Borel Hill Overlook panorama - 2/2011
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Home to Mammoth, June 25, 2022 - I spent a somewhat rushed morning finishing my packing and visiting the local farmer's market where I bought enough salad fixings for three of us for a week.
As recently as yesterday morning I was not sure we would be traveling today. We had all been nursing injuries over the last two months. The most recent of these was Stella throwing out her back a week ago. Yesterday afternoon I got word that Stella thought her back would cooperate, so we made our plans and reserved the condo. I had a plantar fascia injury from last year that was still irritating my right foot, and a similar injury in my left foot that I acquired two months ago. Frank had injured one of his feet on our Pleasanton Ridge hike and was still nursing that. Although we had done our hike-training homework, we were all going into this trip while our names were still on the "injury list". In hindsight it was probably best that we went when we did. A few weeks later as I write this a fire burns in Yosemite throwing smoke across the region, and COVID cases are increasing with the latest highly-contagious variant.
As for the drive, I got going just after 1000, and everything ran smoothly for the first 100 miles. But, as I was passing through the hot valley towns of Escalon and Oakdale I noticed that every time I advanced the throttle the van's engine would cough once before returning to normal operation. This felt to me like a return of the problem I noticed that was due to a faulty air mixture valve.
I considered returning home, but I had already paid for the condo and the food was all packed up for the week. It would be a waste of expensive gasoline to turn around now. So, I continued and hoped the problem would not get worse. After all, I had lived with the faulty air mixture valve for some time, the fault only causing a problem when I tried to restart the van when it was half warmed up.
The van ran smoothly most of the time, but the coughing had become predictable: always when advancing the throttle (accelerator pedal) no matter what the speed or temperature of the engine. This was slightly different from the prior problem I had had, but I convinced myself that the replacement valve they had installed was sticking or going bad and that I could work around the problem. Canceling or delaying my trip was unacceptable, so I pressed on.
I stopped once at the Summit Ranger Station near Pinecrest and was able to restart the engine, but it stalled once when I tried to proceed, then ran smoothly as I continued east. Even climbing up over Sonora Pass and down the east side the engine ran well, although it continued to cough or hesitate when advancing the throttle.
As I passed through Dardanelle I could see heavy clouds forming over the Sierra Crest. Shortly after that a few rain spatters hit my windshield. This continued on and off all the way over the pass, becoming slushy snow near the Pass itself.
I stopped again at the Crestview Rest Area and later at the Vons parking lot in Mammoth. Each time I restarted the engine, it it hesitated but did not stall. After some searching I found the entrance to the small parking area in front of our rental condo, parked the van, and unpacked.
Although my drive suffered no delay, I found the van's engine problems left me feeling stressed after the drive. That was compounded when a group of young people next door returned noisily from their day's adventures and cranked up some techno-pop "music" that was barely attenuated by the paper-thin walls between the condo units. An hour later the "music" stopped, and we heard hardly a sound from next door. The next day they were gone, and although I slept fitfully during the night as I usually do the first night at altitude, I did not think about my van for another five days.
| GPS track: | GPX |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 5.1 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 1680 feet |
| Total Time: | 4:32:35 |
| Hiking Time: | 2:40:19 |
Reversed Peak, June 26, 2022 - Our last hike in the Sierra had been up Reversed Peak, and Frank suggested we make it our "warm-up" hike this week.
After a leisurely wake-up we rolled out to June Lake, found a parking spot in the small lot next to the baseball field on Northshore Drive, and started our hike.
As we climbed up the drainage, the breeze failed, and we encountered our first mosquitos. Fortunately Frank had brought some repellent in his pack, so near the top of this section we stopped to spread it on ourselves.
On the upper half of the climb I found myself getting ahead of Stella and Frank, so I kept moving at what was a comfortable pace. I wouldn't mind waiting at the top for them and staying as long as they wished. The weather was warm, slightly humid, and partly-cloudy, but otherwise dry.
I found the register and signed my name, then proceeded to eat lunch. I didn't wait long before Stella appeared from the tunnel beneath the summit boulders. Frank was nearby exploring a different approach to the summit.
Soon we were all gathered at the top where we discussed what we had seen on the way up and were seeing from the summit. Although Reversed Peak at 9450ft sits lower than most of the surrounding high points, the view from its summit is spectacular given the effort required to get there. Mono Lake lies to the north, and to the west stands Mount Wood. Mount Ritter and Banner Peak are visible as one massif to the southwest, as is nearby Carson Peak. To the south stands June Mountain. After lunch we each took turns climbing the summit boulder.
