Travels with Twinkles: Bishop to Mammoth Lakes and June Lake, California

June 14 -19, 2022

I then left Bishop heading north on route 395 heading for Mammoth Lakes, CA with one planned stop. I had seen a photo of the Crowley Lake Columns which involves a four mile hike from a trailhead near the town of Tom’s Place to the shore of Crowley Lake. Tom’s Place is an interesting Hotel / store/ bar with a 100 years old history. I stop there and check my All Trails App to help negotiate my way to the trailhead. After a couple of failed attempts I manage get headed in the correct direction. The internet reviews are saying that part of the access road requires a 4WD and high clearance vehicle. As a result, I leave the van on the side of the access road and walk in. I then see a parking area about a 1/4 mile in that I could have driven to and several people hiking the road beyond. It is an actual road, not a trail and there is one area where you really do need 4WD. It’s then a 2 mile walk and then down a very steep sand slope to the lake shore. The columns are formed by the very odd erosion of the lakes shoreline, the photos tell the story.

https://www.americansouthwest.net/california/crowley-lake-columns/index.html

Near the end of the trail

The columns are in view, what a sight !

Amazing view

The lake water is crystal clear

After that trek in bright sun, I stop for a nice cold beer at Tom’s Place, it just seemed like the right thing to do. I then pretty much cruise into Mammoth Lakes for the visitors center, which is closed. I then continue on route 395 north to an exit for the Glass Creek USFS campground. This campground has developed campsites with tables and fire pits, but no services such as water or electric and is free. Well not exactly free, they ask for a $10 donation. I take a road side pull off with no table or fire pit, not a legal campsite. But, I liked this site because it was away from the crowd and I don’t need of want a big campsite. This campground is in the forest close to the highway and it is so great to see these impressive large Jeffrey Pine Trees again. It did get pretty chilly overnight, at 3 AM I had to drag out the sleeping bag, it was 43 degrees in the van at 6 AM.

I spend most of the morning doing Laundry at another very disgusting laundry, then to the Vons Grocery store for water and few other food essentials and then to the library where the internet was down. Those activities killed my morning, but they had to be done. I then drive to Convict Lake where I do a 3 1/2 mile hike around the lake. It’s named after a shootout that took place there with escaped convicts. It’s a very popular lake with the boating and fishing crowd. It is a beautiful natural lake and one of the deepest.

View from the trail

The beauty is starting to get monotonous at this point

I then return to the Glass Creek campground to a different campsite in an area more inclined for the RV and ORV crowd. It gets windy and really cools off quickly here soon as the sun goes down, unlike Arizona.

My primary focus here is to go to Devils Postpile National Monument which is still closed for the season, but will reopen on Friday, so I am filling in my time doing other things. Outdoor activities are abundant here all year, but Winter Skiing is the biggest attraction. The Mammoth Ski Mountain is huge. So, today on Wednesday I decide to go to the Hot Creek Geologic Site. It’s only a few miles away, but involves a few miles of bumpy dirt road, practically everything worth doing seems to be like that. This thermal area was formed when the land sunk due to volcanic activity creating a valley with hot springs, especially one steaming caldron area. It is also a prime fishing stream with mostly fly fisherman on a scenic trail that run along the river. It has many extremely picturesque areas as shown below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Creek_(Mono_County)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_Postpile_National_Monument

It's steaming hot !

The Creek views are beautiful

The green flowing grass in the creek was really special

Flowing colonies of grass around rocks

Close up of the super hot spring

Afterwards, I take a ride on the Mammoth scenic loop road that runs through a beautiful forested area. I come upon a road sign for the Inyo Craters and take the exit which again turns into to a dirt road, a very rough and narrow one in places. At the end is a parking lot and a 1 1/2 mile loop trail. The forest in this area is rough, with many downed trees, really big downed trees and since it was extremely windy I was a bit nervous. I've had issues in the past with falling tree limbs. As you come out of the forest, you come upon a deep crater with beautiful deep blue/green colored water in the bottom. This was formed when hot lava underground came up in contact with underground water resulting in a steam explosion that blew earth and rocks over a 10 mile radius. There are 2 other Craters linked to this one, but they don’t have the pretty blue water. It was extremely windy there had to really hold my new hat !

