10 minutes per diem >>
12/15/2025
elevation sickness
Just returned from a little weekend away with the crew up in Lone Pine.
I gotta say, having road-tripped through nearly every state in the lower 48, there are few stretches of highway that compare to the 395 eastern sierra scenic byway.
The road is the lifeblood of eastern California - connecting SoCal to Mammoth to Reno. It passes through just about every small mountain town in the owens river valley, bringing economy to what would otherwise likely be modern day ghost towns.
From many spots along the highway you can find a vantage of the entire valley floor, which really fucks with your depth perception.
The floor, pointillistically dotted with sage brush, slopes upward to the sheer peaks of the high sierra, making these giants seem almost within arms reach.
To drive by Mt. Whitney, the tallest point in the lower 48, and know that Death Valley, the lowest point on the continent, is only just over 100 miles away, makes you feel like an ant on the edge of a tectonic plate.
To realize this geographic juxtaposition is to realize the histories of the earth and the living beings that have travelled across its peaks and valleys.
To then realize how fucking lucky we are to drive on a highway right through it.
Anyways, that’s 10 minutes and I’m tired.