November 12, 2021 -Death Valley: Travel to Lone Pine

 

Title: November 12, 2021 -Death Valley: Travel to Lone Pine
Hike Info : Description

Trail head: Fresno

Hike Info:   Type: Car

264 Mileage

Description:

I got up after 7 this morning. Later than I thought I would be. The original plan was for us to camp tonight at Texas Springs Campground. But this requires us to leave at 9:00 so we can get to the campground by 3:30 or 4:00. This requires us to drive straight through without doing any sight seeing. Yesterday Sherri when Sherri and I discussed this trip. We felt that we probably wanted to stop at certain places on the way in. So stopping at a hotel today is a possibility. With me getting up after 7, that means it may not happen.

I do get the car loaded with what is ready. It is fairly packed. Sherri gets up a little after 9, so that means we will stay at a hotel tonight. I finish up writing stuff up from last night’s book group. Then get the rest of the stuff packed. By the time both of us say we are ready, it is after 12 noon.

Sherri starts off driving. We will need to stop in Bakersfield for gas. We may be coming in on fumes. Turns out not quite on fumes as we had about four gallons. It takes 15 minutes to get into Costco gas. By the time we leave, we are hungry for lunch. So we have a burger at Carl’s Jr.

After we leave Carl’s Jr, I am behind the wheel. In the past, we have gone over Tehachapi to get to Lone Pine. But looking at the maps, it is only about ten minutes longer to take 178 by Lake Isabella. I have not been that way before, so we go that way. The road winds its way through a canyon cut by the Kern River. This is not the upper part of the Kern, just the part out of the Lake area. It is a good drive, but not fast.

After passing Lake Isabella, the road follows a flat valley on a gentle incline. Eventually this climbs up to Walker Pass where the PCT crosses. It is a starting place for many PCTer’s. And then we descended down to Highway 14.

It is getting dark-about 5pm. Definitely not heading towards Death Valley tonight. It would be about 8pm before reaching camp. So we ended up going to Lone Pine and the Best Western there. This is where we stayed two years ago. It has not changed much. We roll in at 6pm and they have a room for us. Comfortable. A bit tired, so we pretty much just read or watch TV until bed time.