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mcfez
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Registered: 12-2-2009
Location: aka BN yankeeirishman
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaguy
Just north of Little Lake on 395 is Fossil Falls. Short hike, great stuff to see. Your Lab will like it. |
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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Bob H
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Man, I gotta print this stuff out. There's more to see than I thought. Maybe I should stay two nights up there instead of one!!
My thanks to everyone with these great suggestions!
The SAME boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It's about what you are made of NOT the circumstance.
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Barry A.
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Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Oh, we are just gettin started Bob. Come summer, I will tell you of a few "locals only" fishing holes (maybe). 
Barry
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Bob H
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While I'm in Lone Pine, CA.... I am thinking of checking out the Double L Bar in town. Interesting reviews! Seems like a great dive bar! Any
opinions?
http://www.yelp.com/biz/double-l-bar-lone-pine
The SAME boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It's about what you are made of NOT the circumstance.
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Bob H
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Alabama Hills... is this worth the time to visit?
http://www.lonepinechamber.org/siteseeing/alabama-hills.html
The SAME boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It's about what you are made of NOT the circumstance.
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mtgoat666
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Posts: 18385
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Hot n spicy
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bob H
I'm headed to Lone Pine, CA tomorrow and will take a side trip to Darwin and hope to hike to the falls, time permitting. Any advice on what to see
while I'm spending the night in Lone Pine would be appreciated.... I will have my chocolate lab, Luke, with me!!
Head'm up.... move'm out! |
drive up toward whitney portal (drive takes you thru alabama hills). this time of year, the roads ends at snow level. start hiking from there and go
up, up, up. great views and reward at end is getting into pretty forest, the start of more pretty hiking.
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Bob H
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bob H
I'm headed to Lone Pine, CA tomorrow ... |
Oh, that post was wrong... I'm not leaving until Saturday morning, early!
The SAME boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It's about what you are made of NOT the circumstance.
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Bob H
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Posts: 5867
Registered: 8-19-2003
Location: San Diego
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mtgoat666
| Quote: | Originally posted by Bob H
I'm headed to Lone Pine, CA tomorrow and will take a side trip to Darwin and hope to hike to the falls, time permitting. Any advice on what to see
while I'm spending the night in Lone Pine would be appreciated.... I will have my chocolate lab, Luke, with me!!
Head'm up.... move'm out! |
drive up toward whitney portal (drive takes you thru alabama hills). this time of year, the roads ends at snow level. start hiking from there and go
up, up, up. great views and reward at end is getting into pretty forest, the start of more pretty hiking. |
Wow, this sounds very good... can I bring my dog with me?
The SAME boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It's about what you are made of NOT the circumstance.
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Barry A.
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Location: Redding, Northern CA
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You could spend all day in the Alabama Hills and not see it all. I find more new things every time I go there, and I have been going there all my
life. See if you can get a map of the "hills" at Joseph's Market in Central Lone Pine-------that will make things much easier, and must less
confusing. There is an InterAgency Visitor Center just south of Lone Pine (at the turnoff for Death Valley) and they have a lot of excellent maps and
brochures. If you have a NUVI, or similar, there is software that shows practically every road in the "hills", and that is also useful----there are a
lot of roads, most good for non-4x4 traffic.
Barry
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mtgoat666
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bob H
| Quote: | Originally posted by mtgoat666
| Quote: | Originally posted by Bob H
I'm headed to Lone Pine, CA tomorrow and will take a side trip to Darwin and hope to hike to the falls, time permitting. Any advice on what to see
while I'm spending the night in Lone Pine would be appreciated.... I will have my chocolate lab, Luke, with me!!
Head'm up.... move'm out! |
drive up toward whitney portal (drive takes you thru alabama hills). this time of year, the roads ends at snow level. start hiking from there and go
up, up, up. great views and reward at end is getting into pretty forest, the start of more pretty hiking. |
Wow, this sounds very good... can I bring my dog with me? |
yes. dogs allowed, except in national park, but you won't get to national park at this time of year (that boundary is quite a ways up the whitney
trail)
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Bob H
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Man, this is 'great stuff'... thanks to all of you. I will post a trip report with photos after I get back!!
Can't wait to get going early Saturday morning!
Anyone ever been to the Double L Bar in Lone Pine, CA? Any opinions?
[Edited on 12-23-2011 by Bob H]
The SAME boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It's about what you are made of NOT the circumstance.
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John M
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Posts: 1921
Registered: 9-3-2003
Location: California High Desert
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Darwin to Panamint Springs via the old Toll Road
Two months ago we camped in the Alabama Hills for several days - waking to the dawn and sunrise on Mt Whitney was spectacular.
