We arrived in Lone Pine, California on Thursday. Prior to our trip, I had passed around a photo of a rig parked among the rocks and told folks that this was one place that we would end up. Just outside of the cute westernesque town of Lone Pine is the Alabama Hills known for its desolate landscape, unique rock formations and almost a century of movie making locations - portions of Ironman were filmed here.
Upon arriving David unloaded the ATV and scouted us a place.
Upon arriving David unloaded the ATV and scouted us a place.
Here is where we ended up.
We had thousands of acres of BLM roads and trails at our disposal.
A couple things made this location pretty neat. We were adjacent to several large rocks that called to rock climbing enthusiasts so we were able to watch the "crazy climbers" almost everyday. There was a ultra-marathon - 50km or about 30 miles - on Saturday so we were able to watch the "crazy runners." The area was pooch friendly so the "crazy dogs" could run - and they did run off often - ground rats, lizards, jack rabbits were all potential prey. We enjoyed a wonderful evening with a couple from LA - Rouhel and April - who are originally from South Africa and China respectively. Their international travel tales were amazing and they were a joy to spend several hours with.
Directly behind our campsite loomed Lone Pine Peak and Mt Whitney - the highest peak In California. We drove up to Whitney Portal - at around 7400 feet it is the trailhead for those brave enough - or in shape enough to hike to the 14,000+ foot summit. Obviously we stayed around the trailhead.
Alabama Hills was definitely the ultimate boondocking location for us - amazing views, just enough interaction with others to keep things interesting and dog friendly. Definitely a do-over. Now we head farther north to Bishop, a town that we fell in love with a couple years ago when we stopped here for a quick overnight break. We'll have time for much more exploring this time!
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