u/Adventurer_1371

I got a speeding ticket in Inyo County near Bishop on August 30th while I was traveling through California from out of state. The citation says I was going 89 mph in a 65 mph zone. I believe the code written on the citation is VC 22349(a).

For context, I was passing a long truck, and there were two other cars behind me also passing the truck. I was at the front of the group, and the officer pulled me over randomly. I personally felt it was unfair because I was simply passing the truck and there were two other cars behind me doing the same thing.

The citation says I need to take action by October 12th. However, I still haven’t received the court’s reminder/courtesy notice with the bail amount and information about traffic school.

I called the Inyo County court on Sept 18 & Oct 6, and they couldn’t find anything in their system under either my name or my citation number. This second time they told me I should contact the issuing agency which is BS. I already received the citation and signed it. If the court hasn’t received or entered the citation yet, it’s not my responsibility to track down the Highway Patrol and figure out why the court hasn’t received it. I would think the court and issuing agency would handle the processing of the citation, while my responsibility is to make sure I resolve the ticket by the deadline.

I’m wondering if anyone has had a similar experience with Inyo County taking this long to process a traffic citation and send the court notice.

Should I just keep waiting? And is there anything specific I should do before the October 12 deadline? I’m sending an email today to inyo.traffic@inyocourt.ca.gov to have it documented in writing too.

I’m hoping to negotiate to mask the citation by taking traffic school and pay the fine so that the violation doesn’t result in a point on my home-state driving record.

Thanks

I usually carry a knife, pepper spray, and a taser when I do solo hikes in my area or travel by car. Obviously, I can’t take those with me on a plane, so when I fly somewhere to start a backpacking trip, I usually stop at a Walmart or similar store to buy a knife and pepper spray. If I’m in bear country, I’ll either rent bear spray or just buy it. I was wondering how do you guys handle this when flying to a destination for a backpacking trip? And what other safety tools do you carry besides the obvious stuff? Do you bring something like a lock for your tent, etc?

Thanks!

Hi! I love my Salomon S/Lab 20L vest for day hikes, so for backpacking trips of 4–5 nights with a bear canister, I’m looking for something lightweight but with a similar setup in terms of front pockets and easy-access areas for water and snacks, phone, deep side and front stretch/zippered pockets and a great rear pocket - thinking something like the Gossamer Gear Fast Kumo 36, but bigger around 40–45L and ideally under $250. Used is even better. What options should I look at?

Thanks

I’m planning to do the Teton Crest Trail in late August / early September and would love to hear from people who have actually done it.

I’m thinking of doing the full route from Phillips Pass to String Lake, roughly 39 miles, as 4 nights / 5 days.
For those who have done this route:

1. Is Phillips Pass → String Lake the route you did, or did you use a different starting point? If start from Aerial Tram → Rendezvous Mountain - which campsites do you plan to stay?
2. Did you do it solo? If so, how was the experience?
3. How was the bear situation? Did you encounter any bears, and how cautious did you need to be?
4. Did you bring your own bear canister, or did you rent/borrow one from the park? How did that work?
5. How did you handle the point-to-point transportation?
   Did you park your car at String Lake (the finish) and arrange a shuttle/taxi to the starting point at Phillips Pass?
6. If you used a shuttle/taxi, what company or service did you use, and how far in advance did you arrange it? how much was it?
7. How far in advance did you get your backcountry permit?
   Did you reserve it online in advance, or did you get a walk-up permit?
8. Anything about the logistics that you wish you had known before doing it?

Thanks

I just saw a video about someone talking about Garmin SAR insurance, which is around $39/year and can cover up to $100,000 in search-and-rescue expenses. Apparently, it helped reduce a pretty huge helicopter rescue bill they received.
I honestly didn’t know this existed. I always hike and backpack solo, but I stay on established trails and my activities don’t seem to fall under any of the exclusions.
Has anyone actually gotten Garmin SAR insurance or has used it? Is it worth getting? Are there any other alternatives? And is this type of insurance even necessary?

*I have Garmin Inreach Mini 2

Thanks

For reference, I was born and grew up in a city of 13 million people. I’ve lived in cities my entire life. Then my parents said it was time to buy a place, and with my budget, I fell into the trap of my money will get me further and I can get something bigger in the suburbs. A couple of months later, everything came crashing down.

I used to be a very active person. I danced, hiked, walked for miles, those things were my therapy. I loved simply walking around the city, people-watching, saying hi to dogs, randomly coming across events, urban trails, parks, cafés, and whatever else was happening. I spend a lot of time alone, and I loved it because I loved the city for exactly those reasons.

But then when I moved to suburb I got sick, and I ended up dealing with all these health issues I had never experienced before: inflammation, hormonal issues, depression, anger, chronic injuries, and just this feeling that my soul and zest for life are being sucked out of me by the suburbs - really heavy energy basically my time mainly is now spent in doctors appointments. I hate myself for making such an awful decision.

I absolutely fucking hate it here, to the core, with every cell in my body. And it has made me feel incredibly isolated and lonely - even though I’m someone who travels alone, hikes alone, camps alone, and generally has no problem doing things by myself.

Unfortunately, because of work and everything else, I had to stay here for two years. But I am very determined to leave sometime next year.

So I have two questions:
First: Is this all in my head, or can a genuinely awful environment—like living somewhere that is completely incompatible with who you are - the evil suburb- actually affect your mental and physical health? Has anyone else experienced this? I’m curious to hear from people who have been in the same boat, because honestly, I’d like to know I’m not alone.
Second: How the hell do you survive until you can leave? How do you get through living in a place you hate without letting it torture and destroy you?
Thanks.

Hi, I have a question. I don’t own a car but rent a lot, most of the time depending on the route, I just use my Visa credit card’s secondary CDW plus their roadside assistance, and decline the SLI/SLP or get it from the counter if needed or use Turo or options like that. But I’m going on a longer mountain trip with two different rental cars (Enterprise & Fox) so I started looking into non-owner car insurance policies and called multiple insurers. Unfortunately, since my residence state is VA, it didn’t allow it for a few, and a few required existing car insurance.

Only one offered — National General — which I didn’t have a good experience getting a quote from - contradictory responses and quotes from their reps. Also looked into third-party options like Allianz, Bonzah, and RentalCover, but their rates seemed to be on the higher end, and I feel like getting it from the counter means less dealing with a third party for claims and stuff.

So I’m thinking to just get the SLI/SLP from the counter plus my Visa CDW, and as for roadside, get an annual AAA membership. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks.