off for a day trip with the aim of seeing all the big sights of LA.

First off Hollywood Boulevard. We unicycled from our nearest carpark to the Hollywood and Highland Center. On the way we were confronted by a vagrant running across the road with an armful of clothes. He was followed by a security guard a few seconds later. The vagrant was more motivated and the security guard had no hope of catching him. A bit later we were standing beside a couple with no masks and another anti-masker complemented them on their choice not to wear a mask. It all happens in LA.

We had a quick look around the area that has the academy awards, had some glances at the street performers and super hero costumes and then had a look for some stars on the street.

Next a drive through Rodeo drive and Beverly Hills. Lots of Mercedes and Range Rovers with a smattering of sports cars.

Up Mount Hollywood in search of the Hollywood sign. This area is actually a huge park. We didn't do much research and parked in the wrong area. Instead of a 1 mile hike this was to be a 6 mile trek. We took off on the unicycles however they were only partially charged. We got lost and ended up at the top of the hill beside the sign with flat batteries. We decided near enough and scooted back down. The regenerative braking was enough to enough charge that we didn't have to walk too much.

We had a bit over a week before we needed to get Lucy on her flight so it was time for a boys road trip / shake down cruise for the truck. The plan was to go up the east side of the Sierra Mountains, cross at Yosemite and then back down the west side.

There was to be fireworks at Big Bear Lake for the 4th of July which is at an elevation of about 7,500 ft above sea level. The idea of getting up high was very attractive as it was pretty hot down at sea level. Big Bear Lake was named after the Grizzly Bears that once inhabited the area. Unfortunately there is no Grizzlies left although they have re-introduced black bears in recent times. The fire trail getting in to our IOverlander campsite was very tight and pretty rough with lots of overhanging branches. The truck had no trouble although we did end up with some new scratches and a few bits of tree hanging from the solar panels. I think they would all polish out. For the future I think the truck will get us anywhere we want to go. A battery powered chainsaw pole trimmer will help for the future as on the way down Macklin had to spend quite a bit of time climbing up and down to cut branches away from the roof. I actually purchased one online however it was stolen from the porch before I had time to collect it.

The weather was beautiful. The view fantastic. We even road the electric unicycles down the mountain bike track into town and back.

From Ridgecrest we needed to get some height again. It was too hot. We headed off for the Lone Pine area of the Alabama Hills. This is the area where many of the Hollywood western movies were filmed including 'Broken Arrow', 'G.I. Jane', 'Gladiator','The Badlands', the list goes on. Hundreds of movies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_shot_in_Lone_Pine

We camped next to Hogs Back Creek where we saw glistening "gold" in the water. After previously being in the gold mining area of Ridgecrest I took a fairly keen interest in being absolutely confident that it was in fact Iron Pyrites. It sure looked impressive though. Big buildups of gold flakes wherever a eddy was in the creek.

There was still snow higher on the mountains even early July and the creek was being fed directly from the melt. It had been a few days since we last had a shower so I took the opportunity to have a dip. Let's say it was a very quick dip.

After a couple of nights we headed back down to explore Mobius Arch before heading further north towards Mammoth Lakes. We took a wrong turn on the walking track and headed down Mobius Arch Circuit which I thought would be a circuit to Mobius Arch. After forty-five minutes walking and not finding the arch we backtracked and saw the arch across about five hundred metres from the carpark along a different track.

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest - Inyo National Forest

While we were at Mobius Arch we got to chatting to another NorthStar truck camper owner that was admiring our rig. They suggested it was worth the drive up to the Bristlecone forest on the way to Mammoth Lakes. We thought why not. The Bristlecones are ancient prehistoric trees.

The drive up was steep and narrow. At the top at 9,500ft we had a view down the valley and across to the other part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We have seen so many fantastic views that we are starting to get a bit jaded and don't spend long here.

It does give us a chance to test the diesel heater at altitude though. To my surprise it runs although you can smell the diesel so it is running rich due to the rarified air.

Once we get down and back on the highway I noticed a vibration. I stopped at the next town to investigate and discover that the previous drives along rough rock strewn tracks have taken their toll and the front tire has thrown a belt. We go to the nearest tire dealer and have it swapped for the spare. We plan on replacing all tires before we head to South America so I didn't want to go replacing tires now.

We camped just outside Mammoth Lakes for the night and went up to the National park the next day. We had a great day electric unicycling around the park up to Rainbow Falls, Devils Postpile, and around Twin Lakes.

Lucy spent the evening chasing chipmunks. Next morning she could hardly get out of bed. Fearing snakebite we examined her closely and found a chipmunk bite on her rear leg. We suspect they ganged up on her. Last thing we need when she is on a plane in a few days. We put some antiseptic on it and hoped it wouldn't get infected. Thankfully the next day it was significantly improved.

Due to Covid19 Yosemite was only allowing limited visitor numbers and I couldn't get a pass. This meant that instead of crossing the Sierra Nevada at Yosemite we would have to travel an extra hour further north and cross at the Senora Pass.

One the way we passed:

Mono Tufa Lake.

A salt water lake once used for Navy training. It has petrified sand formations around its rim and is used for migrating birds.

For lunch we stopped at:

Travertine hot springs

Near Bridgeport, this is a large area of springs with some formed baths. Some are very hot so care needs to be taken. Another opportunity for a bit of a clean up. The formations are very interesting in that they spring flows along a ridge formed by the stone buildup. It is wonderful that these springs are so easy to get to and free.

Senora Pass

A very narrow by US standards pass that gets back up into the snow line again. Not recommended for towing travel trailers. More views and waterfalls.

Now on the west side of the Sierra's we hug the foothills as we head south for spectacular views although again the road was very narrow. Thankfully very little traffic.

Bull Buck Tree

We stay in the foot hills and head into the Sierra National Forest in search of the Bull Buck Tree. This is another of the most massive redwood trees in the forest. We camp in a clearing beside all the felled redwoods waiting to go to the mill. It is a bit surprising that trees of this size are still being felled for timber. It is hard to believe that it is sustainable when these trees are thousands of years old.

After a couple of attempts we eventually get some directions and find the tree. As expected it is massive and estimated to be 2700 years old.

We need to start to move to get Lucy on the flight. We go down through Fresno for a look at the fruit growing area and miss the turnoff to a IOverlander bush camp and end up at an IOverlander carpark at the back of a school. It turns out to be an interesting stop. At the side of the carpark is a graded track that on talking to some locals goes about forty miles to Lake Lyon. It is the remains of the railway line put in for getting timber. We go for a little scoot along it in the cool of the afternoon and find the aquaducts again originally put in for miners and timber getters still working and maintained. Earlier we had read about this system when we were up in the mountains.

Next day we head back to Riverside to prepare Lucy for her flight and to start getting ourselves ready for the flight the following week. We do feel refreshed. After spending nearly a month working on the truck it was really good to spend ten days or so sight seeing again.