Riding High in Alabama Hills – 4 Days, 6 Vans, and Endless Views
Some trips are just good — others stay with you. This one? It settled deep into my bones.
Four days out in Alabama Hills, surrounded by close friends, six Sprinter vans, a pack of electric motos, and the kind of landscape that makes you feel small in the best way possible. We rode hard, ate well, and made the kind of memories that remind you exactly why you live this lifestyle.
The Call of the 395
The drive alone is worth writing about.
Highway 395 never gets old. It’s one of those stretches of road that’s more than just a route—it’s a ritual. Pulling away from the sprawl of the Bay Area and watching the landscape slowly shift is like shedding layers of city noise and stress. Once you hit the Owens Valley and start tracing the eastern edge of the Sierras, everything sharpens—the air, the colors, your focus.
I’ve driven this road countless times, but every single trip hits different. This time, the skies were clear, the peaks still dusted with late-season snow, and the golden-hour light was chef’s kiss. I rolled south, solo, excited to meet up with my friends. Debating if I’d stop part of the way - I pushed on and rolled into camp just as the sun set.
Home Base, Rock Formations & Wide Open Skies
We posted up at one of my favorite dispersed spots tucked behind a stretch of sandstone arches and weathered boulders, with a clear view of Mount Whitney keeping watch. Alabama Hills is the kind of place that makes you feel like you’re on another planet — Martian rock shapes, open plains, and a backdrop of granite giants. it offered a great opportunity to create some fresh content for the site, the socials and also helped snapped photos for my close friends Dmitriy (SergSupply) and Josh (Electrix Moto).
Below are a few amazing shots that Josh snapped of me and the van.
Vans lined up, forming a cozy compound. Everyone’s rig had its own flavor — from minimalist builds to full-blown adventure setups. The Sprinter, as always, did its job — keeping me comfortable, powered up, and ready for whatever the day brought. What was extra unique is all these vans had one common theme — all builds had SergSupply kits. Every…single…one
Once camp was dialed, the real fun started.
Trails, Throttle, and Dirt Therapy
We unloaded the electric motos, and from that moment, it was throttle therapy every day. Riding through Alabama Hills on an e-moto is hard to describe — it’s quiet, it’s wild, and it’s fast all at once. There’s this incredible sense of freedom when you’re carving through dirt trails with no sound but the wind and your own breath. Special thanks to Josh and the amazing team at Electix Moto for their support
We explored ridgelines, raced between rock outcroppings, and chased each other through tight slots and wide-open flats. Midday rides turned into photo missions. Cameras in hand, we’d pull over to snap shots of dust trails backlit by the sun, silhouettes against golden rocks, and friends laughing mid-ride. Pure joy.
Four-Legged Explorers
No van trip is complete without the dogs — and this crew didn’t disappoint.
Louis had the time of his life. He roamed freely around camp, sniffed every rock and bush within a half-mile radius, and made fast friends with the other pups on the trip. There’s something special about watching dogs explore these wide-open spaces with the same wonder we do.
One of the highlights? Louis got to hang with not one, but two Belgian Malinois (Nova & Ace) — majestic, high-energy, incredibly well-trained animals. Watching them in action was like witnessing poetry in motion. Their focus, obedience, and sheer athleticism were something else. Louis, in all his goofy glory, kept up just fine—though he was more interested in playtime than precision.
It was pure joy seeing the dogs form their own little pack, darting between vans, joining us on trails, and crashing out hard at the end of the day, just as content as the rest of us.
The Magic of Campfire Cooking
Back at camp, food was serious business. Each night felt like a potluck-style culinary showdown, and I was all in.
From tacos to breakfast burritos, one thing stayed constant — my love for cooking and making sure everyone went to bed with a full belly. I even earned the nickname “Pit Boss.” I’m no pro chef, but I held my own out there, and I’ve got a feeling the crew would line up for my tacos again in a heartbeat.
We strung up lights around camp, adding a little extra magic to the evenings. Fires burned, stories flowed, and each night wrapped up with that perfect mix of laughter, warmth, and good food under the stars.
Stars, Silence, and Solitude
When the sun dipped behind the mountains, the real show began. No cell signal. No distractions. Just a sky filled with stars and the gentle murmur of conversations by the fire.
We talked about past trips, future plans, life back home, and the stuff that usually gets buried in the noise. These are the moments I live for — the ones where people show up fully, with no agenda. We laughed until we couldn’t breathe, took long exposures of the stars, and sat in quiet awe of just how damn lucky we were to be there.
The Road Home
Packing up that final morning was bittersweet. Dirty gear, dusty vans, tired muscles — but full hearts. The kind of trip that leaves you a little sunburned, a little sore, and a whole lot grateful.
As we peeled off one by one heading north, the 395 once again framed the ride — this time with just a hint more dust on the dash and a few hundred new photos on the SD card.
Final Thoughts
Trips like this remind me why I chose the road. Why I built out the van. Why I said yes to this lifestyle.
It’s not just about the miles or the gear or even the location — it’s about the feeling. That deep exhale when you land in a place like Alabama Hills, surrounded by people who get it. Who understand the value of freedom, solitude, and connection.
If you’ve never been — go. If you’ve been, go again. The rocks, the road, and the stars will still be there, waiting.
Catch you on the next ride.
— Zeke
A special call out to the team at SergSupply and Electix Moto for sponsoring this trip.
