Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 11:31:18 -0700
Reply-To: Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: trip report, Portland, Oregon>Bishop, Ca. return.
In-Reply-To: <000501c7ff97$88f8cda0$e4b2d8d1@dhanson>
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Sounds like good fun, except for the alternator part.
Was that weight with driver aboard?
Thanks, Jake
On 9/25/07, Don Hanson <dhanson@gorge.net> wrote:
>
> Just had a wonderful trip to the Eastern Sierras in California. From
> Southeastern Wa. state down the high desert, through the Reno Carson
> valley
> and to Bishop, California for another bicycle race.
> First day out, I camped at a BLM campground off US 395 just northeast of
> Susanville, Ca after about 9 hours on the road, with one detour, an hour
> on
> my bike to keep my legs loose. Odd campsite, up high on a juniper mesa,
> with only the campground host there and some snow on the ground from an
> early fall weather system I was playing tag with all weekend.. The 84
> with
> inline 4 1.8 liter ran great, the abbreviated westy interior worked
> perfectly to give me a good rest for the next day.
> Down 395 again, through Reno and it's normal traffic jam, right at the
> morning rush hour. Thousands of Harleys on 395...no exaggeration. The
> trees were still fully leaved, just starting to yellow. There were
> spectacular thundershowers around, spewing snow and rain, putting a full
> white cap on the peaks of the Sierras. Not exactly what I was wanting to
> see for our bicycle race, which involved climbing up the highest paved
> roads
> out of the Bishop area..
> Camped at Brown's Town Campground just south of Bishop at around 4pm,
> Friday evening, just in time to pick up my race entry, mix up all my food
> and drink for the race's early start, and hit the sack to listen to the
> rain
> and hail on my van's roof...A nice commercial campground, interesting to
> watch the urban campers from LA showing the cattle to their kids...."Look
> at
> that, Jason, that is a C.O.W......Like what you get at McDonalds.."
> Camped there again Sat. nite, then down to Big Pine for Sunday's racing,
> which took us up to the base of the glaciers north of Mt. Whitney, then
> to
> the rim of Death Valley across the Owens Valley and then up to another
> mountain top finish amongst some ancient Bristlecone pines..
> Back in the van Sunday at around 2pm and headed north, quite a bit more
> tuckered out. Planned on spending some time flyfishing near Paisley, Or.
> on
> the return, but my alternator quit. That saga in another thread.
> Weighed the van at a weigh station and saw 4100lbs total, with 1900 rear
> and 2100 front, full travel mode...
> A very fun outing. Learned a lot about electrics on the van, and became
> intimately acquainted with all the mountain side road in the Owens Valley
> of
> N. California's Eastern Sierras..
> Don Hanson
>
--
Jake
1984 Vanagon GL
1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
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