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During October of 2011, a Sportmobile rally was set up at Nevada?s Valley Of Fire State Park by Mac McGuire of the Sportsmobile Forum group that ended up being one of the largest meetings to date. I?d say that it was a solid success and you can read about it here:<\/p>\n
Valley Of Fire Sportsmobile Group Meet<\/a><\/p>\n To and from the Nevada get-together, I visited some of the area around Mono Lake. Not only did this area supply an overnight camping point between California and Nevada, the region has some nice forest service paths well suited for vehicle exploration. Unlike many of the off road routes I take, these were well graded paths that were highly scenic during the fall season and suitable for novice drivers and 2WD vehicles during dry weather. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Highway 120:<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n As mentioned in the Valley Of Fire report, the first night on the road ended up in Yosemite National Park. The next day the plan was to camp nearby Mono Lake and get in some off roading in preparation for the group meet up. There was plenty of time to explore around Mono Lake being V of F is actually within a day?s reach of my home town. Although I?ve camped just off 120 when bound to other areas in the mid-west, I?ve never searched over the trails that led deep into the backcountry. It was time to do so. The navigator, as mentioned in the V of F post, was my good buddy and Forum member Don Dunbar who has accompanied me on many off road adventures.<\/p>\n After a great lunch at Lee Vining, the first camp wasn?t too far off so the plan was to start off by going into Bishop for fuel and supplies then head out of town and hit a few county roads.<\/p>\n The camp at Sawmill Meadows isn?t too far from Benton Hot Springs so looking at the map showed a nice route off highway 6 just outside town connecting Jean Blanc Rd to Casa Diablo Rd then to Benton Crossing road and finally to Benton Hot Springs.<\/p>\n I mean why take a perfectly paved highway when there is a dirt road close by?<\/p>\n It starts off with the road running along a set of power lines but heads towards a volcanic bluff.<\/p>\n Views of the surrounding hills were supplemented by beautiful skies.<\/p>\n The volcanic ridge is interesting and seems to be a spot many come to camp and perhaps do some rock hounding.<\/p>\n I always enjoy seeing long winding roads and this one didn?t disappoint for sure.<\/p>\n This image is where the trail crosses under some high voltage transmission lines, one of which is a DC line.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Still some ground color even so late into the year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n At one fork the Casa Diablo Mine cutoff road looked like a better choice in the hopes of finding a nice backcountry trail to camp.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The cutoff road led further west but looked a bit more scenic.<\/p>\n As the road began to climb in altitude, pines appeared and the terrain looked more like what was around the Mono Lake area.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I didn?t want to get into camp at dark so rather than look for a way over the hill we just jammed down the paved Benton Crossing road. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n After heading into Benton, the sun was on its way towards evening. Thankfully camp was close by.<\/p>\n Turning off highway 120, Black Canyon road heading to camp follows over flat terrain then climbs into the pines.<\/p>\n The autumn colors were in full force. We made it into camp and setup for the night. No wood gathering as late as it was and being it was breezy and cold, the iced down adult beverages were quickly dissipated inside with the Espar heater providing a barrier from the outside world. Don didn?t bring his tent heater as he focused on warmer desert weather. Maybe a mistake but he was outfitted well. Still I figured he was probably wishing that he had that piece of equipment as the temps dropped well below freezing.<\/p>\n In the morning we packed up after a hot cup of espresso. I really like this camp provided nobody else is occupying the local area. I got off a few pictures before leaving out to do some exploring.<\/p>\n I wasn?t too sure what this structure was used for but it did appear to be some kind of trough for water. <\/p>\n There is a pit toilet at the camp and there are several sites in the area however there aren?t many tables. Most of the fire rings were primitive rock types.<\/p>\n The local meadow called Sawmill Meadows was quite beautiful at this time of the year. <\/p>\n It was time to head out for the Valley Of Fire meet in Nevada but being we happened to be somewhat close, there wasn?t any reason not to explore some of the backcountry.<\/p>\n I didn?t know what to expect but this area would surprise both of us.<\/p>\n Heading into McGee Canyon.<\/p>\n Looking out at highway 120. The close up image below shows a small lake that is just outside Benton Crossing.<\/p>\n After a short climb, the trail follows above Taylor Canyon. The trail splits off into the bottom of Taylor Canyon but the plan was to head toward Crooked Meadows instead.<\/p>\n Mono is a volcanic region and this section of the trail passes by unique rock formations.<\/p>\n A short section of the trail swings back south and west then enters a higher plain type zone that is kind of shrubby in appearance. <\/p>\n Off in the distance, several trees were showing the colors of the fall season.<\/p>\n Soon the route follows a rim route above another canyon. It?s hard to see but the ledge drops straight off into the canyon. This was one spot to boon dock if your in a pinch. Just be careful walking around at night.<\/p>\n Summer had taken its toll but somehow these dried flowers still added to the scenery.<\/p>\n The road had a few sandy spots but overall any car could run these trails.<\/p>\n Back into a more heavily forested area. Too bad the camping spots are very limited along this section of the trail.<\/p>\n These areas shown in the images above and below were spots one could pull off to camp, but it wasn?t what I?d call a premium place to overnight at.<\/p>\n The road breaks out of the trees into another set of rolling hills.<\/p>\n Looking at the backside of the Sierra Nevada Range. Highway 395 runs nearby those peaks in the background.<\/p>\n Moving into the Crooked Meadows area. The road was well graded but fairly sandy.<\/p>\n The computer map shows a camp that I?ve stayed at before. Provided nobody is there, it is a premium spot to stay at. It has several sites with a few tables and a modern pit toilet. Driving off road is prohibited but there are several roads in the area where you can pull off to for isolated camping. Some of the roads are marked, but several aren?t. A forest service map helps here.<\/p>\n This is the intersection of the Crooked Meadows Road and Highway 120. From here it was time to head off to Valley Of Fire. Unfortunately I ended up having engine issues outside of Las Vegas but finally made it to the meet which went wonderfully after the van was repaired. <\/p>\n After leaving Nevada, the plan was to drive back to Sawmill Meadows. During our stay in the Las Vegas area, we encountered heavy rains. The bad weather also made its way to the Mono Lake region but instead of rain we encountered snow.<\/p>\n Now I knew Don would have wished he had packed his tent heater. It was damn cold outside. Again we opted to party inside the van with its Espar heater. In the morning the hot coffee was a welcomed treat in such cold weather. We packed up and headed for home. During the previous week we never got to explore Taylor canyon and being it was close by it seemed the logical choice as a way out to the highway.<\/p>\n The snow did make for some scenic shots.<\/p>\n Back through McGee Canyon.<\/p>\n Pretty crazy rock formations.<\/p>\n Peeling off the McGee Canyon Road on to Taylor Canyon Road.<\/p>\n The route pulls a wide U-turn that descends into the bottom of the canyon.<\/p>\n From the higher elevation you can see the road as it leads to the highway.<\/p>\n Hell of a vista point.<\/p>\n The grade dropping into the canyon wasn?t too steep but I could see where rock slides could be an issue from time to time.<\/p>\n Where we had just came from.<\/p>\n Another great little camp. There were only a few sites fairly spaced out from one another and also a older pit toilet. The highway wasn?t too far off.<\/p>\n After leaving out of the Aspen trees the trail runs through sage brush and is somewhat uneventful. <\/p>\n Some history of the area.<\/p>\n The weather was setting in and the forecast was for more rain and snow. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n