2018 WAYALIFE KICK OFF to SUMMER Memorial Weekend Camping Trip

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
With the exception of last year, Cindy and I have been heading up into the mountains every Memorial Day Weekend, to kick of a new summer of wheeling and for about as long as I can remember. For 2018, we knew we needed to get this tradition going again but instead of going somewhere in the Sierra Nevada's as we've done so many times in the past, we decided to change things up a bit and headed up into the Inyo's instead. Fortunately for us, a few of our good friends were able to join us and the following pics highlight all the fun we had. I hope you enjoy. :cool:

It's always nice to meet up with Trail Bud for breakfast at one of our favorite eateries in town, The Red Hut, before hitting the highway.
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Although this trip is a kick off to summer, I can't say there's ever been a year where it hasn't been one with a bit of rain coming down on us or worse.
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As we started to work our way around Mono Lake, things did clear up for though and the clouds made the drive a beautiful one.
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Being that we were making such great time, we decided to make a stop that we always like to make before pulling into town and to let Tessa run around.
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Ahhh, home for the night in Lone Pine at the lovely Dow Villa historic hotel.
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Of course, being that it was Memorial Day Weekend, JET Li wanted to take a moment to remember the brave men and women who served our great country and made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can be free.
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With more of our friends in town, it was time to get this party started - CHEERS!
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Chris and Jen pulled in a bit late but just in time for Cindy to take this epic shot of their CODE 3 JK-8.
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The following morning, we met up with Moochie and Owen and made our way out to the trailhead.
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Off the highway, we pulled over to air down and get ready to hit the dirt.
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Oh it's always so good to be on dirt and climbing our way up into the mountains!
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Getting closer to camp.
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But first, we've gotta take some time to take in the breathtaking views of the Owens Valley below and the cloud shrouded Sierra Nevada Mountains beyond.
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WooHoo!! At camp at last and well before dark!
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A shot of our killer view from camp looking to the west.
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And of course, our view looking to the east.
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A few years back, I started scouring the area on Google Earth and noticed a series of large round satellite looking dishes or saucers like objects sitting out in the middle of nowhere. There were no roads leading to them or that I could see anyway and so I've been wanting to hike out to them for a while now. Needless to say, that's what Cindy, Steph and I set out to do and this is what we found.
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As we would come to find, they may have been old school satellite dishes at one point and time but have since been re-purposed for the use of water collection.
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After water is collected by the dishes, it gets plumbed into 2 large cisterns and then into watering troughs. Essentially, the whole thing is a large game guzzler.
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Making our way back to camp, we came across an old prospect that had this concrete structure - possibly a cistern for a well that was once erected here.
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Back at camp and enjoying a lovely fire.
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To good times with good friends underneath the stars - CHEERS!!
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After a fun night of parting around the campfire, we decided to head out and do some exploring.
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Our first stop of the day was at a natural arch pierced through a granite rock outcrop.
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Making the climb up to the arch.
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Shot of the Jeeps from the arch.
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Group shot of everyone in the hole.
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On the move again, we wiggled our way through a narrow section of trail with sage brush dying to reach out and give us some lovin.
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From the look of things, it'd been a while since anything other than a couple of bikes had been through here.
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With rain starting to fall, we arrived at our next destination of the day, an old mining camp with a cabin still standing.
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Time to check out the old ruins.
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Of course, where there's a mining camp, there's a mine nearby and this one can still be explored.
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Light at the end of the tunnel.
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After our fun exploring the old mine, we got out of the rain and pressed on in the comfort of our Jeeps.
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Just as we started to get close to camp again, the clouds started to break apart.
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Back at camp and with the sun out again, Moochie decided it was time to pour up some Bee Stings.
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Because it's always a good time to be drinking with good friends - CHEERS!
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Epic sunset to end an epic day of fun.
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To good times out on the trail, under the stars, around a campfire and of course, with all our good friends - CHEERS!
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A BIG THANKS goes out to Tony and Steph, Chris and Jen, Adam and Tina, Owen and Katlin, Doug, Carl and Jason for helping us to kick of a summer of wheeling. We had an awesome time with all of you and hope to do it again soon. :cool:
 

jljordan

New member
That looks like some beautiful country. I had to look up the Inyo's to find out where they are. Thanks for the write up and pics!
 

