Date: Tue, 1 Apr 1997 09:02:00 -0800
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: busgirl@netcom.com (Martha)
Subject: kathy's trip report (pinnacles)
*****************
CCC Pinnacles Camp-out - Trip Report
By: Kathy Myers and Her Majesty - the '68 Bus that makes people smile.
For us, this was the final leg of a 7,000 mile road trip - and what a
way to end it!
We had been in Mammoth just long enough to wash and wax the Old Girl,
adjust her valves, change her oil, do the laundry, re-supply food and
water and check out more books on tape. Then it was around the
proverbial horn to the Pinnacles, which are only about 100 miles west
of us, but took us 8 hours to drive! Such is life in Mammoth when most
of the Sierran Passes are closed due to snow.
When we left Mammoth, at 4am, it was 8 degrees F and our cabin,
lovingly known as the "Ice Palace," was still encased in 12 feet of
snow. With the gas heater crankin', our journey took us north along the
eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada, up, up, up and over snowy Kit
Carson Pass, down the spring ridden western slope of the Range of
Light, across the Central Valley then up the lush green foothills to
the Pinnacles. It was like "Old Home Week" for me. Back in the 70's,
when my ride was a '65 metallic rootbeer Splittie, the Pinnacles were
my rock climbing destination on a number of occasions.
Much to our surprise, we were the first of the CCC's to arrive. The
private campground, right outside the gate to the Pinnacles National
Monument, was nearly deserted. We found a note that told us which
campsite had been reserved by our friend Ron Lussier, AKA, Coyote. The
"California Campers" had their own RV loop, replete with towering, old
oaks, a plethora of woodpeckers, wandering wild turkeys, a feral pig
population and electrical hook-ups.
The Old Girl and I selected a spot that would allow us a shady, grassy
area to set up camp. The electrical outlet was set up for RV's, so I
had to buy an adapter from the Campground Hosts. After that minor
setback, everything fell in place quite nicely. With "Power Central"
humming away, the refrigerator, the cellular, and the PowerBook were
connected for a lengthy charge.
It was now 80 degrees F with the humidity dripping to at least 80%. It
was at this point I congratulated myself on the decision to leave my
Blanchard Guitar at home, where the humidity rarely gets above 27%.
After a refreshing shower, I returned to the site to find Jack Stafford
pulling up in "Big Orange", his seventy-something Westy. It was great
to see both of them. The third CCCer to show up was Al Hubbard and the
rest is history.
So many fine rides showed up, it's hard to recall how many there were.
It was great to have at least six breadloaves in the group; mine, the
oldest and furthest driven to the event, Jed's Joy from Hollywood,
Charlie's MotherShip, Jack's Big Orange, Bradley's Bus and Roark and
Patricia's seventy-something Westy. There were Vanagons and Syncros,
one Honda car, Al's VW car and one Thing.
It was great to meet the new CCC'ers, to visit with old friends and to
check out everybody's VWs. The food, as always, was killer, the fires,
as always, were WAY TOO HOT and polluting, the daily activities kept
all members on the go - and - believe it or else, we were only busted
once by the campground officials and it was for screaming kids, NOT a
5,000 degree fire! A great time was had by all!
Sunday morning found many members packing up for the drive home, some
taking off for a hike through the Caves, and others relaxing around the
fire. As for Her Majesty and me, well, we said our good-byes and headed
back across the Central Valley, up the long haul over Kit Carson Pass
and south along the eastern escarpment of the Range of Light, back to
8,600 feet above sea level and the Ice Palace. The trip was uneventful
and after 7,000 miles on the road, we are happy to report the only
mechanical dysfunction was a burned out high beam in one of Old Girl's
original headlamps. $2.62 for the new lamp at the Napa in Alpine, Texas
was the only mechanical expense on the whole trip.
Her Majesty is back in storage and sometime this week she'll get
washed, waxed and polished in preparation for our next journey to visit
with the California Camping Crazies!
Kathy Myers and Mark Blanchard
Active Periphery Press
Blanchard Guitars
Mammoth Lakes, CA
|