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10-08-2018, 10:39 PM | #1 |
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EPIC MAMMOTH – YOSEMITE M4 ROAD TRIP Rain, shine, snow, hail, hot, cold…LOTS OF PICS
Featured on BIMMERPOST.com I don’t usually name my cars, but I’ve named her Frau Grau. I decided she and I needed a good road trip. In the spirit of Columbus Day, I decided it was time for some exploring. I only had the long weekend, but being in California and LA there is so much at my disposal! I had never been to Yosemite (I know right?) and I have a place in Mammoth Lakes (Ikon Pass arrived, who’s ready?!) so I figured a good Tioga Pass (CA 120) drive and drop down into the valley would be epic. I’d also wanted to explore the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest outside of Big Pine, CA, and Devils Postpile and Rainbow Falls in Mammoth so I added those in. Finally, my Aunt lives in Merced for a project at the UC campus, so I had a stop there last night. Here are the teaser shots and maps of the trip. Without further prologue…day by day!
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10-08-2018, 10:51 PM | #2 |
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DAY 1: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest and Mammoth
I started out around 5 a.m. Saturday leaving the South Bay.
Driving through the San Fernando Valley on the 405, I passed an orange McLaren 570S (pretty sure it was a 570). He was going pretty slowly…I think this is because of the shoddy shape of the 405…has to be pretty jarring in that car. When I got to Palmdale for Starbucks, there was another M4 owner from the South Bay there…his is a 15 with SO interior, but the same MGM exterior…what are the odds?! We exchanged info for future meet-ups! First light coming out of Palmdale and Mojave was great as usual. My stop at Starbucks chatting with the other M4 owner took a while, so I’m sure cars passed me…as I got further north, there was the Orange McLaren just chilling…there was also nobody around…and he TOOK OFF! No real details here, it’s no McLaren, but this is a good car. Some pictures of first light and the Owens Valley…immensely beautiful as always. Time for the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. At the end of Big Pine, it’s a right turn onto highway 168 and then you continue onto White Mountain Road up into, you guessed it, the White Mountains. It’s a windy and humpy up and down road that would really be good with practice and with fewer little pebbles on the road (recent rains don’t help with the runoff). Nonetheless, the 25-mile drive is totally worth it when you reach the end. It’s about 10,100’ elevation at the visitor center. I got out for pictures and for a nice 4.5-mile hike through the forest. This is not your usual forest. It's very sparse and barren up here...these are some hearty trees. You can even see off into Death Valley on the back side. When the hike was done, it was up the hill to Mammoth for some lunch and then up to the mountain for pics in front of the Minarets. I drove down into Red’s Meadow for a short 3 mile or so hike from Devils Postpile to Rainbow Falls. The Postpile is a volcanic rock formation that looks legitimately like Superman’s Ice Crystal hangout! Then, THEN it started to HAIL! I was mid-hike to the falls and freaking out about the car…the hail was about macadamia nut size but not too hard, like snow clumps not ice…so I hoped and hoped for no damage. The beauty of the San Joaquin River, leaves changing and the falls were amazing, but provided little solace. When I got up the hill to her, I was relieved to find that she came out seemingly unscathed…further examination after today’s wash has confirmed that! Here she is covered in melting hail bits! I drove up the windy bumpy access road slowly as it started to rain/snow mix. The lifted oversize-tire wranglers behind me were pissed at my lack of speed, but there was no way in frozen hell they were getting by to spray me with their no-mud-flap shit! I got to the top to find Mammoth covered in the white stuff! Did I mention the Ikon Pass?! The rest of the day was relaxing... jacuzzi and dinner with friends at Bleu, some good wine (2003 Pahlmeyer Merlot), bed…big day tomorrow!
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10-08-2018, 11:03 PM | #3 |
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DAY 2: Tioga Pass and Yosemite!
Sunday, I woke up to snow in Mammoth Lakes. Thankfully, my building has a garage and nothing stuck to the road. After coffee, we start with a beautiful drive from Mammoth to the 395/120 junction at Lee Vining. I stopped to grab a coffee and sandwich for my North Dome hike at Yosemite.
