Sierra Sampler 2011

Friday, Sept. 23 -- Lee Vining to Mammoth Lakes -- 39 miles

Breaking camp

On the road again

Kathy the cook, and her husband, Jack,
Feeding the Tribe

Check out the Sept. 22 and Sept. 23 entries in Kathy's blog, Feeding the Tribe, for menus, photos and more about the trip. Also, Phil's album has plenty of mealtime photos.

Grant Lake

Arthur
from Oregon
(photo from George's album)

(Photo from Barb's album)

Barb's husband, Bob.
(Ahem. Bob's the one on the right.)

Silver Lake

We reached Mammoth Lakes by lunchtime and set up camp. Then some of us headed by van to
Devils Postpile National Monument
in Inyo National Forest.
(The National Park Service wasn't allowing bicycles on the steep, narrow, twisty road.)

Devils Postpile: hexagonal columns that formed about 100,000 years ago when lava pooled up, cooled slowly, contracted and cracked. The basalt columns later were revealed
by glacial erosion.

We drove to another trailhead and walked to Rainbow Falls, a 101-foot waterfall.

The Rainbow Fire of 1992
left a striking landscape.

Mammoth Mountain seen from Minaret Vista

Southbound on Highway 395 ...

... heading for the June Lake Loop,
the prettiest stretch of the tour. Here's a map.


Between Grant Lake and Silver Lake, the road dropped into a shady canyon and the temperature plunged from the mid-60s to the low 40s.

Back in the sun, we paused
by the Frontier Pack Station near Silver Lake.

June Lake

Soda Springs Meadow
at Devils Postpile National Monument

An angler
near Soda Springs

We were in the Ansel Adams Wilderness.

The National Geographic magazine waiting
at home had a piece on the Ansel Adams Wilderness, featuring photos by Peter Essick. Then there's
Galen Rowell's Sierra Nevada
gallery at Life.com.

Next stop was Minaret Vista.

(Photo from Arlen's album)

Happy
Birthday
to Katie
from Utah.