Up on the 395 we stopped at some long abandoned homesteads and pulled out for a picture of the salt flats south of Lone Pine.
At Lone Pine we headed up to the Alabama Hills for a little 4Wheel pleasure cruise through the chaos of rock formations that dot that plain. We've tried to climb there in the past, but the rock can best be described as a cross between a garbage disposal and a meat grinder, not good for one's paws. Soon we were back on Whitney Portals road. Neither Dave nor I were saying much about the ominous bulk of clouds hanging over Mt. Whitney. After pulling over for a last phone call to ouy respective families, we rolled into the Portals, set up the tent and pretty much kicked back. I did take a stroll and shot the waterfall at the top of the Portals. 
I was very gratified to find out that my stencil "The Gunslinger" was still proudly displayed on US Forest Service property. I put him up last year and had no expectations that he would last a week, let alone a whole year. Either the rangers like him or they're terribly unobservant.
The following morning we had Doug's World Famous, nobody-can-finish-one pancake for breakfast with about a gallon of hot, black coffee. After that we were off, headed up the Whitney Trail to get a little acclimatization time. The higher we went the worse the weather got. Making fantastic time we arrived at Mirror Lake. Usually one can see the Needles next to Whitney from the lake but not today. They were socked in and no sooner had we arrived at Mirror than we started recieving cold rain and wind gusts. This was still very early in the day and was unusual for spring-like conditions which usually wait until early afternoon to blast the mountains.
Dave related to me that he was "aprehensive" about the weather for our "real" trip into the mountains. I think I said that weather like this never sticks around long during spring, though I admit that I was worried as well. I'd had a few bad weather experiences in the Sierras and had no desire for a repeat performance. I know, one might think, well why go in early spring? The answer is that we love the alpine stuff, snow, weather, whatever. We were ready for it but that doesn't make bad weather an endearing entity.
After our day-hike to Mirror Lake we descended back to Lone Pine and headed North to Big Pine. Once there we headed up Glacier Lodge road...in the rain, and were once again staring at big ugly weather at altitude, right where we were headed. Our real adventure begins the next day, and I've got alot to write about. Things turned out different than we thought they would, but life is like that sometimes and I hope you'll agree that we crammed one helluvalot into 8 days. Part 2 tomorrow.
Patience is not a virtue I am known for, and I'm getting impatient to get up to the mountains. I wait all year for this big trip. Gotta go. Soon. Two weeks, two weeks, two weeks. 
Ruth and enjoyed a nice hike into Malibu Creek today. It had been at least 14 years since I had been back there and I was pleased to see that not much has changed. This was actually Ruth's idea; she had seen or heard about the pools in the park and wanted to find them. During the hike/scramble up the canyon I was able to point out various rock climbs, bouldering routes, and other features, including some of the anchors for the camera rigging used during the filming of the original "Planet of the Apes". We saw deer, ground squirrells, bunnies, and numerous species of birds, many of which I could not name.
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When we returned to the truck we decided to leave our packs, water up and go for a run. We repeated some of the terrain we had walked but turned the run into a 3 mile loop over and around some hills. Good run. To end the morning we headed down to the coast for lunch at Duke's, Malibu. Nice day.
Up in the canyon can be found numerous blue/green swimming holes, several nice camp-sites, and of course, the two sets of double falls. The first and more popular falls is the one I call the west falls and it is a true double waterfall, with one 60 foot waterfall filling a pool which spills over and becomes a 40 foot waterfall. This is a very pleasant place to relax and swim.
Up a North branch of the canyon is another, more spectacular set of waterfalls. The upper of the two falls is truly beautiful and boasts a deep turquios pool and several high points to jump from. We spent over an hour there, swimming and soaking up harmful UV rays.
On the hike out we added a very healthy Pacific Diamond-back to the other wildlife we had seen: ducks, jays, hawks, turtles and two other types of snake. This has been a really good weekend.
Had myself an outstanding day exploring the Los Padres/Mt.Pinos areas on the bike. I started on Grade Valley Rd. out of Lockwood Valley. I rode 20+ miles there, hitting Half Moon Camp and the Johnson Ridge Trailhead, stopping now and then for photos. I saw only one other party in the entire valley, which has several creeks and wide swaths of forest.
Later I explored an abandoned ranch house which, judging by the electrical outlets and old furnace, dates back to well before the 1940's. It was probably a working ranch before the advent of electricity. There were several out-buildings made of genuine adobe, clay mixed with straw. Those structures were all but falling down. On the walk out I was greeted by a small herd of horses, maybe 12, who were curious to see who had dropped by.
Eventually I arrived at the trailhead for Apache Canyon OHV area and after unloading the bike, rode 10 twisting miles into the Cuyama badlands. That place felt really remote, and I was glad that I always carry what I need to survive for a couple of days in case I become stranded. The Canyon widened out at several points revealing wide planes of mesquite, juniper, and tiny wild-flowers. It was very pretty. Spring has arrived for the high-desert. What a great day.
