With one and a half hours sleep I was on the road by 3:15am headed to Alabama Hills early Saturday morning. It was a frigid morning over the pass from south Lake Tahoe to the eastern side of the sierras but leaving this early gave me a jump on beating the bay area traffic. I was just over the pass as the sun began to rise.

What was originally going to be a solo trip turned out to be a good outing with old and new friends. It's been a long time coming. This area has been on my short list of places to visit for a while now. Because it's a 7 to 8 hr. drive for me it's been hard to find time to go while making it worth it before having to head home. I'll say this though, It was well worth the drive and I will be back many more times in the near future. Our journey begins with the sunrise and my co-pilot at full attention.

On my way down HWY 395 I stopped by Convict lake, a place many call the gem of the Eastern Sierras. To my delight, they were right. Would love to come back in the summer as I hear the fishing is good beyond it being beautiful.

Another hour or two after I was in the small town of Lone Pine, the main entrance to Alabama Hills. As you drive west from Lone Pine within a mile the terrain changes into the spectacular landscape the hills are known for. Filled with mountains of rock and plenty of trails to explore, it's hard to know where to start.

It was super cold so we quickly found our spot, set up camp, and braced for the cold night ahead. A cold night it was! Somewhere in the high teens and low 20's. Luckily we had a little heater that sort of made it more comfortable. A little more heat would have been welcome. Just before the sun rose we all went out to enjoy the sunrise doing what photographers do best.

Photographer shootout

Warm coffee and breakfast down, we head out to explore some of the landscape and trails with @fotornr_trail, @nickcarver, @yb_falcon, and @nickdoesthat. Since this was my first time it was good to get a look around from folks that have been here a few times.

An eventful day and another cold night ahead. This time we ran two heaters all night. We should have done this to start. It was amazing! Mr. Heaters are the way to go with this Kodiak Canvas tent and ice cold nights. It's changed my way of thinking of camping in the winter. A whole new experience, so much fun.

The sunrises are really beautiful here in Alabama Hills. Each morning we got up before the sun rose to watch the mountain tops get kissed with red light which only lasted a few minutes each day. I could wake up to this every day. Since each night has been so cold my dogs water kept freezing, although she seemed to enjoy licking through the ice either way.

On our last day we took a trip to a ghost town called Cerro Gordo, which I'll do another story on next. This trip was another great adventure in a new place. I can't wait to come back with more friends, my wife and baby! Next up, Cerro Gordo, the ghost town east of Lone Pine!