The BFE Diaries

Photo

Fri, 17 May 2013 01:31:55 -0400

viewfromthetent: (via View from a yellow dome tent of a...

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:08:37 -0400

(via View from a yellow dome tent of a backcountry skier, Inyo National Forest, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California | Russ Bishop Photography)

patagonia: Staying warm in the winter in Death Valley,...

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:50:13 -0400

patagonia:

Staying warm in the winter in Death Valley, California. Photo by @chrisburkard

Photo

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:06:52 -0400

Top 10 US Travel Destinations for 2013 - Lonely Planet

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:39:01 -0400

Top 10 US Travel Destinations for 2013 - Lonely Planet:

It might be old news but The Eastern Sierra (what I call BFE) was voted one of the top 10 travel destinations in the US!

Click here to get The Lonely Planet’s take on my neck of the woods.

patagonia: Patagonia Designer John Rapp catching some Z’s after...

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 16:24:45 -0400

patagonia:

Patagonia Designer John Rapp catching some Z’s after a day of #funhogging on the East Side of the Sierras. Photo by @fosterhunting

teatimewithlisa: Mmmm… Butermilks…

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:38:55 -0400

teatimewithlisa:

Mmmm… Butermilks…

finding-elysium: Whatever

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:37:41 -0400

finding-elysium:

Whatever

yourboyscoob1: So this is what my friends and I did this...

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 22:30:28 -0400

yourboyscoob1:

So this is what my friends and I did this afternoon.

Photo

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 21:36:46 -0400

fuckyeahhiking: senselesscompendium: Death Valley National...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 16:22:01 -0400

fuckyeahhiking:

senselesscompendium:

Death Valley National Park.

These boots were made for walking.

Awesome.

Photo

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 23:05:41 -0500

“The Oyler House - Outside Inside” This is the...

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 22:51:58 -0500

“The Oyler House - Outside Inside”

This is the opening from the documentary The Oyler House: Richard Neutra’s Desert Retreat. It’s neat if you’re into modern architecture and how it can coexist with a natural landscape.

The views are what you get living in the Alabama Hills, and this style of building is one of a number of examples of architectural styles you’ll fine in the community there.

Reservations for Whenever

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:22:21 -0500

Caller: Hi, I'd like to make a reservation.
Me: Alright, for what night?
Caller: I'm going to need two queen beds.
Me: ...alright, and for what night?
Caller: Oh, for three adults.
Me: Okay... what night--
Caller: My name's [John Smith] and my credit card is a Visa, number--
Me: Sir, what date would you like this reserva--
Caller: And it expires... oh darn, I need my glasses to see this...
Me: Sir, I'm sorry, what date did you want this room for?
Caller:
Me:
Caller: Oh, it's for two nights.
Me: (dies)

patagonia: Sebastien Lounis climbing Fly Boy in Bishop, CA....

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:31:38 -0500

patagonia:

Sebastien Lounis climbing Fly Boy in Bishop, CA. ::Photo by Caydie McCumber::

lillypotpie: Wreck by sandy.redding on Flickr.

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:51:27 -0500

lillypotpie:

Wreck by sandy.redding on Flickr.

fuckyeahhiking: Morning Competition.June Lake, CAA fantastic...

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:16:09 -0500

fuckyeahhiking:

Morning Competition.
June Lake, CA

A fantastic sunrise on a cold fall morning at June Lake.

Little Yellow Signs and Car Commercials

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:16:00 -0500

Even in February, where business is a little slower, little yellow temporary signs point the way up Whitney Portal Road. In a few months people all over the nation will see a Subaru, or a Jeep, or a Chevy truck driving through a rough and rocky landscape with imposing mountains in the background. The quintessential American West, personified in the 30-to-60 seconds of driving on a dirt road.

I spend most of my weekends in their filming location, and I usually work with the people who film the ads indirectly when they’re around.

Commercials get filmed a lot in the Owens Valley. The Sierra Nevada mountains, the Alabama Hills, the Manzanar Airfield, and so on, get featured in a lot of TV spots, like this Toyota one from a few years ago with a giant see-saw. Oftentimes the TV spots are just vehicles driving around the rugged mountain landscape, though, but it gets the message across; their vehicles can handle the rough-and-tumble places like the little known Owens Valley.

The people that work on these commercials often stay at the hotel I work at, and they usually ask the same battery of questions:

Wow, how small is this place?
What’s there to do here?
Is there really no Starbucks within 60 miles?
How can anyone stand being in such a tiny place?!

I explain the dynamics of living a small rural town as well as I can, but most people are really surprised at there being only two bars in town, 2000 people in the population, and no nearby Wal-Mart. They look at me, not necessarily what they’d expect some guy from the middle of nowhere to be like, and wonder how I’m not a hick or completely nuts from the lack of conveniences. I take it in stride, explain that “you get used to it after awhile,” but it always remains baffling.

Yes, the landscape is rugged, but I thought that was just a show. Some people in production crews must be convinced that not being near a Coffee Bean or Target is rough, because they look at me and wonder how I survive. They must watch the commercials and think to themselves, Wow, I survived the wild, rugged terrain of the middle of nowhere, and shiver, but the film crews generally treat their time shooting around here as a sort of escape from the realities that come from living in Los Angeles and they enjoy the peaceful pace of the rugged place the few days they stick around.

It’s always easy to tell when a film crew’s around; yellow signs pop up from nowhere, the population increases for a few days, and the temporary populous is always confused as to what to do with what free time it gets.

pebble-wrestling: the sierras from the parking lot for the...

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:06:41 -0500

pebble-wrestling:

the sierras from the parking lot for the buttermilks

fuck-yeahcamping: eastern sierra free camp

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:43:02 -0500

fuck-yeahcamping:

eastern sierra free camp