Exploring dirt roads in Inyo Ntnl Forest
We were not far out of Benton Hot Springs when we saw a dirt road leading off the asphalt and into a very cool looking canyon. Kerri and I both wanted to go see what was beyond, so we did just that and a pleasant surprise it was. It helps a lot when the road itself is not so washboard that it drives us away. It also helps that the road led off the established path and well into an area of nothing. Just my kinda place.
Miles into the hills of desert landscape adventures await. It didn’t take long to start finding old relics of times past. An abandoned cabin was explored, then another, then an old mine (Lone Star Mine, says Kerri). We even found another half-dozen or so boondocking sites, some with some major Verizon signal which we placed into our private stash for later days. We spent a few hours happily meandering about the desert hills of the Inyo National Forest before finally rejoining the highway (and civilization) in search of another set of dirt and gravel roads that Kerri had earmarked for reconnoiter.
It took a little bit of driving around to find it, but we eventually came upon our final stop of our weekend – a wild hot spring miles in the middle of no where. We arrived in the mid afternoon and set Big Blue off to a side area in the parking circle as dozens of others were coming and going throughout the day. The hot spring is known well enough to the locals that it gets it’s fair share of use. Not to worry, we had the ability to wait all day thanks to the comforts of Big Blue. Eventually, as the sun began to set, the crowds had dissipated and we both suited up for another evening in a hot spring. We had company this time, but sometimes that is exactly what is called for. Kerri and I soaked under the backdrop of the Sierra’s and socialized for hours, until the moon rose into the sky to light the way back to the van (we forgot to bring a flashlight, duh).
The following morning, well below freezing, everyone left but us. We had the place to ourselves, but chose not to take another dip in fear of how cold it would be to get back out. We set out to explore more dirt roads before starting our work-week. It didn’t take long for us to find this place (below) which checked all the boxes for an epic boondocking spot, so we settled in. The river beside us was a few miles down river from a boiling hot spring. This meant the waters were in a the ‘heated pool’ temperature range. If we had been so inclined, it would have been a nice bath if nothing else. Kerri says this spot may be her favorite of all time. Surely in the top-5 for me.
