Labor Day Trip - Southern Sierra

[slomove]

We are going on a 2-day trip from LA area to Visalia

 

- Leaving Sunday morning 9/4 https://goo.gl/maps/E6ZC2611oEu

- Angeles Crest/Forest Hwy

- Hwy14 to Red Rock, then 178 to Lake Isabella

- Kern River, Trail of Giants to Springville

- Yokohl Dr. to Visalia (made reservation at the Convention C. Marriott)

- About 280 miles

 

- Returning Monday 9/5 https://goo.gl/maps/PKukdzCkzMy

- Lake Success to Eagle Mountain Casino for breakfast (1 hour away)

- White River to Wofford Heights (Lake Isabella)

- Hwy 178 (or possibly Caliente Bodfish Road instead depending on traffic)

- Hwy58 then Woodford-Tehachapi Rd.

- Willow Springs, Elizabeth Lake, Bouquet Canyon

- Sand Canyon back home

- About 315 miles or 299 miles using Caliente-Bodfish

 

Anybody interested to join?

Might be kind of warm but probably not too hot and a lot of the distance is at altitude.

[NVP66S]

That's a really nice trip. If we still lived in Mojave, we would go along. I took my car on the Caliente-Bodfish rd and got motion sick. :blush: No problem on the motorcycle. Have fun!

Dan

 

PS on the Tehachapi-Lake Los Angeles leg, you might consider a detour from the Tehachapi-Willow Springs Rd, take a left onto Oak Creek to Mojave. You drive through several hundred windmills if you're interested in that kind of thing. My avatar photo was taken just off that road. Then just south of Mojave on 14, turn right onto Silver Queen. That'll take you back to your plan.

Edited August 26, 2016 by NVP66S

[Evan78]

In case anyone else is interested, here's the location of the windmills Dan mentioned.

 

https://goo.gl/maps/3upMe2psZA42

[slomove]

Good trip. Weather was perfect, 75-80 degrees most of the time. The Sierra foothills have some stunning roads. No traffic and amazingly lot of new pavement. For that matter, our last leg on Angeles Forest/Crest Hwy was also devoid of any traffic.

 

Somewhere HERE

 

 

 

Oh yes...and there (Brewbakers in Visalia):

[Shoe String Racing]

that's great. love to hear that kind of report. And I also find it amazing that the main arterials and freeways in central CA are shit, the Gold Country back roads are in great condition. must be the simple fact of much less traffic. wish I coulda made it down to meet you at your turn around point, but I'm battling some mechanical gremlins.

[slomove]

that's great. love to hear that kind of report. And I also find it amazing that the main arterials and freeways in central CA are shit, the Gold Country back roads are in great condition. must be the simple fact of much less traffic. wish I coulda made it down to meet you at your turn around point, but I'm battling some mechanical gremlins.

 

Well, to be clear, many of the back country roads had new pavement but there were a few very rough segments as well.

Traffic means a farmers truck every five minutes and most people were considerate enough to get out of the way at the next opportunity.

 

Only downside was the traffic around Lake Isabella and the Kern River on Sunday. That was a zoo with cars parked along the river at every available piece of the shoulder, parking lots full of cars and tents. Similarly at the "Trail of The 100 Giants". We wanted to stop there for a short walk along the redwoods but it would have meant to park somewhere a mile down the road and hike back so we skipped that. The foothills were much nicer.