Time to head up the hill! Tioga Pass is literally a hump a the Yosemite gatehouse. The pass is 9945’ and is the highest pass in the Sierras. Fun fact, it’s not the highest year-round pass – that’s Mount Rose at Tahoe. The first stop for pics was at the end of the Tuolumne Meadows with Lembert Dome in the back! Tenaya Lake and Olmsted Point offered some epic shots! I drove on to the Porcupine Creek Trailhead, arriving around 9 a.m. It was time for some more leg-stretching by way of a roughly 10-mile hike out (and back) to North Dome for some insane views and lunch up on Indian Rock – it’s a naturally formed arch and incredibly beautiful! Indian Rock. Thank you Swiss lady for taking my picture. I got back to the car around 1 p.m. and headed down the rest of Tioga Pass and into the valley! What a tourist trap this place is! Yes, it’s insanely beautiful, but seriously, it’s OCTOBER already! I guess between the heat and the fires, summer is too much for most folks to bear. Anyway, I managed to get some shots of the car with Half Dome in the background - one of the goals of this trip. I decided to get the heck out of here and head down CA 140 to my Aunt’s house in Merced. This is such a great drive…you wind along the Merced River and then you head down into CA Oak Grove landscape (think hills above Santa Barbara). The town of Mariposa is kind of cool…should have stopped, but alas the day was long by then! Finally, you get into golden farm fields...where it heats up fast. Aside from the ocean and desert, CA 140 is a nearly complete survey of the California landscape! Final photo stop in front of a farm! End of Day 2…my Aunt had some great chili and beer waiting for me!
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10-08-2018, 11:04 PM | #4 |
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DAY 3: Drive home to LA.
Today was a pretty uneventful drive down the Central Valley to LA…great sunrise over the Sierra and nice drive up the Grapevine. I get to the base of the Sepulveda pass though and I realize I am home! 405 LA traffic!
Some concluding thoughts… Performance This is a great, GREAT machine. It’s a perfect road trip car. She’s got guts, but she’s not insane like a supercar. My assessment is that she’s at least as advertised! Comfort/efficient mode is civilized, but hit the M2/MDM and she comes to life immediately. Comfort Versus the 2-series/M2, you can really feel the longer wheelbase. On the open road this makes for much more comfortable cruising. The M seats are just about perfect. The carbon structure cloth breathes well and heats up more than leather with the heaters on when it’s cold or you need to relax a little. Visibility is generally good, save for the blind spot being bigger than on the 2. Road noise isn’t too bad. Economy Economy? Yes, really it’s pretty economical. I did 925 miles and averaged just around 21.8 mpg. Remember, I did lots of driving at 7-10,000’ elevation and went up and down and up and down. I was satisfied with that considering she still has fewer than 3000 miles. I got her home and washed and was delighted to find only two rock chips…both passenger side, one on the lip of the side front valence in the bumper and one in the lower rocker right before the rear wheel. Both are pretty minor and no serious hood/bumper chips, so that’s a happy end!
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10-09-2018, 05:33 AM | #7 |
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epic man, very jealous. Yosemite is amazing place, so i take it, its back open again? I wasn't sure since the fires.
your next road trip you will have to drive up the HWY 1 to Monterey
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10-09-2018, 08:20 AM | #8 |
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Yea, roads are open! I've done parts of highway 1 but never the whole thing...we'll add that to the list. The M4 is going to be a road trip car I think...planning massive western states national park tour next spring I hope!
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10-10-2018, 11:11 PM | #13 |
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I thoroughly enjoyed the post and pics my friend! Also been to some of those spots with the family and love skiing Mammoth. I love Cali !
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10-10-2018, 11:30 PM | #14 |
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Thanks, it truly is an amazing place!
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10-11-2018, 12:51 AM | #15 |
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Thanks for the great photos. I am thinking of driving to Mono Lake from the Bay Area through HWy 120 to do some fall foliage photography next week. How were the road conditions? I have a ZCP with 20” so a bit concerned if the roads might be too rough.
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10-11-2018, 08:25 AM | #16 |
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I would say they are generally good. Some parts of 120 may be a tad rough at the higher altitudes, but not that bad. I am fairly alert and slow down for rough spots. If you just like to plow through, then yea, they may be worse for you! I can't speak for 120 west of Crane Flat, as that's where I turned and went back down into the valley. I'd still say go for it and just be alert. .
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10-12-2018, 07:14 AM | #18 |
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There's been no weather this week, so it should be open!
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10-14-2018, 03:16 PM | #21 |
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Thanks for sharing your experience. Great taste in cars. Here's a recent road trip in my 18' to BC.
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