I had just finished my last final of the season when I thought…I had to get the f*ck out of LA. Weeks of long hours behind a computer screen had me itching for an adventure.
Now, my typical last-minute go to road trip is up the 395 from Los Angeles to Mammoth Lakes in the Eastern Sierra Nevada of California. It is a sure way to beat the intense summer heat and get in some great high elevation hiking in to boost that endurance training.
Yet, I had different plans this trip. Rather than making the mad dash up to Mammoth, I wanted to stop off at some of the off-the-beaten path spots along the way. That took me to Lone Pine, a sleepy little town right off the 395. I have driven through it so many times but haven’t really taken the time to explore it in its own right. I wanted to change that this trip. So, on my way up to Mammoth this time, I stopped off for a night in the Alabama Hills recreation area, just a quick left onto Whitney Portal Road from the 395.
The Alabama Hills recreation area is only about a three-hour road trip from Los Angeles, and about a four-hour road trip from Las Vegas. Enshrined in Hollywood history, the hills served as the backdrop for countless Westerns, like Nevada Smith with Steve McQueen, Joe Kidd with Clint Eastwood, Blue Steel with John Wayne, and were featured regularly on the beloved Lone Ranger series. The area was even cast to play the role of 19th century British India in Gunga Din. Any respectable cinefile should definitely drive down Movie Flat Road at least once in their lives. I had just purchased my drone and after much research about the legality of flying so close to Lone Pine Public Aerodrome, I was determined to catch some aerial shots of trampling elephants and marauding bandits. Alas, it was only me and the desert, but it was a wonderful experience, nonetheless.
But this trip was not just about chasing after the Wild West. I was also on a mission to try some astrophotography with my new iPhone 12 pro camera. It can supposedly take some great Milky Way shots with some help with the heavy lifting by programs like Sequator. The process actually
worked out quite well, much better than I thought it would. Remind me for an astrophotography iPhone 12 camera tutorial and the best camera apps I’ve been using for extending shutter speed if you guys are interested!
See, the Alabama Hills area is also known for having extraordinarily little light pollution for being so close to Los Angeles, with a Bortle class 2 dark sky score. That mean sh*t gets dark, real dark. So, I made sure to set up camp before the sun set. You can disperse camp all throughout the area, pitching a tent in some of the aforementioned movie set locations. I know I would dream of elephants. Yet, I was up there on a weekend that was supposed to hit above 100-degree temperatures. So, I opted for a bit of a shadier spot. Lone Pine Campground is only a few miles up Whitney Portal Road. It has pit bathrooms, established campsites, and a gorgeous little creek running through it that gives much needed cool air rushing in with the water.
Now, let’s not mention how I forgot to bring the tripod I typically use for mobile phone photography. I’m actually including the link to the trusty tripod that sat this trip out because it is incredibly functional and lightweight. 10 out of 10 would recommend for mobile phone or GoPro cameras. However, this time, I would have to get creative. I had the terrifying realization of my error about an hour north of Mojave—too late to go back and too far into the California high desert to find any replacement options at a local Best Buy. The thing is, with Sequator, you need about a dozen or so shots taken from the same exact spot to stack together to pull out the best star images. That meant flying freehand would simply not cut it. Before heading into the hills, I stopped off at the only open grocery market in Lone Pine, picked up some BBQ tongs and tape and straight McGyvered a questionable, yet somehow functionable tripod. But it was worth it…
Soon after I got my tent up, civil twilight sank into the depths of darkness, lit ever so slightly by the waning gibbous sinking into the horizon. Mowgli and I packed up our makeshift tripod, some water, and my trusted offline Google Maps of the area that I had made sure to download before leaving Los Angeles—there is ZERO service in most of the Alabama Hills. We drove cautiously down Whitney Portal Road, making a right on famous Movie Flat Road until we hit the small parking area for the Mobius Arch Loop Trial, known for its impressive geological arches that opened up like windows to the views of the Sierra Nevada beyond.
It was pitch black and agonizingly silent. Mowgli and I are native Angelinos, so it always throws you off to witness such deafening silence. After about a half mile or so, I heard voices where I had marked the GPS for Mobius Arch. It was comforting to know that other like-minded astrophotographers—well much more professional than me, but still—would be good company. A couple from San Diego were out light bathing the arch and taking much better photos than I was with my BBQ tong tripod monstrosity. They fell in love with Mowgli, even in the vapid darkness, which eased his anxiety that much more. After a few hours of messing around with different angles and trying to shield my slapdash tripod from the infamous high desert winds, Mowgli and I packed up our things and headed back to camp. Lone Pine Campground was somehow even more silent than the hills themselves. With my tent delightfully close to the creek, I quickly sank off to sleep, led by the cooing of the water flowing past.
In the lulling light of the next day, we went back to the Mobius Arch Trail Loop, this time in all of its full sunlit glory. The smooth arches stood out against the rugged mountain horizon, with Mount Whitney towering over them with auspicious authority. The geology of this region is stunning. There are two main types of rock here, the reddish volcanic rock that has been so tirelessly worn through by the dusty high winds of the desert to carve out windows looking out to the Sierra. Mobius Arch, Heart Arch, and Lathe Arch—just to name a few—open up to scenic vistas of the mountains beyond. There is also a type of biotite granite rock, molded into the rounded, potato like structures dotted throughout the recreation area. I could honestly spend hours wandering around, delicately caressing the ancient rock oddities as I strolled past.
Yet, given that by 9 a.m. it was precariously teetering upwards of 90 degrees, I grabbed a few more drone shots, took Mowgli for a dip in Lone Pine Creek that was right behind our campground, and sped off for the next adventure. On my way out, I made sure to grab breakfast at the beloved Alabama Hills Café, one of the best places to eat in Lone Pine. As my last drone footage of the excursion came from the Lone Ranger Camp site, I found it only fitting to pig out on their omelet named in its honor.
There are so many things along this journey that too many of us miss as we haul ass to Mammoth from Los Angeles. Word to the wize, slow down and take the time to explore the oddities and adventures off the 395.
I will have several other locations in this series so make sure you sign up for notifications when I post new blogs! Also, check out the epic drone footage I took on my YouTube channel, linked below!
**This post contains affiliate links. These are products that I use on a constant basis, so I recommend them with full trust in their quality. If you're interested in purchasing, it would help this blog grow to do so through my Amazon affiliate links! Thanks!
Comments