Date:         Tue, 24 Apr 2007 11:01:37 -0700
Reply-To:     Robert Fisher <refisher@MCHSI.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Robert Fisher <refisher@MCHSI.COM>
Subject:      Re: Some Hwy 395 trip stuff
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Mike said: "I'd go that way because it's beautiful."

From Little Lake north, yeah... from there south to the 15, hell no.

The other Mike (Squirrel type) said: "Up 14? We come up the 15 from San
Diego through Riverside/San Bernardino, up to Victorville and catch the 395
there. It's 170 miles that way from the 15/215 junction to where the 14
meets the 395. The other way -- going up the 15 to get to the 210 to get to
the 14 then to 395 -- is 225 miles. A bit more. Still, if it's easier to go
that way than climb over the Cajon grade, I'm all ears. Is 14 a gentler way
to get up out of the basin into the high desert?"

There are a few significant grades south of Palmdale but they're nothing
like Cajon. I believe you're making the same climb elevation-wise for the
most part but generally it's much more gradual and spread out. If you pick
the right time of day (meaning not afternoon/evening rush hour outbound from
LA), the 14 route has much less congestion- it's mostly four lane or more
all the way up to at least the Lower Owens Valley, if not farther, as
opposed to the two lanes of 395. Of course for you that would involve going
through LA on the 5 (I don't see why you would go 15/210 instead of up the
5, but I haven't driven down that way in a while), the feasability of which
again would depend on the time of day as you know. I've been on the 5 when
it seemed nearly deserted but I've never been on the 10 or the 15 where they
weren't heavily congested, even at 3 am. The lower 395 can be a tossup but I
usually get stuck behind some semis or RVs and that's that. I could tell you
some horror stories about that stretch of road but since you've been there
you probably already know. At any rate, I'd be willing to bet based on my
experiences with those roads that you'd cover the extra miles faster over
the 5/14 than you would the other way. It's much less stressful in my
opinion traffic-wise and it'd be easier on your van.

Basically I try to avoid the stretch of 395 between the 15 and Inyokern like
the plague... we go that way to get to points east (Nevada, Arizona), or to
go to Loma Linda which we have to do tomorrow for instance, but otherwise if
I'm going anywhere in the areas surrounding LA I go down the 14. There isn't
much to see scenery-wise obviously until you get up to Red Rock Canyon State
Park [ http://www.desertusa.com/rrsp/rrsp.html - that might be up your ally
for camping, actually ] but of course there's nothing to see the other route
either. However you can also take that route to get to the Kern river area
(where we like to camp), Kennedy Meadows, and so on north

Cya,
Robert