Benton Hot Springs - November 2018

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Double Sixes

We woke Saturday morning to 23° outside. We overnighted at a favorite spot off of highway 120 east of Sagehen Summit. The surprise was the smoke. Friday evening had crisp clear skies. This morning we could not see Glass Mountain. The Sierra was gone. The only large wildfire we knew of was the Camp Fire, the fire that took so many lives and destroyed the town of Paradise, California.

In a straight line, Paradise was more than 200 miles away.

We were celebrating my birthday with a two night stay at Benton. We could check in after three pm so we had several hours to explore prior to easing into restorative hot spring water. Our destination was the Crowley Columns, a very unique geologic formation we've wanted to visit for several years. It is along the shore of Crowley Reservoir, one of the many Los Angeles Water and Power facilities in the Owens Valley.

The shore is accessed by a long narrow 4x4 road. We walked one rocky downhill section prior to driving. We parked on a bluff overlooking the reservoir.

The majestic view of the Sierra rising up from the west shore is completely obscured by smoke. We climbed down to the columns.

This is such an amazing sight.

I could attempt to explain this formation but this deserves a professional narrative. Here is a link to a story from the Los Angeles Times. Be sure and read the article and watch the video.

Researchers Determine Origin of Mysterious Stone Columns.

The feature stretches north along the shore line where wave action has exposed the columns.

Here are a few photos to illustrate the columns buried in the volcanic tuff.

There is a small world story here. The woman, Robin, in the video and article is a friend of ours. We do not see Robin often enough. Geology is a second career for her after selling her business and retiring. We met Robin and John years ago when their employees called the authorities to report them missing when both were not at work Monday morning. A bit of investigative work led to the conclusion they could be stranded at a remote mountain cabin they were known to ski into. A good old fashion Sierra blizzard hit during the weekend. We were launched to find them. We did and they are such nice people, we became friends. John joined our group and was a strong and valuable member of our team on several search and rescue missions. Robin earned a very unique distinction a few years later. We rescued her a second time.

Lately we occasionally run into Robin on the east side when she is out on field sessions with students.

We stopped along the shore to take measure of the smoke. Across Crowley Reservoir, the cirque that holds Convict Lake is completely obscured.

We enjoyed our first visit to the Crowley Columns.

We crawled our way back up the road and headed east. We knew Tub One was waiting for us.

Between soaks we walked, ate dinner, walked some more. We climbed up to the cemetery again.

We slept like babies, especially after the land yacht huge motorhome right next to us killed the generator. We still pity those unable to cut the umbilical. The stars above or television inside? That's an easy choice for us.

We were up early the next morning. It was my birthday and the Lady celebrated doing something she had never done before - wake up in bed with a sixty-six year old man. Of course, we celebrated with a morning walk.

We wandered down to Bishop to top off our propane tank. We got it filled for free - my birthday - at the Ace Hardware store. As we walked around Bishop, the Lady mentioned her belief that the restorative healing hot spring water at Benton had knocked ten years off my age - rolled the odometer back to 56!

We were both feeling quite feisty so we went searching for a possible rock art site. It started with a good hike across a valley to access the bottom of a steep canyon.

We had, on a couple previous visits, explored the gorge from the top. We looked down into one vertical gorge and hoped we could find a way into the bottom. It was a steep scramble up the canyon. We reached the bottom of the gorge to find it blocked with a huge chockstone.

We did not want to impact the bush that blocked a stem move to check out the polished chute. We'll dream about what might be in the possible chamber above. Maybe we'll return.

We returned to our campsite just as the setting sun played out its drama on Montgomery Peak.

There was a cold wind. We bundled up and walked. The quiet here was so enjoyable; the surroundings so relaxed.

We walked until after dark

We returned to a long soak with the star filled sky overhead. No "shooters" for the Lady, but it was a great night, how could it not be? I asked if we could soak until the odometer rolled back to 46. The Lady said no and we climbed out, toweled off, and climbed up into the camper.

We returned home the next morning. Our quick trip was an excellent way to celebrate double sixes.