Upon arriving at the trailhead we all were as pleased with the hike as we were last fall, finding it just the right amount of exercise for our first day and not an overly long drive from the condo. It was a good start to the week.
| GPS track: | GPX |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 6.3 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 1600 feet |
| Total Time: | 5:10:52 |
| Hiking Time: | 3:12:27 |
Agnew Lake, June 27, 2022 - Last year and yesterday on our hike up Reversed Peak, Frank and Stella suggested Carson Peak to the south as a plausible goal for one of our outings. Today's hike would be a first attempt or put more modestly, an exploratory hike toward Carson Peak, approaching from the western flank. Given the rather late hour we started our hike, none of us expected to reach its summit today. Our goal was to explore the approach and then assess whether it might be doable given a more earnest effort on a later occasion.
We started at the Rush Creek Trailhead first by checking for an easy (dry) crossing of Rush Creek near the outflow of Silver Lake. In June even in a dry year, the stepping stones at the lake's outlet were at least several inches under swiftly-flowing water. We returned to the trailhead proper and began the long trek up the sunny eastern slope toward Agnew Lake.
At first we hiked at the same pace, but somewhere near the first tramway crossing I found myself getting ahead of Frank and Stella. I did not mind this as I could pause and snap photos of them lower on the trail. Then later as I was crossing Rush Creek, having taken the Clark Lakes fork of the trail, I looked back to see Stella and Frank proceeding up the western side of Agnew Lake toward Gem Lake. I knew they had missed the turn, so I radioed them to let them know. Fortunately, I had caught them before they went too far off-course.
I continued along the rough trail on the eastern shore, missing the trail myself at one point before I found a nice rock overlooking Agnew Lake. "This would be a nice spot for lunch.", I thought. I radioed Frank and Stella to let them know I had found a good lunch spot and that they should soon arrive. A party of two soon came around the bend, but it was not Stella and Frank. Several minutes later they appeared and were happy to stop for a sit-down rest and lunch.
We ate lunch, took a group photo, then discussed what to do after lunch. It seemed too early to start back, yet the day was more than half over. In the end we agreed to continue up the trail toward Spooky Meadow to see as much of the western flank of Carson Peak as we could, and to evaluate the terrain as a possible approach route.
We managed to hike another quarter mile at most before deciding that the going on this side would be too slow, and we still had to hike all the way down afterward. We could see that the terrain to our left was mostly klinker-type scree lying at the angle of repose and a bit of talus higher up. Climbing up that stuff would not be easy or fun. None of us had the desire to press on to Spooky Meadow at this point.
Feeling a bit of disappointment after getting barely three miles out from the trailhead, we turned around and started the hike down. On the way down I observed that the tramway tracks would make for a helluva roller-coaster ride down, assuming a carriage could stay on the tracks.
By turning back when we did we returned to the condo early enough to prepare dinner at a normal hour, leaving enough in the tank for the next day.
| GPS track: | GPX |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 4.2 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 2590 feet |
| Total Time: | 6:53:27 |
| Hiking Time: | 2:33:22 |
Fern Lake, June 28, 2022 - And the next day came bright and early. Frank had Carson Peak on his mind and wanted to explore the eastern flank of the mountain, starting with a hike to Fern Lake. Although we had a stretch goal of finding a way to the summit of Carson Peak, I thought we started too late to achieve that. Yet, the day would prove to be enlightening.
The established trail to Fern Lake was part of a larger Fern Lake/Yost Lake loop with ends at our trailhead along Reversed Creek and in the town of June Lakes itself. The trail climbs steeply from the trailhead in one long switchback.
Where the trail doubles back to the east, Frank had initially proposed taking a nearby route to the summit of Carson Peak that climbs a long chute up the north face. I volunteered to explore that option, thinking any chute on this side of the mountain would be hopelessly steep and too technical to be a viable approach. But, I was surprised by what I saw.
Yes, the chute was steep, and it did not climb all the way to the summit plateau, but it didn't look too difficult to climb, being filled with mostly stable rock and soil. I snapped photos. We may try to climb it on our next visit.
Stella and Frank had continued on while I explored, and it took me some time to catch up to them as the trail climbed steeply to a junction with the spur leading to Fern Lake. We turned right and continued up steeply, encountering a few other hikers descending. The grade eased a bit as we approached Fern Lake, and soon we stood at its shore, looking up the valley to the south.