BillArnett

New member
Great shots, looks like lots of fun.

I know it's your policy not to post GPS coordinates or directions and I whole heatedly agree with the motivation behind it. But it's very frustrating! I'm always wanting to find new places to wheel, especially ones in CA that I can do without days of freeway driving to get there. It took me forever going back and forth from your pictures to Google Maps to try to deduce where you were that first night. But I found it! The "killer view" to the west was the key :)
 

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wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
That looks like some beautiful country. I had to look up the Inyo's to find out where they are. Thanks for the write up and pics!

Glad to hear you enjoyed the trip pics :cool:

Looks like a great trip.

It really was. Be great if we could get you to join us on a trip like this some day. :yup:

Kim and I love anything up off the 395. Looks like you all had a blast

The 395 really is an amazing stretch of highway. :yup:
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Summer kick off camping is the best!! Great people, camping site, just a great time all around.

It sure is and we're so glad that you were able to join us for this one. Had a great time with you :thumb:

nice pics of a cool trip, amazing landscape

Thanks! It really is beautiful out there.

Looks like it was a great time!

When you're with good friends, it's always a good time for sure :yup:

Great shots, looks like lots of fun.

I know it's your policy not to post GPS coordinates or directions and I whole heatedly agree with the motivation behind it. But it's very frustrating! I'm always wanting to find new places to wheel, especially ones in CA that I can do without days of freeway driving to get there. It took me forever going back and forth from your pictures to Google Maps to try to deduce where you were that first night. But I found it! The "killer view" to the west was the key :)

LOL!! I kind of look at the looking for and finding places to be part of the fun.
 

Brett

New member
Wishing I were home.

I used to live in Bridgeport California. I know that country well and I am pretty sure you could take a different trail every day for a year and still not see it all. Looks like a great time. :thumb:
 

Strainger

New member
Sumer Kick off

What a kick-ass kick off. Your trip had everything. Hot weather. Cold weather. Wet weather. Dry weather. Great scenery. Great group. Great time by all. Thanks for the vicarious week end fun. You and Cindy rock. :rock:
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I used to live in Bridgeport California. I know that country well and I am pretty sure you could take a different trail every day for a year and still not see it all. Looks like a great time. :thumb:

No kidding. Sure is pretty out there.

Pretty aweso me maybe 1 year I can join the group

Be great if you could join us :)
 

Cozdude

Guy with a Red 2-Door
Really wish I could have made the trip and not had a shit weekend with my boat taking a dump on me. Looks like everyone had a blast!
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Really wish I could have made the trip and not had a shit weekend with my boat taking a dump on me. Looks like everyone had a blast!

Ah man, sorry to hear about your boat taking a dump. It would have been cool to have you out there with us.
 

LauraRose

New member
Looks like the trip of a lifetime!

Hi Eddie, the pictures of your Memorial weekend trip are amazing! Looks like the trip of a lifetime to a Pennsylvania girl - we have rolling hills and a lot of mud & woods. Don't get me wrong, I love PA and enjoy the wheeling I can do here. I'm fairly new to your site, so this may be a silly question. Do you and Cindy ever hold a drawing for a couple (and their Jeep) to join you guys on a trip?
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Eddie, the pictures of your Memorial weekend trip are amazing! Looks like the trip of a lifetime to a Pennsylvania girl - we have rolling hills and a lot of mud & woods. Don't get me wrong, I love PA and enjoy the wheeling I can do here. I'm fairly new to your site, so this may be a silly question. Do you and Cindy ever hold a drawing for a couple (and their Jeep) to join you guys on a trip?

LOL!! If you're willing to make the drive out, we'd love to have you along on one of our adventures.
 

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