As written above, Darwin Falls is accessible by a short dirt road a bit west of Panamint Springs and then a mile or so hike in a relatively flat wash.
A more exciting and scenic route it to take Highway 136 east from the Interagency Visitor Center a mile south of Lone Pine. In 18 miles you join
Highway 190, continuing east on 190 for about 13 additional miles to the right turn to Darwin, signed.
Darwin is a hoot!
Our "long road to Panamint Springs" leaves Darwin on what is signed as North Main Street, on the far edge of town. If interested I can give you more
specific directions.
Anyway stay on North Main - we tried several exciting dirt roads before hitting on the right one! You'll be in a wash for a number of miles, needing
to make one major right turn at what was described to us by several Darwinians as a short piece of rusted pipe, 3 feet tall. From the pipe it is a
short detour to another great exploring spot, China Garden. Back on the correct road you pass through an extensive mining area with workings high up
on the hill sides. A short while later you join the dirt road up from Panamint Springs that most folks take to Darwin Falls.
This is an all dirt road scenic route. I don't think 4x4 is needed although the downhill on the latter few miles is fairly steep and we used low range
for 3 or 4 miles. We didn't see another person or vehicle on this 10 - 12 mile drive, and I would certainly entertain the thought that you ought to
have 4x4 in case conditions change.
John M
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Barry A.
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Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Great information, John, on the "Darwin back road".
Is it fairly easy to drive that road the opposite direction, you think?? (Nissan X-Terra 4x4 vehicle)
Also, for the even more adventuristic, there is the loop-road thru Cerro Gordo from near Keeler (E side of Owens Lake) which takes you high in the
Inyo Range and over the top and out the east side to the area of the Darwin turnoff. Cerro Gordo is private property, and has a touchy caretaker, but
if you are cordial he will take you on a tour of the old mining town, or at least let you modestly poke around. This can be done in any high clearance
vehicle, if not recently damaged by rains, but the road is very steep on the west side.
Barry
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wessongroup
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Will be looking forward to a "view" which have not seen in a very long time...
Take it easy BobH... great little thread about an area it appears many have more than a few great memories of ...... 
Bit surprised no one has brought up Schat’s bakery with their famous Sheep herder bread ... was a must when we were in Bishop, before heading up to
camp... and hike ...
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Barry A.
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Schatts Bakery in Bishop is still a "gold mine" for the owners, and the bread and other products are still excellent. Good point bringing that up,
Wesson.
We always stop by going and coming from Redding to pick up a few loaves of bread, and stuff.
Barry
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DianaT
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Bob,
Have a great time. There is so much around that area to enjoy----pick a couple of great places, and start planning your next trip to the area.
Look forward to hearing and seeing what you choose to see this time. Owen's Valley and the Eastern Sierra will just keep calling you back!
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J.P.
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When I lived up there we used to ride our motorcycles up hwy.4 through Murphys Ca. over the hill to 395 to Minden Nv.in Minden there was a little
Casino called Sharkeys , had Prime Rib to die for then back over the hill on hwy. 88 to Pine Grove Ca. where we lived it was a good way to spend the
weekend.
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John M
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Registered: 9-3-2003
Location: California High Desert
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Cerro Gordo & Darwin loop
I'd think the Cerro Gordo route might be icy, the steep and narrow parts wouldn't be especially fun in that case.
The route from Panamint Springs/Darwin Falls parking lot to Darwin should be passable although the steep down section we encountered was a bit rocky
with a few ledges to climb but slightly more than a truck width wide. Going up, the reverse of what we drove, would be comfortable in low range. There
are those, of course, that would comment that they can take their 2wd anywhere a 4x4 can go, so I'm ready to hear it from them!
The route finding is pretty intuitive except perhaps the first mile east of the town of Darwin, where other tire tracks take you interesting places.
There is a hike from China Gardens down the old Toll Road to Darwin Falls also, haven't done it but there is a pole gate blocking the old road at that
point. China Gardens would make a great campsite in warmer weather.
I should research that name - wonder how it came to be known as China Gardens?
John M
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Hook
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaguy
Just north of Little Lake on 395 is Fossil Falls. Short hike, great stuff to see. Your Lab will like it. |
One thing about Fossil Falls. I wouldnt recommend staying there overnight in the hot part of the year. All that metamorphic rock gets blasted by the
sun all day and it retains lots of heat all night. We stayed there once and the temps never really got below 85-90 all night. The rocks were just
radiating all kinds of heat, all night long. It was not pleasant sleeping.
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Barry A.
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Hook--------that's "igneous" rock, blacker than hades!!! and otherwise known as "lava"----------Lava equals volcano------volcanos are HOT, which
explains the situation at Fossil Falls?!?!?!?. (just giving you a bad
time, Hook-------you make a good point) 
Barry
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