At dinner last night the route up the eastern flank of Carson Peak that I had proposed and that we agreed to try climbed above the western shore of Fern Lake, then traversed up-slope to a broad valley that led to the summit plateau. At least it looked easy on the map that didn't show the large talus field we had to cross.
On site the route looked daunting. We had to traverse talus and bushwhack through small aspens on a talus/scree field, then climb a steep slope before traversing benches and slabs. But, getting across the talus field took a long time. Although today we were not making a serious attempt for the summit, I noted that just getting from Fern Lake to the slab where we sat for lunch (and from which we decided to turn back) took over an hour to cover the measly 0.5 miles. At that rate it was clear we could never get to the summit and down again in daylight, even with the late sunsets of June. As mentioned earlier in this blog, we had all been nursing injuries to our feet of one sort or another, and these affected our ability as a group to cross this terrain quickly.
I'm no speed demon on talus. In fact I hate the stuff and find it is often the most dangerous part of any off-trail adventure. On this occasion I banged my shin on a sharp rock crossing this talus field, giving myself my only blood-drawing injury of the week.
The rocks are large and heavy. Each one must be tested for stability before putting weight on it. If they move one could fall, twist an ankle, or in the worst case be crushed. It would ruin a trip to the mountains more than a cranky old van engine. I try to get through talus safely and as quickly as possible.
Frank and Stella made steady progress, taking a slightly different route from mine across the talus and up the groundcover slope above. Frank mentioned that he enjoyed feeling the rock with his hands, remarking how he is finding all sorts of interesting holds, and I appreciate that he enjoys this aspect.
During lunch he noted that his shoes were slipping on the tilted slabs we had to cross, and after examining the bottoms of his shoes we could see that the rubber treads were wearing through to hard plastic underneath, the plastic offering little grip on the rock.
While sitting at lunch I noticed that my forearms felt like they were getting too much sun. I noticed the same yesterday, but I attributed that to the application of mosquito repellent partially washing off the sunscreen. Today I had slathered on sunscreen but no mosquito repellent, and I paid the price with about 10 bites on my right shoulder. I carried the tube of sunscreen with me to re-apply if I felt I was burning, which I did since I was.
Even after adding a second layer, my arms still felt hot in the sun. I decided that the sunscreen I was using, a new tube from Trader Joe's, was not up to its spec of SPF 30. My prior otherwise identical tube of TJ's sunscreen was from an older batch, and I never felt burned afterward. At best the new stuff had an SPF of about 6 or 8. That evening as I nursed tender skin on my forearms, I realized I could no longer use the TJ's sunscreen. Stella let me use her SPF 50 "No Ad" sunscreen for the remaining days of our trip, and that protected me adequately. After I got home I returned the TJ's tube for a full refund.
Once we got back to Fern Lake we stopped for a few minutes to take a group photo then began our descent to the trailhead.
Part-way down the trail Frank and I were walking together and chatting while Stella walked a short distance ahead. Suddenly, Stella slipped, limbs momentarily flying above her head, then landed hard on her butt. Ouch! That had to hurt. Frank missed the gymnastics, but when I told him what had happened, he understandably quickened his pace. I urged him to take it easy lest he become another casualty. Stella sat quietly on the trail until we arrived, and when we did Frank slipped on the very same sand-covered rock but managed to stay on his feet.
Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt.
After assessing their condition and resting for a minute we continued carefully down the trail to the parked car and arrived back at the condo near dinnertime. Later that evening Frank ordered a new pair of hiking shoes to be delivered by the time he arrived home, and the next day Frank and Stella enjoyed a quiet day to themselves while I did a solo bike ride.
| GPS track: | GPX |
|---|---|
| Bike Ridden: | Power Gold Rush |
| Distance: | 57.9 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 6100 feet |
| Total Time: | 5:06:22 |
| Riding Time: | 4:06:12 |
| Avg. Speed (moving): | 14.1 mph |
| Max. Speed: | 27.0 mph |
| Nominal System Voltage: | 48 |
| Battery energy available: | 1600 wh |
| Battery energy consumed: | 1129 wh |
| Net battery energy consumed: | 770 wh |
| Wh/mi: | 13.3 |
| Battery Amps-Hour Used: | 22.1 |
| Regen Amps-Hour Recovered: | 7.1 |
| Peak Forward Current: | 22.0 Amps |
| Peak Regen Current: | -23.2 Amps |
| Peak Motor Temperature: | 69 C |
| Average Motor Temperature: | 45 C |
Mammoth Grand Tour, June 29, 2022 - Today was the half-way point through our week in the mountains. The first three days we had hiked. They were short hikes but had lots of climbing or difficult terrain. None of us felt like hiking again today.