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/inyo/recarea/?recid=20410

Many downed giant trees

The pretty Crater

The adjacent Crater

Next was the Earthquake fault a few miles away, this area does not have a quiet past. It’s sure to blow up again some day.

https://www.visitmammoth.com/trip-ideas/sightseeing-earthquake-fault/

Earthquake fault was not so exciting, unless you were there when it opened

I locate a free dispersed USFS forest camping area off the Mammoth Scenic Loop Road for the night and prepare for a very early departure in the morning. I need to get through the entrance USFS gate before 7 AM. The option was the take a shuttle bus from the Mammoth Ski area. The problem was that I wasn’t sure where to go after getting through the entrance gate, the instructions were very vague on the website.

Anyhow, it turns out you travel about 13 miles on this rough paved road, narrow in places through the USFS forest area until you get to the Devils Postpone National Monument where there is a parking lot. This whole wilderness area is shared by the Unites States Forest Service and the Nation Park Service. It was immediately clear that warmer clothes were needed, as it was really cold 40 degrees and cloudy.

The Devils Postpile area a short distance from the parking lot and it as great as I imagined, but the sky and the rocks were gray, not good for photography. I then continued on the trail 2 1/2 miles to the Rainbow Falls which is a most impressive waterfall famous for its rainbows, however there was no sun to generate any rainbow, but still very beautiful. I then took another trail to Reds Meadow which has a store, a cafe and caters to the Pacific Crest and John Muir trail hikers . The shuttle bus makes a stop there where I catch a ride back to the Devils Postpile area. About this time the sky is clearing so I head back to the Postpile area for another round of photos. I have now logged in 23,000 steps, about 8 miles and feel that’s enough for the day. I drive back to Mammoth Lakes, stopping at the Mammoth Brewery for a nice cold beer, again the right thing to do. I then find another dispersed camping area for the night, a different one off the Mammoth scenic loop road, the area has many options.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_Postpile_National_Monument

The shapes of the posts were amazingly accurate

As if cut by a saw

Very weird

The tops of the posts almost look like floor tile

The quantity of water flowing over Rainbow Falls was impressive

Taken from the bottom of the falls

Taken from the top above the Falls

Don't miss the video

I'm heading for the Pacific Crest and the John Muir Trail

The temperature has dropped and the wind picked up every day in late afternoon thus far and the nights have been very cold. This morning the interior of the van was a down to 35 degrees, I”m almost missing the 100 degree temperatures I had a week ago.

I planned to take it easy on Saturday, I went to the Mammoth Ski Lodge where they have a gondola running to the top of Mammoth Mountain but it’s kind of a pricey and I’m kind of cheap. There is a lot of mountain bike activity at this time of year, they take up up a lift, then you mountain bike down. There wasn't much to see or do there, I couldn’t even find a cup of coffee ? I then went to the central new downtown area of Mammoth Lakes where I had a very good bagel and coffee at a very busy New York Bakery and Deli. I'm feeling pretty grungy so I go to a nearby campground where I get a shower for $5, what a deal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth_Lakes,_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth_Mountain_Ski_Area

I'm feeling it's time to blow this town, I’m beginning to know my way around, so I get back on route 395 north for June Lake. But as usual, I am side tracked when I see a road sign for Obsidian Dome. It is a rough rocky dirt road to this area of amazing geology. This area is totally distressed like an atomic bomb went off. This area is a geologist wonderland with huge boulders of Obsidian.

https://www.summitpost.org/obsidian-dome-testimony-to-utility-and-greed/745158

That's a huge jumble of rocks

Obsidian in all shapes and sizes

The view from a trail that claims up into the dome

Huge pure black shiny Obsidean

View on top, the lighter rock is a very light volcanic ash

Finally after I drive back out I continue to June Lake which is a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains and the June Mountain ski area. On the lakeside is the very cute small town of June Lake. It has many tourist services and lodging options, in fact the town is all about tourism. They are also several Forest Service campgrounds that have developed campsites and some amenities, but charge a moderate fee for camping. There is a beautiful beach area on the lake with many people out in boats and fishing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Lake,_California#Geology_and_geography

Overlooking the lake is an historic monument constructed by my all time favorites, E Clampus Vitus. It told about local merchants throwing their illegal slot machines into the lake when they thought a raid was upcoming. There have several historical markers in this area and I'm now addicted to finding them all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_Clampus_Vitus

It’s here where I find the best named dispersed camping site yet, the Garbage Pit Road dispersed site. I spend two night there.

The view was great !

My last area ride was the June Lake Loop Road, route 158, which circles June Lake, Gull Lake, Silver Lake and Grand Lake with many campgrounds and fishing areas. It is extremely scenic with many areas to explore.

In the morning, I take another drive along the east side of June Lake taking a few good photos of the lake, then a few more of the downtown area. It’s then time to move on.