Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 10:14:28 -0700
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Subject: trip report, Portland, Oregon>Bishop, Ca. return.
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"
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
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