Since I had brought my bike this week I thought today would be the ideal day to go for a ride. Frank and Stella spared themselves the trouble of bringing bikes, but in exchange for that convenience they were left with fewer choices of activity. They ended up doing some errands in town and taking a short walk around Lake Mary.
Tomorrow promised to be a big day scrambling on the crags of Clark Canyon. Although we had only reserved a half-day with the guide service, Ground Up, we did not know quite what to expect, and we all wanted to be rested and in good form so that we could enjoy whatever outing had been planned for us.
For a number of years I had wanted to ride down toward Bishop and then up CA168 to explore the ends of each road, then touch the Pine Creek Trailhead on my return to Mammoth. Such a ride would require a full day and would leave me drained afterward, even with the help of the assist motor. So, I settled for a Grand Tour of Mammoth, a ride I had done at least once before but hadn't ridden in several years and a route I knew would not leave me exhausted afterward. It seemed fitting to revisit this route.
I started by heading up to Minaret Vista, taking in the views, then descending to Reds Meadow on the west side of the Sierra Crest. On my way down to Reds Meadow I stopped at a spot where I noticed a lone pay phone sitting in the middle of the woods. Such an odd sight and one that I had not noticed before on my many trips down this road. Not only that, but the phone also had its own streetlight. An abandoned building stood some distance away. It looked like it may have been a store or ranger station, but the place was deserted.
The phone appeared to be intact, but there was no dial tone, and I didn't want to blow 50 cents to find out if putting money into the slot connected the phone to the network.
As I continued down to Reds Meadow the temperature increased, and I became sleepy as I descended. Although the road is nice and quiet, especially during the summer when it is closed to day-use auto traffic, one needs to pay attention while descending. A narrow patch runs the length of the downhill lane where a cable had been buried under the road. The re-patching left a lip that can easily catch a wheel. One needs to dodge from one side to the other of the patch as the latter zig-zags across the lane, often occupying the spot where the best line runs.
At Reds Meadow a small crowd of hikers was congregated near the store, and more were arriving and departing. Although I didn't stop to speak with any of them, I supposed that many of them were PCT and JMT through-hikers. They looked the part.
I returned up Minaret Road and continued over the pass at the top, descended past the Mammoth Mountain Main Lodge, then down toward town. But, before I got into town I saw that I had time to extend my tour. I turned left on the Scenic Loop (or northern escape route) and descended to US-395 before returning into town on CA203 where I picked up the Town Loop Trail.
At first I took the branch that went up Main Street, but that ended at a narrow sidewalk near Old Mammoth Road, so I returned to the bottom of town and rode the other way. The southern branch was more interesting, taking a scenic path through desert sage with sweeping views of Sherwin Crest and Mammoth Mountain. Eventually, that trail ended, and I got onto Old Mammoth Road and climbed up to Lake Mary Road, stopping to pay my respects at the White Picket Fence, where the grave of one of the first settlers is preserved to this day.
I continued up the Lakes Basin Trail to Horseshoe Lake where the water level was as low as I have ever seen it, then returned on the road, adding a loop around Lake Mary but not through the Coldwater Creek Campground before returning to the condo, satisfied that I had covered most of the interesting local trails and roads and had gotten some moderate exercise while saving my energy for the next day.
| GPS track: | GPX |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 0.9 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 460 feet |
| Total Time: | 6:50:13 |
| Hiking Time: | 0:30:13 |
Clark Canyon, June 30, 2022 - Yesterday afternoon Frank received a message from Ground Up that Clay, the owner, would be unable to be our climbing guide today but that his colleague, Joann, would guide us in his stead. Frank had taken charge of setting up our half-day climbing adventure and had developed a rapport with Clay. For several hours he wondered if he would need to start from scratch, describing our group's skill level, equipment needs, and preferences, with our new guide. Frank left a message with Joann, but did not hear back from her until after dinner.
When Frank heard from Joann, he was reassured that our plans would be the same as if Clay had guided us. Even better was that Joann was happy with our meeting at the leisurely hour of 1000 near Big Springs Campground, after which she could drive us as a group on the rough four-wheel-drive road to the Clark Canyon climbing area. Frank and Stella's sedan could not make the trip, and while I might have thought my van could negotiate the roads—after seeing the roads I doubt it—my van was not reliable at the moment.
