Day 2 we left Alabama Hills, did some scouting, passed Reward Mine because both of our rigs were too tall for the mine, and pushed to Bishop.
There, we refilled out tank (I only used half a tank for first day; drove from Los Angeles to Alabama Hills, did a few scouting runs to find campsites, then drove to Bishop. Tank average dropped from 17 to like 14 when I was on dirt, but pavement cruising brought it back to high 15s.
Once we resupplied (basically just me getting more energy drinks, soda, water, and some fruits) we went to Crowley Lake Columns.
Most people with regular vehicles had to leave their cars behind at the "gatekeeper," a rutted hill that only 4x4 or high clearance vehicles can go through with experienced drivers. Well, last July 4th weekend when we went the gatekeeper was nothing for our group. The jeeps went up in 2H and just let their suspensions do their jobs, the GX460s just went in 4L and walked up without breaking a sweat, and my 4Runner went up in 4L with grace.
This year, because of the wet winter, the gatekeeper got harder. The girls in their BMW X3 inquired about the trail at the trailhead while we were airing down were walking up the gatekeeper as I attempted it, and some other "hikers" were watching my attempt. I felt the pressure; the pressure of not letting the Ram family down. After all, my friend in his 3rd Gen just walked the gatekeeper like it was nothing, and I couldn't fail. So, I took the same line I took last year (the easier with no slotted ruts) and I ALMOST got stuck at the bottom of the hill. The soft sand was a lot deeper compared to last year; I tried to finesse the throttle, but I wasn't gaining speed. The pressure was on.
I knew I couldn't touch the brakes; I would be stuck for sure if I touch the brake. So I gave it more beans, and suddenly I got traction and launched myself up the hill. Holding throttle, I went through the first few ruts, then I felt my front tires taking turn lifting off. The ruts got deeper and longer, and my slider touched the ground. Still holding the throttle to keep the momentum, I asked myself if I should've engaged the locker at the bottom. But it was too late. I laid my bed, now I had to sleep in it and trust the truck to do its thing.
What must've felt like eternity was finally finished. I got to the top. The girls in the X3 looked impressed, and I continued down the trail. Later, my friend teased that I should've offered those two girls a ride, and I realized I missed the opportunity.
(As I am writing this, I am seriously kicking myself in the rear for not offering them a ride. The girl who asked me about the trail said she does have wheeling experience, and she looked quite attractive with her sunglasses on. As an Chinese American, I prefer to date within my own culture group; the only exceptions are girls with British accents - that's frigging sexy - and white girls who wheel - I don't mind them out wheeling me. I'm more of an overlander than a crawler anyways)
As we got to the columns, I let my friend and his +1 go do the hike while I relax and chill at the top. I was there a year ago, and even though we just had a wet winter, the water level at the Columns was lower than last year.
Here's a photo from last year.
Then, we continued the trail instead of going out the way we came in. This turned out to be a mistake... because the bushes were so overgrown this year that I added a million more pinstripes to my truck.
But we got to the campsite that I had last year, but the river. With a view.
Only to find out that it became private property for cows to graze on.
So we went to my secondary campsite area.
And passed by these cows crossing the road.
One of them kept looking at me while chewing as I drove pass, so I stopped, roll down my window, and yelled "whats up! you like my truck?" and the cow mooed in agreement.
With the cow's approval, we carried on to our spot in Inyo National Forest. It's a spot that I've never been before, and was picked solely based on some internet research I did on company time.
It turned out to be great; we had view to the snow-capped Mammoth Mountains, while the temperature was decent that I had a great night sleep. The trees blocked the wind, and there was enough clear view of the sky for my Starlink to work.
Yes, I got a starlink recently. No, it's not vehicle mounted, yet.
Day 3 we left the campsite and found ourselves on a smooth dirt road. I was having a lot of fun, but unfortunately this was also where I hit a tree branch.
You can read about it here:
Why you should always buy quality parts from reputable manufactures - Story and Pictures
Anyways we visited Mono Lake and the Tufa tubes. I did the other shore back in winter 2018, and this time with snow-capped mounting as backdrop was a new experience.
Lake water was clear, but way saltier than ocean.
the wheels looks good
