Coyote Hills

[Shadyapex]

Well, haven't checked in for a bit so thought I'd post, mainly just to say hello. The biscuit and I just got back from a quick one nighter into the Coyote Hills near our home in Bishop, CA. It's a pretty annoying 2 or 3 hour very bumpy drive up to Coyote Ridge in the Coyote Hills just west of town. This old granite range lies between the south fork of Bishop Creek and the north fork of Big Pine Creek and its high point affords views of everything from the Palisades to Glass Mt. and everything in between. It is at 11k ft. so with an altitude headache coming on strong we didn't linger too long this morning. It was kind of smokey from all the fires so I didn't get any photos worth posting but we did see some cool birds and a few deer. This is one of the most incredible vantage points I have seen and it was a great pleasure to spend the night there. We watched the sunset and moonrise in the evening and got up early to catch the moonset and sunrise and as lousy as the atmospheric conditions were it was very worth it. But what photographs we got aren't worth posting and we promptly went back to bed. Coffee and eggs were had at a later hour, reading and bird watching occupied the morning and the bumpy trip back to Bishop was accomplished by mid afternoon. A fun quick outing to a spectacular place. If you haven't been up to the Coyotes and live within striking distance I strongly recommend it. But the road is kind of annoying, almost no travel above 10 mph and much of it in the 1 to 5 mph range. Low/low range got some good use.

 

[ski3pin]

Sounds wonderful! Except maybe for the annoying part. Thanks for checking in!

 

[Shadyapex]

Sounds wonderful! Except maybe for the annoying part. Thanks for checking in!

We're not big fans of "four wheel drive" roads but are willing to put up with some bumpy driving in order to get to very cool places. This was one of those times. The place and the views were very, very worth the bumpy driving. But next "weekend" we're thinking of something that a grader has been down in the last few decades.
On a side note; there's actually an airstrip up in the Coyotes at Coyote Flats at around 10k ft. My understanding is that it was built during WWII. Need to do some research on this, but it's on the USGS 7.5. Hope the road was better back then. Don't know what the strip was built for. I'll post if I find something interesting,,,,,,,

 

[ski3pin]

We're not big fans of "four wheel drive" roads but are willing to put up with some bumpy driving in order to get to very cool places. This was one of those times. The place and the views were very, very worth the bumpy driving. But next "weekend" we're thinking of something that a grader has been down in the last few decades.
On a side note; there's actually an airstrip up in the Coyotes at Coyote Flats at around 10k ft. My understanding is that it was built during WWII. Need to do some research on this, but it's on the USGS 7.5. Hope the road was better back then. Don't know what the strip was built for. I'll post if I find something interesting,,,,,,,

Yes, please do. I have also seen the airstrip on the 7.5 We agree with you on those rough roads. Great if it leads to a place to hike and explore but boring and annoying if you can walk faster than you can drive.

 

[craig333]

I call those "dog" roads. The dog reaches my destination before I do Too bad the smoke didn't let you take some pics

 

[Shadyapex]

Dog roads, I like it.
Found a link to some info. Scroll down to the last entry.
http://www.airfields-freeman.com/CA/Airfields_CA_Fresno_N.htm

 

[ski3pin]

Great find, Shady! Thank you!

 

[CarlG]

I was up there earlier this year. Drove right across what remains of the airstrip, which isn't much. Didn't even realize it until later - It's not very easy to distinguish from the ground, although the satellite makes it seem obvious.

 

[Shadyapex]

Here's a quick look at the view before the smoke came in.
http://stevenbaldwin.zenfolio.com/p979926970/e7c4c2c84

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Dog roads, I like it.
Found a link to some info. Scroll down to the last entry.
http://www.airfields-freeman.com/CA/Airfields_CA_Fresno_N.htm

+1 - Craig just coined a new term for my vocabulary.

 

[longhorn1]

Shady, great historical read. Ski posted something on the old beacon towers used for cross county flights. Always great to read about deeply hidden parts of history. jd

Sent from my SM-G900V using Wander The West mobile app

 

[pvstoy]

I was up there 1983 when I lived in Bishop and the road was not good back then either. You answered my question if the airstrip was still there, thanks. I knew a pilot that did touch and go's and a friend that was learning to fly solo did land and take off but had some explaining to do after.