Joann was in a blue Toyota Rav4, so I kept my eyes open while Frank zipped down Owens River Road. As we passed what looked like a campground my eye caught sight of a blue car through the trees. We had overshot Big Springs Campground. We turned around, and soon we met Joann. She guided us to a shady parking area a little further up the road, then we collected our gear and piled into her Rav4 for the four-wheel-drive portion of our trip to Clark Canyon. The closer we got to the parking area at the end of the road, the worse the road became, and I was glad I didn't try to take my van this way. While I might not have gotten stuck on the way in, I likely would have gotten stuck climbing out of the canyon at one spot where high clearance and some momentum are needed.
When we arrived at the parking area Joann distributed three helmets. Fortunately, the first one I tried fit me. I also borrowed a harness, a model with only one sturdy tie-in loop rather than the usual three. At first I had a hard time tightening the harness, but I managed to get it tightened sufficiently. I noticed that with only one sturdy waist loop at which to attach a rope or carabinar/belay device, I was less likely to fall in such a way that I'd end up hanging upside-down. The downside is that there was no redundancy, there being only one loop.
Joann distributed two long ropes, each in its own bag. She carried one while Frank and Stella shared carrying the other. Later, I carried the second rope in its pack on the way back to the car.
After a short walk part-way up the canyon we came upon a wall of volcanic rock that would be our day-camp for the next several hours. There were at least three bolted sport routes on this section of wall that Joann had planned for us. We'd start by setting up two top-ropes: one on the left-most route called, "Exsqueeze Me" and the other set up on the right-hand route, "Bodhisattva". Later in the day Joann moved one of the ropes to the middle route, "Now and Zen". Don't ask me how these routes got their names, but I figure someone must have been smoking something at the time. All of the routes are rated 5.7, not hard, but challenging enough for us given this was the first time we were climbing outdoors on real rock.
The first task was to check the rope for kinks and debris before hauling it up to the top of the first climb. Frank had wanted to practice lead-belaying, and he got his chance as Joann free climbed to the top of Exsqueeze Me to set up the top-rope. Then, while Frank was climbing that route with Stella belaying, I belayed Joann on Bodhisattva while she set up the other top-rope. I asked Joann if she was comfortable having customers of unknown skill belay her on lead, and she replied that she was treating it as a free solo climb, that she had climbed these routes many times before. In other words, she did not expect to fall.
All three of these routes were on a high angle slab with many small holds. The height varied from about 50 to 60 feet, so they were taller than the gym routes we are accustomed to at 40-45 feet. The rock was not vertical or overhung as in the gym, and I was happy to see that. I don't much care for overhangs as they get me "pumped" (arm muscle fatigue) too quickly. What was different about the rock here versus the gym was that the holds were mostly crimps, pinches, smears, and a few pockets. I found only a couple of jugs (comfortable holds around which one can wrap one's hand and hang from, if necessary). In several spots on each of the climbs there were good spots to rest with deep foot-holds, but in some places the only thing keeping me on the wall were tiny slanted toe-holds.
Joann belayed me on all three of the climbs I did, and I was pleased that she kept a tight top-rope on me, giving me the confidence to venture onto some of the more tenuous holds when I failed to find a nice jug. I even slipped a bit at one point, putting some weight on the rope, and she was kind enough not to announce that. "There are no route police here," she repeated more than once after I confessed my infraction.
My first climb up Bodhisattva ended near the top, but I could find no way to get onto the slightly less slanted shelf where I might friction climb to the anchor point that was about six feet away.
My second climb up Exsqueeze Me I found to be the easiest of the three, although "easy" is not the adjective that came to mind while I was climbing it. The crux move at the top was a similar maneuver to that required on Bodhisattva, but instead of an undercling, one needed to mantel onto the shelf, then friction climb to the anchor. With Joann keeping me on a tight belay I had to confidence to hazard the mantel, but I quickly found myself face-to-face with an overhanging rock. I grabbed the rock on the right from the side, but I couldn't reach the anchor without letting go. I got spooked relying solely on my shoes to friction climb the rest of the way, so I grabbed the rope on my last step toward the anchor.
Stella made two tries on Bodhisattva, eventually getting to the same spot where I quit. Frank climbed Bodhisattva twice, the second time as a mock lead climb with Joann belaying him on top-rope and I belaying him on lead. This was a good way to practice lead-climbing without the risk of a long fall. Frank found his second trip up the route to be easier than the first in spite of having also to manage placing properly the quick-draws and the lead rope.
