Trona Pinnacles BLM camping near 395 in CA

[neeliec]

Has anyone ever visited or stayed in the BLM camping area called Trona Pinnacles? It's near Ridgecrest CA, just east of Highway 395, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

I've seen pictures and videos and want to stay there, but it is pure boondocking...nothing except a pit toilet. I know we can manage just fine, but it's also down a 5-6 mile dirt road and hubby is concerned about that.

It also seems pretty isolated, but that's kind of why I'm interested in going there. The "Gone With The Wynns" RVing couble have done a YouTube video and the scenery seems just amazing!

Any experiences?

[Cosmo]

Never been there but after watching the video, I wanna go. From the video and description, the road does not look bad at all. The only wildcard would be the rare rain - my guess is that the road might get pretty ugly. My friends used to take a 25' class C into a remote surf spot in Baja. It would take them about twice as long to drive than the rest of us - but they made it just fine.

[neeliec]

Originally Posted by Cosmo

Never been there but after watching the video, I wanna go. From the video and description, the road does not look bad at all. The only wildcard would be the rare rain - my guess is that the road might get pretty ugly. My friends used to take a 25' class C into a remote surf spot in Baja. It would take them about twice as long to drive than the rest of us - but they made it just fine.

Thanks for the reply Cosmo. The more we look at this area, the more skittish we are about staying out there on our own. It looks so amazing, and I'd love to experience being out there overnight. But hubby is just not sold on the idea. He says if there were a few more people there (a variable that is unknown til we actually get there!), if we were traveling with others, or if we knew we'd have cell service it might make it a little more inviting.

We're seniors with a good-sized list of health issues, and we'd hate for something to go wrong - with us or with the RV - and be stuck out there at night.

I think we've found a compromise for our first visit to the area. We'll stay in Ridgecrest (not sure how much an improvement THAT is...LOL) where we can have hookups and cell service. Then we'll drive out to Trona and spend a good part of the day exploring. Who knows...maybe we'll find the area not as intimidating as it seems right now.

I hope you get a chance to visit yourself. Would love a report if and when you do. It looks so other-worldly and awesome!

Eileen in AZ