Summer vacation in California’s Eastern Sierra

I haven’t posted much in the last two weeks because we’ve had friends from Australia staying with us. Last week we spent four days in the Eastern Sierra, the vast high desert east of the Sierra Nevada range. Sparsely populated and spectacularly beautiful, this part of California is a wonderland of mountains and lakes, sagebrush and tumbleweed, and even the occasional ghost town. In the “olden days” my wife and I spent quite a bit of time of here, camping and exploring. In the last 15 years, our visits have been few and far between, but the Eastern Sierra is always in our heart.

Mono Lake at sunset

Our home base was in Mammoth Lakes, the largest and most developed town in the Eastern Sierra. Located at an elevation of 7,880 feet (2,400 m), Mammoth Lakes is a world-class ski resort which in the off-season (summer) offers remarkably reasonable accommodations and easy access to alpine lakes, hiking, fishing, mountain biking and a host of other outdoor activities. It’s a great spot to explore everything the area has to offer.

Here are a couple of maps to give you a better idea of the geography of the Eastern Sierra. In the first map, the turquoise area points at Davis and the red arrow at Mammoth Lakes. Los Angeles is all the way to the south and Las Vegas to the southeast. Driving time from Davis to Mammoth Lakes is about 5 hours, not including stops.

The second map shows the territory we covered in more detail. The main attractions we visited are marked in red. The turquoise area points at Yosemite National Park, which we drove through on our way home.

So what did we see on a trip? So much that I could spend a week writing about it! But don’t worry, I’ll pack the highlights into this one post.

Here’s what we saw:

⦿ MOUNTAINS

Looking east from Monitor Pass 8,314 ft (2,534 m)

Ansel Adams Wilderness from the 2½-mile trail to Rainbow Falls

Sierra Nevada from Owens Valley near Crowley Lake

Sierra Nevada from Owens Valley near Crowley Lake

Sierra Nevada from Hot Creek Geologic Site

Sierra Nevada from Tioga Pass Road

 

Along the Tioga Pass Road, Yosemite National Park. Enlarge the photo on the right to see the rock climbers.

Half Dome from Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park

Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park

 

⦿ LAKES

Mono Lake from Conway Summit Overlook at 8,143 ft (2,482 m)

Mono Lake boardwalk

Mono Lake near sunset

Tufa towers at Mono Lake after sunset

Lake Mamie in the Mammoth Lakes Basin

Twin Lakes in the Mammoth Lakes Basin

Horseshoe Lake in the Mammoth Lakes Basin

Lake Mary in the Mammoth Lakes Basin

Lake Mary in the Mammoth Lakes Basin

Tioga Lake just outside Yosemite National Park

Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park

 

⦿ ROADS

State Route 89 approaching Monitor Pass

State Route 89 just beyond Monitor Pass as it begins its descent into the Eastern Sierra

View of Sierra Nevada from U.S. Route 395 near Bridgeport, Mono County

U.S. Route 395 as it descends from Conway Summit to Mono Lake

View of Sierra Nevada from the Bodie Road

View of Sierra Nevada from the Bodie Road (the last three miles are unpaved)

View of Sierra Nevada from Hot Creek Road near Mammoth Yosemite Airport

 

⦿ WILDFLOWERS

Great Basin sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)

Pussy paws (Cistanthe umbellata)

Mountain pride (Penstemon newberryi)

Mountain pride (Penstemon newberryi) growing in cracks in the granite at Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park

 

⦿ GHOST TOWNS

We spent a wonderful morning at Bodie State Historic Park, arguably the best preserved and most photogenic ghost town in the entire western U.S. Located at an elevation of 8,379 ft (2,554 m), Bodie is exposed to the elements year round:

Winds can sweep across the valley at close to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). Nights remain cold even through the summer, often dropping well below freezing. Bodie rivals notorious Barrow, Alaska as the locality in the United States with most nights below freezing;^[37] in fact no month has ever been completely frost-free. (1)

Bodie has stirred the imagination like no other ghost town. In the late 1800s, a girl moving with her family from San Francisco to Bodie, then at the height of its gold production, famously said, “Goodbye God, I’m going to Bodie.” I don’t know if she was referring to the harsh climate or the rough-and-tumble lifestyle of a town that sported 65 saloons and who knows how many bordellos.

The State of California has a done a great job preserving the buildings that are left. With the exception of the church and one residence, none of them are routinely open to the public. But it’s easy enough to press your face against the windows to peek inside.

 

⦿ SUNSETS

Lake Mary, Mammoth Lakes Basin

Lake Mary, Mammoth Lakes Basin

Mono Lake, South Tufa Area

Mono Lake, South Tufa Area

Mono Lake, South Tufa Area

Mono Lake, South Tufa Area

Mono Lake, South Tufa Area

Mono Lake, South Tufa Area

Mono Lake, South Tufa Area

 

⦿ WATERFALLS

Rainbow Falls, Devils Postpile National Monument. The rainbow is visible at midday on sunny summer days.

Rainbow Falls, Devils Postpile National Monument

 

⦿ RAINBOWS

Rainbow Falls, Devils Postpile National Monument. The rainbow is visible at midday on sunny summer days.

I was surprised by the intensity of the colors.

 

⦿ RAIN

U.S. Route 395 south of Mono Lake, early afternoon, Tuesday, June 28, 2016

We ended up with quite a bit of rain in Mammoth Lakes. The clouds that lingered contributed to the spectacular sunset at Mono Lake you saw above.

 

⦿ ROCKS

Monitor Pass

Basalt columns at Devils Postpile National Monument

Basalt columns at Devils Postpile National Monument

Basalt columns at Devils Postpile National Monument

Along the Tioga Pass Road on the way to Yosemite National Park

Along the Tioga Pass Road on the way to Yosemite National Park. These are the rocks I wish I could have in my garden!

 

⦿ HOT SPRINGS

Hot Creek Geologic Site southeast of Mammoth Lakes

Hot Creek Geologic Site southeast of Mammoth Lakes

 

I’m always amazed by how few Californians have visited the Eastern Sierra. I think you’re more likely to encounter tourists from Europe than folks from San Francisco. That’s a real pity because the Eastern Sierra is the epitome of the rugged West. Don’t miss it!