After a short lesson in anchor-building and a break for lunch, Joann climbed Bodhisattva to reposition the rope for Now and Zen while I belayed her with the Grigri. I found the Grigri easy to configure and use once I had been taught how it works. It's still important to keep the brake side of the rope down, but one need not stand ready to pull the brake side hard in case the climber falls the way one would using an ATC device. Lowering requires one to lift the left handle to a position that allows the climber to be lowered at a comfortable rate, which on this slabby rock was not too fast. On the vertical or overhung walls in the gym we can lower more quickly because the climber is suspended in air during the descent. Other than that one needs to keep one's fingers to the side of the device and not rest them on top.
After lunch Stella climbed Now and Zen, getting most of the way to the top, and then I gave it a go, getting to about the same spot, which was not quite close enough to touch the anchor. A couple of times on my way up I couldn't find a way to make progress, and I whined loudly to my companions below. I was getting tired. But, after a minute or two I would discover the tiniest of foot holds to press upon. When I got to the top shelf I could find nothing but a small quartz deposit the size of a small crimp off to the left that looked too small and off-center to use. I had been on the wall for almost 15 minutes, and given my fatigue at this point I finally called to be lowered.
Each of the routes took us close to 15 minutes to climb, much longer than the 3-5 minutes we would spend on a route in the gym. Although I never felt "pumped" I did find my triceps and upper back muscles very sore and tired afterward. Also, my fingers were sore, the nails having been pulled away from the skin on my thumbs, index, and middle fingers. This cleared up after a few days, but it was irritating while it lasted. We had excellent weather during our climbing day, yet the wind picked up a few times, and that added a few scary moments when we were attached to the wall with little more than our toe tips.
Although we had only paid for a half-day, Joann showed incredible patience with us newbies and let us climb until about 1700.
Joann climbed to the anchor on Now and Zen in her approach shoes to retrieve her anchor, then after being lowered with the rope anchored only by the two semi-permanent Mussey Hooks installed at the top of the climb, she pulled the rope through until it fell into a pile at her feet. We then packed up the ropes and proceeded down the trail to the car. This time I carried the 2nd rope, finding it slightly difficult to place my feet confidently with the large bag hanging off my chest.
Joann then drove us back to our carpooling spot, we said our goodbyes, and then we were on our way back to the condo. Although the guided outing cost us a lot more than a day of hiking would have, I think we all agreed that today was the highlight of our trip, making up for our somewhat disappointing hiking accomplishments earlier in the week. Frank later remarked that our climbing day was everything he had hoped it would be.
| GPS track: | GPX |
|---|---|
| Bike Ridden: | Power Gold Rush |
| Distance: | 2.8 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 0 feet |
| Total Time: | 00:14:52 |
| Riding Time: | 00:10:48 |
| Avg. Speed (moving): | 15.4 mph |
| Max. Speed: | 19.6 mph |
Mammoth to Home, July 2, 2022 - Today's adventure started yesterday morning, long before I got onto my bike.
Yesterday the three of us rose at a reasonable hour. All of us were tired from our adventure on the rock in Clark Canyon. Our tentative plan was to call a boat-rental agency at Silver Lake to see if they had kayaks available for us to spend a couple hours paddling around Silver Lake, a relaxing conclusion to our week in the mountains.
Late that morning workmen were painting the retaining wall against which we had parked our cars. They needed a little more space to finish their work, so I offered to move my van.
When I tried to start the van, it sputtered for a few seconds then died. I tried several times to get the engine started, using various positions of the throttle, but nothing worked. It was good that I tried to start the van the day before we left, not the morning of our departure.
After my drive into Mammoth the prior Saturday I knew something was failing or becoming unreliable, but during the week I had put that thought out of my head, preferring instead to enjoy the week rather than stress over a problem that may be manageable. I thought I could get the van started and get myself home, but during the week we used Frank and Stella's car and I forgot to check my van. But now figuring out how to deal with a non-working van was my first priority. How was I going to get myself and my stuff home the next morning? We could not remain in the condo past 1000 tomorrow morning as new tenants were moving in that afternoon. The management company needed time to clean and maintain the place.
We pushed the van a few feet back so the workmen could finish their job, then I went into the condo and proceeded to pack my things and load up the van, then call AAA to get a tow home. Fortunately, I had AAA's "Premier" membership that gave me one 200-mile tow per membership year, and I did not call AAA until my van had been mostly packed at around 1100.
I chose not to try to have the van towed to a local repair shop in town, but in hindsight I might have saved myself the excess towing charges if I could have had the repair done locally that day.
