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The Dunes
The winds calmed and turned out to not be a concern. We spent the day on a wonderful little trip down memory lane. We drove up Emigrant Wash to Harrisburg Flats and then dropped down into Wildrose. After a pleasant stop at the site of the old Wildrose Spring stage station, we descended into Panamint Valley.
The gash that Hall Canyon cuts into the western face of the Panamint Mountains always has fascinated us.
My first visit to Panamint City was in 1971 with my friend Lyle. We drove up the canyon in the dark in Lyle’s pride and joy, a two-wheel drive Toyota Hi Lux pickup. We tucked into a pull out a couple of miles below Panamint City. In the morning we hiked up and explored the ghost town. The Lady and I first hiked up to Panamint City in the late 1980’s. The big story then was the wicked flood that had wiped out the road and scoured the narrows down to bedrock. Our trip down memory lane included a stop at the current trailhead at the old Chris Wicht Camp.
The old mine camp burned several years ago.
We noticed that along Indian Ranch and Surprise Canyon Roads, The Bureau of Land Management now has designated dispersed campsites to help address the impacts of the hordes that descend on this area.
We needed to find someplace quieter (there were three occupied sites along these roads and three vehicles parked at the trailhead). We turned north and drove out Lake Hill Road and settled in as the sun was casting long shadows.
We walked out on the playa in the evening.
The rising full moon worked its magic on the land and on us.
I wandered before dawn the following morning and awaited the first rays of the sun.
The Lady finished her morning fussing in the camper and joined me.
“Let’s go up there. We haven’t been up there yet!” she announced.
It was a grand place to finish our morning coffee.
From our campsite it was approximately 5.5 miles to the Panamint Dunes. Our last visit to the dunes was back in 2010. This continued to be a fine trip down memory lane. The Lady, as always, was happy and ready to go.
I switched the camera over to monochrome as we hiked north.
It was all uphill to the dunes but the real climbing began when we reached them.
We stopped at a high point, dropped the packs, relaxed, and snacked. On this barren sand, a small dune beetle climbed up and joined us.
The views were expansive.
We wandered. We wanted to see it all.
We took a second break and stretched out on the sand at another high point. I believe we both nodded off to sleep.
Later in the afternoon we began our trek back to the truck and camper.
The only other tracks we found on the dunes were from small birds and ravens.
After evening chores and dinner, we wandered hand in hand and took in one of the finest evenings of this trip.
You did remember about those reservations at Benton, right?
We took our time in the morning and made it a leisurely drive to Bishop and then north to join the Spiders. They were already settled in at tub 4. We settled in also.
Restorative hot spring waters consumed the remainder of the day. Years and cares fell away.
In the morning most of the other campers left. Sean made his rounds draining, cleaning, and refilling tubs. He had also been running the end loader, bringing in fill and smoothing out damage from this winter’s storms.
We spent a good portion of the day wandering up the canyon to the west. I don’t believe I’ve pointed out that this canyon is the Pleistocene water outflow route from the Mono Lake Basin. The flood waters continued down into Queen Valley and flowed south into the Owens Valley. Owens Lake overflowed and its flood waters created Fossil Falls.
The granite walls are spectacular.
The Lady led the way as we climbed out to north.
It was crisp and cold back at Benton in the late afternoon. The waters took care of the chill.
The Spiders brought along their grill and beef – “It’s what’s for supper!” We dined royally and enjoyed our friends’ company.
The next morning, on the drive home, it was 9° as we drove Benton Crossing Road alongside Crowley Reservoir. Pogonip still enshrouded Lee Vining and Mono Lake. And we just made it home before the next small storm rolled through.
Heavy snow is predicted for next week. We’re stocked up on
diesel for the tractor and gas for the generator. When will the next break in the storms come?
