After quite a long hiatus from 4x4's due to the Crapterra crapping out and priorities doing priority things, the timing was right and a decision was made to get back into the game, or at least have the option to.
It's been just a few weeks since purchasing the ZR2 Bison and we've been itching to get back out on adventure. With only ~700 mi so far clocked on the Bison since new, I needed to rack up the mileage a little quicker to get this truck broken in and have it's cherry popped. The wife and I decided that we would head up to Mammoth for a few days and just enjoy being outside the Los Angeles, and most importantly, be out of the house. We packed up a few days worth of clothes and some snacks as we would just be roughing it at a hotel in Mammoth proper. After closely watching the weather reports a few days from departure, we had luckily booked the hotel right after a small weekend blizzard, that dumped about 3-4ft of snow in that region. Snow tires and/or chains were required, but we were prepared. Fortunately the chains from the Crapterra fit the Bison, and I also packed two shovels, some recovery straps, and also my old TRED recovery boards for the just-in-case scenario. The chains were a last ditch effort as Chevrolet does not recommend chains on the ZR2, rather they recommend cables. I didn't have time to source cables in this short period but after a quick test fit of the chains, I deemed them fit for travel. But only as a last resort to minimize damage if there were to be any. We fortunately didn't need any of it throughout the entire trip.
We headed up the 14 to the 395 with our spirits low. Don't bring a cat on a road trip lol. I originally thought to myself: "How bad can it be?" ...I really should have heeded my wife's advice of dropping the cat off. Well, lesson learned and never again. Overall, our cat didn't do too bad for 4 days out. Glad she powered through it all, but more importantly, gave us more anxiety than we needed on a this trip. Thanks General Meow.... Freakin cat.
Once we overcame our anxiety from the incessant meowing and fussing from the General, who eventually calmed down, we arrived at our accommodations just after sunset. The snow was high, weather was cold and dropping, and we were happy to finally be in our hotel.
The first 1000 miles on the clock!
We spent the following day just resting and walking around Mammoth, while leaving the General back at the hotel. Thank goodness she's okay by herself in these situations but damn zoomies all night! Safe to say that this day was uneventful but in a good way to recover for the next. We did check out the trailhead of Sherwin Creek Rd but the snow was about 4ft high and there was no way I would even try to attempt it. Bummer as I was looking forward to taking that trail down to Convict Lake as we had done that with the Crapterra a number of years back.. next time! The weather had started to clear up later in the evening so we were hopeful for the next days adventure.
Day three of our little hop, we decided to head up to June Lake to check out the area as we've never been up there during snow conditions. The last time we were in that area was about 10 years ago, camping at Silver Lake in a Toyota Sienna during the Fall. The Winter scenery was absolutely beautiful. We drove down and around the lake as the lake itself was the only accessible area; the northern part of the Loop was closed for the Winter season, but the Lake was still worth checking out. The town itself is small but the surrounding snow covered mountains really took the cake. We stuck to hardball as most of the trails were snowed over and quite deep.
We had a great time driving around June Lake and having a number of photo ops down at the lake. The wife enjoyed playing out in the snow surrounded by such beauty; so much so that we are definitely coming back again...
I even saw another Bison that night during dinner. Had to park next to it lol.
Day four had us packing up and getting ready to head home. I wanted to make two stops before we hardballed it back home and that was to stop at Manzanar and the Alabama Hills. We packed up and headed out, having lunch in Bishop and started down 395 South. We entered Independence and took a dirt road which would lead us straight into Manzanar from the North.
I've learned about the Manzanar site and have done a few reports regarding this camp back in high school, but of all the times we driven up this way, I've never stopped to actually see this place. It really humbles you to physically be in a place that you've only read about and seen photos of. Although the majority of the site is torn down, there are a few rebuilt barracks and original foundations still in place to give you a sense of the size and density of the 11,000 Japanese Americans being confined to this small plot of land that used to be a small town... I didn't take many photos but this is a place I highly recommend anyone traveling along the 395, to visit. Since we departed the hotel late, the light was diminishing during our visit to Manzanar so we needed to head out before it got too dark for us at Alabama Hills. I'd recommend a good 1-2 hours at Manzanar to really take in the Visitor Center and also the entire camp. It's a vehicle-based Auto Tour, but you are able to get out and walk along the route.
As the sun was setting behind the Sierra's, we departed Manzanar via a dirt road on the southside of the camp and headed towards Alabama Hills. It's a relatively tame twisting dirt road with some dips and rocky areas but it will eventually take you to Movie Road. I did take a wrong turn and ended up on some densely overgrown two-track that hadn't been traveled in quite some time... We definitely got some pin striping on the brand new truck, cherry popped! It got too overgrown and I didn't want to risk anything so we turned around and got back on the correct track. We arrived to Alabama Hills pretty late as it was near dark and there wasn't much to see, but we got the jist of it as we powered our way through the area.
We will definitely return here to take it in properly but our priority was to not get home too late. Plus the General needed to not be in the truck too long... We took a few photos along our way through, splashed through some mud puddles and then tucked tail and headed the 3.5hrs straight home for a late dinner.
All in all a good trip to see how the Bison works and how the wife likes the new truck. Definitely not cat-approved travel but she got comfortable with being in the truck than being outside in foreign lands. Freakin cat.
Now the Bison sits at home waiting for a good wash down and some goodies before the next big trip: 2023 Desert Rendezvous. It's good to be back in a truck.