The van had recently had a special air mixture valve replaced, and the engine symptoms I noticed before that valve had been replaced were similar to the symptoms I noticed the prior Saturday on the drive in. I decided it was unlikely a local shop would be able to find a replacement part in the next 24 hours, and having the van disassembled ran the risk that they might find or create new problems. My van is old and is not easy to work on. Aside from that I needed somewhere to store my stuff while the van was being worked on. The risk I might be stuck in Mammoth well into the following week due to the imminent July 4th weekend was quite real.
After I had packed up the van I called AAA Roadside Assistance (RA). At first my case was taken by the Northern California office. I received a call back 15 minutes later telling me my case had been transferred to the Southern California office and that I should expect a call from them "within 20 minutes". I waited an hour before calling AAA again, and another hour on hold until an operator answered. I was told that my case was "in process" and that I should expect a call back in "20 minutes". I waited 45 before I called back again and was placed on hold.
While I was on hold a recorded lady encouraged me to use the AAA app. My frustration mounted while I was on hold, so to kill time I loaded the app onto my phone and submitted a new RA case, and then I hung up the phone. Ten minutes later I received a call in regards to the case I had submitted via the app. The operator told me they were working on the case, and I explained that I also had a case I had phoned in that had been transferred to the Southern California office. She canceled that first case. (AAA later admitted they had dropped the ball on my first RA case.)
Fifteen minutes later she called me back and told me that I could get my requested tow home the next morning. It was too late to start a long tow this afternoon. I told her that was acceptable as the next morning was our normal check-out time. We arranged for a 0900 arrival for the driver who would be coming in from Gardnerville, NV. The contractor would call me shortly and arrange for the over-mileage payment.
A few minutes after I got off the phone with AAA I got a call from Marlo of Silver State Towing in Gardnerville, NV. AAA would pay for 200 miles of the tow, but I would be on the hook for 103.7 miles, 303.7 miles total. The over-mileage rate was $10/mile!
Flat-bed tow trucks could not take the shortest route through Yosemite as the National Park allows only its contracted concessionaires to tow inside the park, not to mention that we didn't have a reservation. Tow trucks were also not allowed to cross over Sonora Pass (too steep) or Ebbetts Pass (too narrow) unless they received a call for service on those roads, which meant that my tow home ran through Gardnerville, NV and crossed the Sierras on CA88, hence the large over-mileage charge.
I tried bargaining to get a reduction, but Marlo wouldn't budge. "We have expenses and fuel is so expensive these days..." I got the impression that Marlo had practiced this routine many times with unpleasantly surprised customers, and she knew just how to modulate the tone of her voice to put me at ease with separating me from over $1000. She had me over a barrel, and she knew it.
I quickly ran my mind through the alternatives, and they involved either remaining in Mammoth for several days over the holiday weekend without having a car, assuming I could find a room somewhere, quickly selling or abandoning my van in Mammoth or making another trip to Mammoth: either a very long day on the road for two of us, an expensive Uber ride followed by a long drive for me, or two days on the road and one night in a motel plus meals for two of us. Moreover, my bike and other stuff, including some of Frank and Stella's stuff (that would have to be left behind to make room for me in their car) would have to stay in the van to be collected later, assuming the van was left unmolested in my absence. Each of these alternatives was less appealing even if they cost nominally less.
Once I had given Marlo my credit card number I checked my credit card account online and saw that a pending transaction had been submitted. At that point, I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing I would be getting home tomorrow with all of my stuff. The tow would take the van to my local repair shop from which I would ride my bike the remaining three miles home with my day bag. It would be an odd way to arrive home after a week in Mammoth. Frank agreed to help me a day or two later to get the rest of my stuff home and some of his stuff that had been put into the van. Frank and Stella took my perishable food items in their car in case he was unable to help me empty the van the next morning.
By the time our plans were settled it was 1600, too late to head out for a kayak rental. Besides that, we were mentally no longer in the mood. Frank and Stella to their credit didn't complain about staying with me at the condo throughout the day until my plans had firmed up. At dinner that night we finished the last bottle of wine, making a toast to a "Wasted Day". It was one of the best laughs we had all day. (The other was when a AAA operator took me off hold after an hour of waiting just as I decided to release a noisy stream into the toilet.)
We enjoyed our dinner and dessert, then cleaned up and packed some of our stuff. The next morning I was up at 0615, prepared a normal breakfast, did some exercises, then packed up the remaining stuff we had in the condo, mostly perishable food items.
