My partner and I are going on a big road trip from April 4-12(ish). We both enjoy long drives, camping, and hot springs and all of these are core activities for this trip.
The plan is to take two days to drive through central Oregon, Lassen NF, and Reno before meeting up with friends in Mammoth Lakes. From there, our group will caravan out to Saline Valley (just west/northwest of Death Valley), where we'll camp, soak in hot springs, and explore the area for a few days. We'll then caravan to Benton hot springs (~35 miles north of Bishop), where we'll soak and camp for another two nights. Finally, we'll leave our friends behind and head back north to return home.
Please add things we might experience or encounter during our adventure! (Or, if you prefer, comment with a suggestion and I'll add it for you.)
Some notes:
- Our route might not adhere exactly to the map above, but it will probably be similar.
- We're only rendezvousing with our friends in Mammoth. The plan is to spend a night there but not ski or stick around any longer than necessary.
- We've both previously been to the Eastern Sierra region together multiple times (it's a favorite area! 🤠). However, this will be my partner's first time to Saline Valley.
- My friend is bringing her two young children (ages 3 & 6, I think), which will likely curtail the use of psychoactives and other "adult" activities, at least compared to previous desert trips.
- The "road" into Saline Valley is long, mostly washboard dirt or sand w/ many sharp rocks, inconsistently maintained, and notoriously treacherous. I think it's about 60 miles each way. My partner gets wicked motion sickness and I'm apprehensive about how she'll handle the drive in & out.
- I think our group will have a total of 3 dirt bikes and 2 high-clearance 4WD vehicles for Saline Valley. (We plan to ride in our friend's truck and leave our own vehicle parked somewhere in the eastern Sierra for this portion of the trip.)
- I'll be in-and-out of cell service during the trip. I'll try to keep this updated and post relevant photos as I'm able.
- I may bet on this market in the direction I think is most likely and won't change my bet at a late stage. I may adjust bets as time goes on, though, to reflect what seems realistic.
- I'll resolve answers n/a at my discretion, but count on it for junk or spam answers including really easy Yeses (yes, I plan to wake up each day), or really easy Nos (no, I won't try to ride a wild burro), or absurd/impossible ones (no, we're not going to take a burro home).
- EDIT: At the time of market creation, I placed several bets to move probabilities toward my own expectations for the trip. I may place additional bets until leaving on this trip. Out of consideration for fairness, once my trip begins I will not make any new bets or sell off any shares.
The Chicken Strip (Saline Valley's dirt airstrip):
This market was inspired by @shankypanky's travel bingo markets! 🧡
Past travel bingo markets:
1,000@draaglom eh, maybe? I feel like there's somewhat of a division between "goes hiking" and "brings dirt bikes to the desert"
To be clear, we’ll be in the desert east of the Sierra Nevada, also known as the Eastern Sierra. We won’t actually go up into the Sierra Nevada mountains (nor enter Yosemite or SeKi Nat’l Parks) on this trip. While I am an avid hiker, much of the classical hiking trails in the area [e.g. JMT / PCT] will remain blanketed with snow until at least June.
This trip is centered around sharing quality time with each other and with our friends in a beautiful desert area, particularly in some geothermal hot springs. We may also do some exploration in the desert, but that would be a secondary objective.
The dirt bikes belong to my friend’s father.
@draaglom I suppose so. My base rates for these are:
Alcohol: Infrequent. Consumed on 1 day in February and 3 days in March.
Nicotine: Virtually never. Maybe once or twice a year I’ll share a spliff with someone in the summertime.
Caffeine: Daily.
THC: Variable. I’ll historically sometimes have weeks-to-months of daily use, and weeks-to-months of no use. In recent weeks I’ve consumed a little bit on a few evenings/week.