Until next time!
It's been just a few weeks since purchasing the ZR2 Bison and we've been itching to get back out on adventure. With only ~700 mi so far clocked on the Bison since new, I needed to rack up the mileage a little quicker to get this truck broken in and have it's cherry popped. The wife and I decided that we would head up to Mammoth for a few days and just enjoy being outside the Los Angeles, and most importantly, be out of the house. We packed up a few days worth of clothes and some snacks as we would just be roughing it at a hotel in Mammoth proper. After closely watching the weather reports a few days from departure, we had luckily booked the hotel right after a small weekend blizzard, that dumped about 3-4ft of snow in that region. Snow tires and/or chains were required, but we were prepared. Fortunately the chains from the Crapterra fit the Bison, and I also packed two shovels, some recovery straps, and also my old TRED recovery boards for the just-in-case scenario. The chains were a last ditch effort as Chevrolet does not recommend chains on the ZR2, rather they recommend cables. I didn't have time to source cables in this short period but after a quick test fit of the chains, I deemed them fit for travel. But only as a last resort to minimize damage if there were to be any. We fortunately didn't need any of it throughout the entire trip.
We headed up the 14 to the 395 with our spirits low. Don't bring a cat on a road trip lol. I originally thought to myself: "How bad can it be?" ...I really should have heeded my wife's advice of dropping the cat off. Well, lesson learned and never again. Overall, our cat didn't do too bad for 4 days out. Glad she powered through it all, but more importantly, gave us more anxiety than we needed on a this trip. Thanks General Meow.... Freakin cat.
Once we overcame our anxiety from the incessant meowing and fussing from the General, who eventually calmed down, we arrived at our accommodations just after sunset. The snow was high, weather was cold and dropping, and we were happy to finally be in our hotel.
The first 1000 miles on the clock!
We spent the following day just resting and walking around Mammoth, while leaving the General back at the hotel. Thank goodness she's okay by herself in these situations but damn zoomies all night! Safe to say that this day was uneventful but in a good way to recover for the next. We did check out the trailhead of Sherwin Creek Rd but the snow was about 4ft high and there was no way I would even try to attempt it. Bummer as I was looking forward to taking that trail down to Convict Lake as we had done that with the Crapterra a number of years back.. next time! The weather had started to clear up later in the evening so we were hopeful for the next days adventure.
Day three of our little hop, we decided to head up to June Lake to check out the area as we've never been up there during snow conditions. The last time we were in that area was about 10 years ago, camping at Silver Lake in a Toyota Sienna during the Fall. The Winter scenery was absolutely beautiful. We drove down and around the lake as the lake itself was the only accessible area; the northern part of the Loop was closed for the Winter season, but the Lake was still worth checking out. The town itself is small but the surrounding snow covered mountains really took the cake. We stuck to hardball as most of the trails were snowed over and quite deep.
We had a great time driving around June Lake and having a number of photo ops down at the lake. The wife enjoyed playing out in the snow surrounded by such beauty; so much so that we are definitely coming back again...
I even saw another Bison that night during dinner. Had to park next to it lol.
Day four had us packing up and getting ready to head home. I wanted to make two stops before we hardballed it back home and that was to stop at Manzanar and the Alabama Hills. We packed up and headed out, having lunch in Bishop and started down 395 South. We entered Independence and took a dirt road which would lead us straight into Manzanar from the North.
I've learned about the Manzanar site and have done a few reports regarding this camp back in high school, but of all the times we driven up this way, I've never stopped to actually see this place. It really humbles you to physically be in a place that you've only read about and seen photos of. Although the majority of the site is torn down, there are a few rebuilt barracks and original foundations still in place to give you a sense of the size and density of the 11,000 Japanese Americans being confined to this small plot of land that used to be a small town... I didn't take many photos but this is a place I highly recommend anyone traveling along the 395, to visit. Since we departed the hotel late, the light was diminishing during our visit to Manzanar so we needed to head out before it got too dark for us at Alabama Hills. I'd recommend a good 1-2 hours at Manzanar to really take in the Visitor Center and also the entire camp. It's a vehicle-based Auto Tour, but you are able to get out and walk along the route.
As the sun was setting behind the Sierra's, we departed Manzanar via a dirt road on the southside of the camp and headed towards Alabama Hills. It's a relatively tame twisting dirt road with some dips and rocky areas but it will eventually take you to Movie Road. I did take a wrong turn and ended up on some densely overgrown two-track that hadn't been traveled in quite some time... We definitely got some pin striping on the brand new truck, cherry popped! It got too overgrown and I didn't want to risk anything so we turned around and got back on the correct track. We arrived to Alabama Hills pretty late as it was near dark and there wasn't much to see, but we got the jist of it as we powered our way through the area.
We will definitely return here to take it in properly but our priority was to not get home too late. Plus the General needed to not be in the truck too long... We took a few photos along our way through, splashed through some mud puddles and then tucked tail and headed the 3.5hrs straight home for a late dinner.
All in all a good trip to see how the Bison works and how the wife likes the new truck. Definitely not cat-approved travel but she got comfortable with being in the truck than being outside in foreign lands. Freakin cat.
Now the Bison sits at home waiting for a good wash down and some goodies before the next big trip: 2023 Desert Rendezvous. It's good to be back in a truck.
Until next time!
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