Marlo had advised that my driver would contact me as he left Gardnerville, but 0700 came and went without a call. Gardnerville is about two hours from Mammoth. After 0800 I was starting to worry I might not be out by 1000 and thought of calling Marlo to confirm that a driver had indeed been dispatched. But before I could do that I received a call from "Dan", my driver. He was just passing through Lee Vining and would be arriving early.
I finished packing, but just as the tow truck arrived our neighbors started busily packing up their cars. It wasn't clear if they were packing for the day or were moving out. We waited for 10 minutes before I asked if they would be leaving soon, and if they weren't, if we could get my van out and onto the flat-bed truck. They told me they would need another 30 minutes, so we pushed my van into the driveway, Dan backed the flat-bed up to the van, and 15 minutes later we were on the road.
Dan was about my age and had driven for Silver State Towing for ten years and was an experienced motorcycle racer. His wife works as an ER nurse in Reno. Although the Freightliner truck we were in was not his assigned truck--his Ford was in the shop for maintenance--he knew just how hard he could push it. His driving was more aggressive than mine but not to the point where I might say something.
We started by taking the Scenic Loop out of town then headed north on US-395, making our first stop in Gardnerville for fuel at a contract fuel station. It had no services or attendant, only two fuel pumps and a porta-potty, the latter of which I used. The second leg of our trip headed southwest over CA88, reminding me of my last bike ride across the Sierra when I rode that way from South Lake Tahoe.
I had brought a pee bottle with me as I didn't know what was the policy for stopping when carrying a customer and vehicle. Dan said he would stop whenever I asked, although he never needed to take a pee break. We stopped once again in Lockeford at my request.
Dan had made the trip out to the Bay Area a number of times and knew where the speed traps were, the points of interest, and the truck scale at which he had to stop in Livermore. His latest two visits were to deliver a driver and car to San Francisco and another to Mill Valley. It had been a while since he had delivered anyone to the South Bay.
Once the long tow had been established and paid for, Dan was paid a percentage of the trip, the total cost of which was around $2600, with AAA paying $1600 of it. This was his only trip today. After he dropped me off in Mountain View he would be returning to Gardnerville. We could both see that traffic heading eastbound was much heavier than westbound, so his trip home may be more tedious.
As we flew through Stockton on CA4 I checked life360 and noticed that Frank and Stella were on CA120 through Manteca. I wondered if Frank or Stella were doing likewise. (They were.) When our routes joined up we were about a minute apart. I could tell that Dan knew I was checking their location, and he sped up just a bit. I think he saw a bit of a challenge. But, traffic was thick, so gaining on them was not possible. After we stopped at the scale in Livermore we were already several minutes behind them.
We arrived at my auto shop in Mountain View at 1530. Dan had my van parked in the lot a few minutes later. The exciting part of my day was over, or so I thought. At this point my adrenaline had stopped flowing, and I was suddenly fatigued and not paying as much attention as I should have been.
After Dan had driven off I filled out the drop-box envelope, placed my spare key into the envelope, and pushed the envelope into the slot at the shop. Then I started unpacking my bike.
While I was unpacking my bike I had inadvertently left my key in the ignition, probably when I disabled the alarm so the shop wouldn't have to deal with a nuisance of tripping it. While my key was in the ignition I accidentally closed the door in the locked position, locking my only remaining key in the van. I tried the other doors, but they were all locked. Argh!
I tried reaching through the shop's key drop slot, but the slot was too small to admit my hand. I could walk home, get another spare key, walk back, then finish getting my bike out. I could take Uber rides to do the same, or I could call AAA for the second time in two days to request lock-out assistance. This time I used the AAA app from the start, and I could see a driver coming from Santa Clara on a live map. 20 minutes later Carlos had my door open, and I had retrieved my key.
Before I could make any more fatigue-induced mistakes, I got my bike out, checked my pocket for keys, locked up the van, and rode home, producing the given GPS track. I was happy to get home at last, although it felt a bit weird to arrive on my bike with only my day-bag.
Although the symptoms of a faulty air mixture valve were similar, the cause of this week's failure in the van was a cracked distributor cap. The shop replaced the distributor, rotor, and all ignition wires. Another $400, and now everything runs smoothly. The distributor on my van is hard to reach without removing more of the engine cover inside the van, and the part may not be widely available. Maybe a local shop could have procured the part on Friday, but I'll never know.
Frank and Stella's Mammoth June 2022 web pages - For a different perspective see Frank and Stella's web pages of the same holiday.
All web site content except where otherwise noted: ©2026 Bill Bushnell
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