Trip Date: September 20, 2018
I don’t know why this is called the Obsidian trip and I am writing this story 4 years after the trip so all I have to go on are the photos. I don’t see any Obsidian in them and I don’t know why we wouldn’t have camped closer to the Obsidian, or right at it in our usual camp spot if we were. I can’t be certain even where we camped, however, I do recall having to drive through Mammoth, past the bike park because they were having a huge event at the time and there were tons of people, vans, gear, music, banners and signs, and a million bikes all crammed into this one parking area. It was insane to drive past it twice a day on our journeys out in the middle of nowhere.
Perhaps this is some of the appeal of Mammoth in that you can be in the middle of a festival, be surrounded by shopping, restaurants, and bars, but within a few minutes be on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) high up in the Sierra’s or soaking in a hot tub with no one in sight out in the Owens Valley in a matter of minutes. The contrast was too much for me though; it was hard going through all the noise and commotion each time we came and went. It was hard to settle down after going through all the buzz.
After conferring with Steve and Bob, our best guess is that we camped 2 or 3 nights at Pumice Flat Campground. I still don’t understand why we didn’t camp out like we usually do, or if the main purpose of the trip was to gather Obsidian, why we didn’t camp closer to it. But, at least some of the pieces are coming back to us. Steve recalled being able to use his Golden Member Senior Pass to get us into the backcountry, past Minaret Vista Entrance Station. It may have been that we wanted to have a fire at night and all the agencies had prohibited camp fires unless in a designated campground in a fire ring.
I do recall the insanely steep drive down from the Entrance station at 9176’ down Reds Meadow Road. It was a thrill every time in each direction, especially when we had to maneuver to pass someone or let them pass us. We may have checked Minaret Falls and Upper Soda Springs campgrounds first, but they were full. I recall being relieved, after having driven all this way, and finding the other 2 campgrounds full, to find a nice site along the far upper stretches of the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River. I remember the young cute camp hostess greeting us and having a nice talk with her about her experiences out here in the high Sierras.
There weren’t any sites within sight on one side of us and the next site was open for the first night, so it was pretty sweet in the campground. Plus we had clear unobstructed access to the river behind our site, which made for very pleasant relaxation. We also found respite in a couple hot springs. We headed out one day into Owens Valley to hit 3 hot springs. I recall one being too hot to get into. I have photos of us walking out some distance from the rig, but have no idea of what the names of the springs were, or how we found them, other than following my Hot Springs of California/Nevada book, which of course I can’t find now. In any event, the pictures look nice.
I believe we had a local day, heading to Red’s Meadow Resort and hitting the little store there, checking out all the backpackers, and making some phone calls. We took a hike along the river and went to see the Devil’s Postpile National Monument, had a nice little tailgate lunch and beverages. When we got back to camp, we had neighbors, 2 or 3 younger couples if I recall. They stayed up late, but weren’t too noisy. On our way home is apparently when we hit the Obsidian.
The Obsidian spot is East out Highway 120, so it wasn’t exactly on the way home, but near enough apparently. At least it wasn’t any further South. That’s all I got for memories except for the photos. Enjoy.
Obsidian Trip; Inyo National Forest Photo Gallery
