Desperate Times...

[covelo]

I went on a nice East Side trip for the past four days. Lovely as always. Drove 800+ miles. Because of the gas prices (and the heat), decided to leave the bus at home this time. Lovely trip nonetheless, but I did miss the comfort and character of the bus. The pictures below were taken in the same spot as my avatar (a hot spring on BLM land just outside Mammoth Lakes).




This is Gem Lake and the Ansel Adams Wilderness in the background (the Eastern border of Yosemite National Park):



This is Agnew Lake with Mono Lake in the way back (upper left of the picture):



And a couple of Lake Tahoe pictures on the way home:




Camping fees: $0
Gas consumed: 16.3 gallons (51.2 mpg average)

(For more pictures visit http://gallery.mac.com/hans.sf#100263)

[turk]

Such a deal. I expected something a lot worse. Looks very remote. Cool man. I guess it all worked out.

[chitwnvw]

What sort of Toyota are you driving?

[zblair]

Beautiful. I am so glad I got to see Yosemite and also Lake Tahoe as a child, teen and young woman. Memories!

[covelo]

What sort of Toyota are you driving?

That's a Prius. Not quite desperate measures, but not as much fun as the bus either.

[turk]

I guess the commercials are true. Just kidding. Hey, whatever it takes. We are very near "Armageddon" apparently anyhow, so just enjoy the spectacle and be as cool as you can. Nothing against Toyotas of course. The Japanese are inheritors of the great beyond too.

[chitwnvw]

What sort of Toyota are you driving?

That's a Prius.

I thought the savings on the highway were not as good as those around town, but you averaged over 50, so what do I know.

[covelo]

What sort of Toyota are you driving?

That's a Prius.

I thought the savings on the highway were not as good as those around town, but you averaged over 50, so what do I know.

It all depends. There's a lot of misinformation about the Prius out there. I am not a particularly slow driver and I mix city and freeway driving pretty equally and I get 47-48 mpg reliably. On a long mountain run it's a little easier to do better, especially since your speeds are a bit lower on average and wind resistance is the biggest factor in the car's fuel consumption. Hills are not a problem at all since most of the extra fuel you use going up a hill is saved (and stored in the battery) when you go down. Also, my girlfriend and I have a thing going where we try to beat one another in fuel economy and I really wanted to get the car back with a 50 mpg long-run average. (Didn't quite make that at 49.8 mpg).

[Birdibus]

Wow, beautiful photos of the Sierra! I used to do a lot of backpacking on the east side. I love the rugged beauty, especially with the patchy snow. There are quite a few killer passes (huff, puff, whew!) that are etched in my memory... sore feet, bruised hips, shaking knees. I've never been to the hotspring near Mammoth, though I've long heard about it. I'm more familiar with our more southerly hotsprings. I hesitate to mention names.
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[covelo]

I'm already dying to go back again. The most beautiful part of California, in my opinion. I'm planning a major trek for later this summer to Mt. Banner. Never been quite that high (12k ft+), so it will be quite an adventure.