Day 4 - May 25
Lone Pine -- 395S -- Nine Mile Canyon Road -- Kennedy Meadow Road -- detour back to 395S -- (as Sherman Pass Road was closed) -- 178W -- Lake Isabella -- Kernville Way -- upto Kernville -- Johnsondale -- Western Divide Highway -- 190W -- Porterville (Best Western)
Today's trip was the most awaited trip. Sherman Pass Road / J41 -- http://www.pashnit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2409 ; http://www.roadtripamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?p=40593#post40593 ... it is supposed to be one of the most windy and scenic roads. i was very excited about this. Drive on 395S was pretty cool with Death Valley on your left and Sierras on your right. Ya, you might be bit confused that i mentioned a detour and i will come to it later. About 2 hours later came to Nine Miles Canyon road entrance to the left , and to my dismay / horror / shock ; Sherman Pass road was CLOSEEEEEEDDDD !!!! Man ..... i was so so waiting for this day and i got so dismayed and dejected. I pulled over the car to the side, kind of got engrossed for 2-3 minutes thinking what to do, and then decided .. well this is not the end ? i will come back again .. then why not just enjoy the beauty of Nine Mile Canyon Road and the exotic Kern plateau. Nine Mile Canyons was steep and windy too and drops into the plateau. Worth mention is what i came across is the recent forest burn which SNP epxerienced. The trees were bare and trunks were burnt. It looked so deserted and gloomy. Cruising around and enjoying the nature i finally hit the plateau and proceeded towards the campground. I inquired at the local shope off the entrance to Sherman Pass and he mentioned that it will take another 2 weeks to open the Road to Johnsondale. Well, i opened my maps and in any case i have to return back to 395S ; so i decided to get down to 395S and get into Sequoia via 178 and Kernville. 178 was pretty busy and scenic too. Easy drive, enjoying the way. Lake Isabella was pretty cool. Many travellers have camped by the river, driving boats, water scooters .. overall a fun fun relaxing environment. The road upto Kern River by Kernville towards West of Isabella was awesome. Breathtaking views of Lake Isabella and a road stretching in between 2 mountains cutting across light brown grassland. Cross the lake and take the road by the Kern River. The beauty of Sequoia thus reveals before your eyes. A wonderful stream flow, Kern River and the amazing backdrop of the forests makes the atmosphere so serene and healthy to breathe. Lots ant lots of campers by the river, and several people biking and hiking, i find this place to be the ultimate area for camping. Defintely in my next roadtrip, if i cover SNP and KCP camping by Kern River will be the most favourable option.
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One thing i wished would have been more interesting in the blog was, if i updated links to the picutres as am discussing about the trip. Well, it will take lot of time and patience to do that and am yet to upload the pics .. phew !! from next time onwards, i need to sort out the pictures and build my blog discussion based on the pictures taken. It kind of makes interesting for the reader too.
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