T McArthur
Adventurist
Saline Valley
This is a place I visited a few years back one winter. Sandwiched between Death Valley and the Owens Valley is the little known Saline Valley. There are two "easy" access points, one from the north and one from the south. In good weather the trip can be done with great care in a street vehicle with good clearance. In winter the passes at either end may be blocked by snow and spring rains can turn the road into a quagmire.
Along the way there are a number of disintegrating houses and mine sites.
Midway down the valley are the hot springs. There are four of them in differing stages of development and temperature. IIRC the original one had stopped working but I think an earthquake got it going again. There is even a lending library of sorts. If you have a problem with nude people wandering around this is not the place for you. On holiday weekends some people even manage to get motorhomes out here. There is a group of regulars who frequent the place so I suggest hitting it on a weekday or on an off weekend. The hot springs are fun to relax in but the best part comes at night. Nearby is China Lake Naval Air Station and the fighter pilots there like to buzz the springs at tree top level in full afterburner. It is an extreme experience.
It was December when I went up and nights were well below freezing. The passes were clear of snow but there was still some in shaded locations.
And there was the usual collection of volcanic cones, dry lakes, sand dunes and general desertiness. Abandoned mines, failed ranches and couple still hanging on. There are barely there roads to explore. At one time there was a tramway to lift the mining product of the area up and over the White Mountains and the remsains are still there to be explored. A track climbs high up into the Inyo Mountains visiting numerous old mines, ultimately passing thru Cerro Gordo and then down to Owens Dry Lake. Another barely there track leads east from Saline Springs to a place called Marble Bath in Death Valley. Very cool place with a lot of history.
This is a place I visited a few years back one winter. Sandwiched between Death Valley and the Owens Valley is the little known Saline Valley. There are two "easy" access points, one from the north and one from the south. In good weather the trip can be done with great care in a street vehicle with good clearance. In winter the passes at either end may be blocked by snow and spring rains can turn the road into a quagmire.
Along the way there are a number of disintegrating houses and mine sites.
Midway down the valley are the hot springs. There are four of them in differing stages of development and temperature. IIRC the original one had stopped working but I think an earthquake got it going again. There is even a lending library of sorts. If you have a problem with nude people wandering around this is not the place for you. On holiday weekends some people even manage to get motorhomes out here. There is a group of regulars who frequent the place so I suggest hitting it on a weekday or on an off weekend. The hot springs are fun to relax in but the best part comes at night. Nearby is China Lake Naval Air Station and the fighter pilots there like to buzz the springs at tree top level in full afterburner. It is an extreme experience.
It was December when I went up and nights were well below freezing. The passes were clear of snow but there was still some in shaded locations.
And there was the usual collection of volcanic cones, dry lakes, sand dunes and general desertiness. Abandoned mines, failed ranches and couple still hanging on. There are barely there roads to explore. At one time there was a tramway to lift the mining product of the area up and over the White Mountains and the remsains are still there to be explored. A track climbs high up into the Inyo Mountains visiting numerous old mines, ultimately passing thru Cerro Gordo and then down to Owens Dry Lake. Another barely there track leads east from Saline Springs to a place called Marble Bath in Death Valley. Very cool place with a lot of history.
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