Hiking With Gadget Girl

March 2016 Journal Entries:

March 26, 2016 - In Transit to the Mexican Border
After checking the Sierra forecast, we decided to leave a day early and beat the weather system that is calling for snow at the lower elevations on the east side of the Sierra. We left yesterday and headed south. Spent the first night at a rest area surrounded by semi trucks. We felt pretty small! Saw herds of deer on the side of the road, so beautiful. This morning we headed south on Hwy 395 through Reno and Carson City ogling at all the snow in the Sierra. Made it to Lone Pine to spend the night. Mt Whitney is still there, towering over us all. 

March 27, 2016 - Exploring Lone Pine and Whitney Portal
Spent the day enjoying the local area around Lone Pine and driving up to the Whitney Portal. We were very surprised to find out that although the big sign said the road was closed, the gate was open and a lot of people drove up for hiking and the scenery. The day was gorgeous, perfect for hiking, about 42 degrees at the Portal. The restaurant was still closed. There were pockets of snow around the parking lot, but there was some snow on the trails. A tad icy in spots. It was great to have my husband see where I came down from Mt Whitney from my section hike a few years ago. 

We spent a big portion of our day on the Movie Road in the Alabama Hills. Amazing rock formations. Apparently they are famous film locations for Hollywood and the world. Many movies were made here like Gunga Din, with stars like John Wayne and Roy Rogers. Being Easter Sunday, we were surprised at the number of RV's stashed within the rocks. We wandered around the formations that were created from the 1872 earthquake, snapping numerous pics, then watched a fellow rock climbing a vertical formation, followed by another fellow flying a drone. 

After lunch we attempted to drive up to Horseshoe Meadows as we heard the views up there were spectacular. Unfortunately the road was gated at the three mile mark stating it was closed due to winter conditions and rocks on the road. 

Being up at the Whitney Portal put my excitment into overdrive. We start the day after tomorrow - can't wait!! 

March 28, 2016 - Whitney Portal trail to Lone Pine Campground
Before we left the Lone Pine area, I decided to hike the trail from the Lone Pine campground to the Whitney Portal this morning. My hubby Dave dropped me off and off I went, traveling from desert conditions to towering evergreens complete with snow flurries. The first couple of miles was a fairly easy incline and then the climb started in earnest. Weather was trying to move in from the west and Mt Whitney was covered in snow showers. The higher I climbed, the colder it became. It was sunny, but snowflakes swirled around. It was such a weird feeling though, hiking by myself for miles not seeing another soul until I reached the Portal parking lot that we were at yesterday. I checked the thermometer hanging off my pack and it read 39 degrees. And it was very windy! Quite different weather than yesterday. After putting on a jacket and zipping on my pant leggings, I had a short snack and then headed back down. As I entered the desert section again, snowflakes followed me down all the way to the car. The wind really picked up and was howling. The Whitney Portal road is being upgraded to include a bike lane all the way to the Portal. We had a nice visit with the road flagger while we were waiting for our turn to go through the work zone. He said the new bike lane will be completed sometime in October. 

We arrived back at the motorhome and started prepping for departure, and the gusts were so bad, that we decided it might be wiser if we stayed another night. Dave checked into the office and people were arriving from the freeway saying don't attempt the drive as the wind was awful. One of the employees stated that the CalTrans might close the freewa. We watched the news that evening and it showed a 15 car pileup on Interstate 15, right where we were going to be. So glad we stayed another night. 

We plan on making an early start tomorrow and hope the weather will cooperate the rest of the way to the border. 

March 30, 2016 - Border to Lake Morena
Distance: 20 miles
Yippee!! Today we start on the trail! It poured cold rain last night mixed with ice pellets. In the morning the temperature was 36 degrees. We had planned on an early start but took our time preparing our slack-packs waiting for the weather to change. By 7am, the rain had stopped and we headed for the monument. Took the required pics, Linda touched the wall and we started our trek at 7:40am. The day started off cold and cloudy, the perfect setting to get our first 20 miles in. At first we wondered if we would make our goal as we kept stopping and taking pictures of all the beautiful desert flowers in bloom.

The air temperature stayed cool most of the day which was wonderful. Just before lunch Linda noticed a couple of men ahead of us and it was quite obvious that we were looking at a couple of illegals who had crossed over the border. They were in dark clothing and wearing dark day packs. They kept looking at us and I tried to get a picture of them to no avail. Later, one of the hikers who ran into them said one of the illegals requested that he not turn them in to the Border Patrol. Border helicopters flew back and forth over Hauser Canyon so we are not sure if they were looking for these two guys. We met a variety of people from Norway, Belgium, Vermont, and Massachusetts. Because it was such a cool-ish day, it seems like most of the hikers we met arrived at Lake Morena too. Had great pizza for dinner the local restaurant here in town has awesome food. 

March 31, 2016 - Cibbets Flats Campground
Distance: 13 miles
Yesterday was our big mileage day, and today we are are slowing things down a bit to get our trail legs in shape. Because we were only going to Cibbets Flats campground, we took our time and started at 8:30am. It was cold during the night and there was frost on plants and on the side of the trail. We started an easy climb out of Lake Morena with a cool breeze and sunny skies accompanying us. We ran into the Norwegian boys again and they mentioned we could call them The Vikings. They said they had frost on their quilts this morning and seemed a bit bummed about it. They asked us if where we were going to spend the night and if we had enough water. Apparently they had little water and they were going all the way to Laguna today. We asked them if they had Agua Mira with them to treat the water, but they only had a Steripen. By early afternoon we were starting to feel the mileage and started slowing down. The rock formations were fascinating and almost looked like petrified wood. I switched to my long sleeve shirt at lunchtime as the sun was quite hot. Lunch was wonderful with leftover pizza from last night. By the time we reached the turn off to Cibbets Flats camground we were ready to be done for the day. Camping here is a little pricy of $ 14 a campsite. No breaks for tents sites either. Had a lovely conversation with the camp hosts and they filled me in on what the Border Patrol does to catch illegals. There are sensors and cameras throughout the desert and they also have checkpoints on the roads and highways. 

************* Continue Journey in April 2016 ****************