I agree with everything that's been said about too much to cram in and wanting to arrive relaxed. Turning the drive up there into an organized day really defeats the purpose. Truth be told, my brother and I planned to leave early in the morning and 'wing it' up there with some knowledge of cool places along the way. I hate to be like this, but I'm going to stick with that plan.
I'm just going to depart the Murrieta area between 8:00 and 9:00 am and will head straight up to Kramer Junction for an early lunch and to refuel. We'll stop by the old prison for a bit and head further north. I'm definitely not missing the Trona Pinnacles, but everything else is really up in the air and will be decided on the fly based on how much time/gas we have and how we're feeling.
I'll throw it out there again that anyone is welcome to tag along, especially since we're all going the same direction and taking the same overall route. Just know that we won't have a solid plan and could be doing anything from wandering around shops in Randsburg to wandering around in the middle of the desert for a while.
With all of this being said, what does everyone think about having a communication plan for the drive up? If we all decide to do our own thing, we should at least have a way to get ahold of someone else in case you get into a jam. At a minimum, we should all swap phone numbers, but having a preset ham frequency and/or repeaters to monitor along the way isn't a bad idea either. Might even make it possible for people to sync up as we get closer to Panamint Springs, or at least monitor each other's progress.
