On Thursday I embarked on a journey, what I was about to experience was not what I expected. There was the drive, an early start, to Cajon Pass by 9 a.m.. I then climbed the pass, and took US395 north, The first miles are urban sprawl and commercial clutter, nothing of redeemable social significance. At SR58 I passed one of the larger solar power stations. acres of mirrors covering the desert, with complex systems to keep them tracking the sun and providing the heat for power generation.
On to Atolia, a semi-abandoned mining community. Rusting metal, waste piles and head frames dot the landscape. There are still active claims around there, but nothing big. This area is a mass of old mining stuff, I once spent a weekend shooting there when film was the medium, not digital. Somewhere in my past those pictures got lost, so maybe I'll do a digital expedition in the future. Take a look at
Randsburg, the best example of the mining era.
I passed the first turn off towards Death Valley, continued north, passing Ridgecrest (a big military town and weapons testing area), then Little Lake, and oasis and the beginning of the real mountains. On past the volcanic landscape, with lava beds and cinder cones, toward Olancha, home of one of the Crystal Geyser Water bottling plants. Yes, they bottle real mountain spring water. Nearby you see the remains of Owens Lake, once a large body of water that had paddle wheel steamships moving along its surface. That was before Mullholland stole the water from Owens Valley to send via aqueduct to Los Angeles.
On to Big Pine, and my route changed, as I climbed on SR168 towards White Mountain Road. I turned left and started a trip through Pinyon Pines seeking the rare air that is home to the ancient bristlecone pines. The visitor center is a temporary structure after the original building was destroyed in a fire started by a paranoid schizophrenic who decided to burn it down. New construction has started but won't be finished till 2013.
I started on discovery trail, it is solitude, quiet, and you can only imagine being a tree and watching this valley for the last 4000 years, clinging to life through the ice storms and high winds. To think you were walking with the ancients, you feel very humble.
More later..
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