Iron Side Up: Winter Wonderland Run

Mount Whitney while driving through Lone Pine

Cindy’s and my drive to Dayton, Nevada started out as expected. No, strike that. It started out better than expected for a Saturday as the traffic on the westbound 210 Freeway moved along even with the lane closure and ongoing construction. Since we stayed to the right to head up Highway 14 we didn’t get into the mess that almost always is the case when being in the left lanes to drive north on the 5 Freeway.

There was no rain in the forecast, no snow either, for our quick jog nor was any predicted for our return drive on Monday. During the week before we had five inches or so in La Crescenta while it snowed in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There were also no predictions of chains being required for the trip in any of our research so I left them in the boot below our luggage and gear. Our drive through the Antelope Valley, Mojave Desert, and brief winding through the Red Rock Canyon State Park was without incident and seemed to me to be full of hope. The desert was coming alive with standing water in places and waterfowl enjoying the break on the last legs of their journeys south.

Highway 14 ends at the junction with Highway 395 just above Inyokern. We began seeing dustings of snow on the north facing slopes of the southernmost peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The further north we went the more prominent the snowcaps became. We passed through towns like Grant, Olancha, and Cartago, slowing for each town to speed limits as low as 25MPH. My philosophy of never being the fastest and letting the rabbits run ahead keeps me from worrying too much about legal entanglements and having to answer the question, “Do you know how fast you were going?”

I love driving through Lone Pine with the western feel to the town – boardwalks and storefronts heighten the old frontier sense. Mostly though it is because of the great memories the Dow Vista Motel has for me as a stopping point with my Victory friends. Lone Pine provides an excellent view of Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the contiguous United States. She was resting under a blanket of snow that is now being amplified and hopefully packed as it should be this time of year.

From Lone Pine we continued north past Manzanar, through Independence, and on to Big Pine where we made a fuel stop. The snowline continued to drop or perhaps we simply continued to climb and rose to meet the snow line. Yes, yes that’s the ticket because when we pulled into Erick Schat’s Bakkery in Bishop we had to be wary of ice on the parking lot and hidden in the scattered snowdrifts on our way into the bakery.

Sandwiches and baked goods in hand, we continued north with snow at the side of the road and a brief notice of a chain requirement further on but to brief for me to read. The views were spellbinding and I struggled to keep watch on the highway. Less than a quarter of a mile past the Mammoth Mountain turn off we came upon the chain requirement in earnest. Evidently the snowplow folks do not see the need to plow the road further on because everybody’s destination must be Mammoth Mountain.

Some folks pulled over to put on chains, others did not bother and simply applied chains in the middle of the lane. We wove our way through them all and decided to put the mud and snow tires to the test on our all-wheel drive Subaru Forester. We traversed about ten to twelve miles with one side on and one side off the snow and ice pack. We did simply fine and came upon one more section of icy roads before getting to Bridgeport where we’d planned to eat our sandwiches on park benches which we found with six inches of snow on them like a generously iced cake. We opted to eat after our arrival at Lauren and Taylor’s place in Dayton.

Our stay in Dayton was brief, two nights with a run up to Virginia City and a midmorning departure on Monday. Lauren and Taylor are the consummate hosts and our grandchildren, Becca (20mos.) and Logan (3yrs. 20mo.) are the best enjoyment for which we could hope. The purpose of our visit was to watch Logan’s inaugural performance in dance during the first recital for a newly formed dance school. The venue was the Virginia City Opera House where four hundred or so participants and audience members crammed in. Logan was outstanding. Our afternoon was capped off with me winning the 50/50 drawing that was contested by an 8-year-old girl who had thought she had won. I did not have to fight her for it, lucky for me. I kept it all.

Our departure was tempered with the knowledge we would be together at our place in a few short days for Christmas It was a Christmas that was subdued by the fact Logan had come down with a flu bug of some sort. It was not Covid as we all were tested for it and came out with negative results. We have a compromised family member to see – the deepest source of our muted celebrations. God’s peace to the Chambers family. The return trip was no less spectacular with the freezing temperatures conserving the snowpacks though the road was more open after two days of traffic to help clear it off.

This being an Iron Side Up post I should point out that during our drive I often imagined making the trip on STICKII, my Victory Cross Country. I could have made it just fine up to the point where the chain warning came into effect. Well, except for the sub-30-degree temperatures. I would have needed industrial strength heated socks and gloves, the socks to counter my impaired toes from the freezing ride from Laughlin in 2019 where I contracted a hearty case of Chilblains, one step from frostbite. I will surely make this run in the next few months and I will love every mile and do it with a smile on my face with the thought of Opa hugs for my grandchildren.

Keep the iron side up, stay safe, and be well.

Jerry ‘Shakespeare’ White

Note: Photo credit goes to Cindy, a most excellent navigator and on-the-run photographer.