🚙 Exploring at Mammoth in 2024🚶🏼♀️
- Barbara Levine
- Oct 15, 2024
- 13 min read
Updated: Mar 8
June-October, 2024
Written by Barbara Levine
🚙 1.0 Preface🚶🏼♀️
From June to October of 2024, we spend four weeks biking, hiking and exploring in the Mammoth area. The scenery is breathtaking everywhere we venture.
This missive is about our exploring adventures where we drive to a destination and walk around the area (as opposed to hiking or biking).
🚙 2.0 Exploring Destinations🚶🏼♀️
We visit an amazing amount of places during our four trips to Mammoth Lakes from June to October of 2024, including 28 biking, hiking and exploring destinations.
The table below summarizes our seven exploring destinations during the summer and fall of 2024.
Our Seven Exploring Destinations at Mammoth in 2024
The following two maps display our 28 Destinations in red numerals. The first map shows Destinations 1-24, and the second map shows Destinations 25-28.
* The nomenclature used throughout this missive to describe destinations is Destination(#) , where the # refers to a Map Point.
Map 1: Destinations 1-24 at Mammoth in 2024
Map 2: Destinations 25-28 at Mammoth in 2024
🚙 3.0 Exploring in the Mammoth Area, 2024🚶🏼♀️
The following sections cover each of our seven exploring destinations in the Mammoth area in the summer and fall of 2024.
🚙 3.1 Exploring the Earthquake Fault(17), 06/07/24🚶🏼♀️
The Earthquake Fault near Mammoth Lakes is an impressive geological feature stretching roughly half a mile and descending to depths of up to 60 feet. This narrow fissure lies within the Inyo National Forest and is just off the drive from downtown Mammoth Lakes on the way to the Mammoth Mountain Main Lodge. An easy 0.3-mile loop trail is available for visitors.
Top: Stan is on a bridge over the Earthquake Fault. Snow is visible in the bottom.
Bottom left: I am resting on a bench with our Boxer Henry on the hike around the fissure
Bottom right: Another view of the Earthquake Fault
Back in the summer of 1986, I was able to get down to the bottom and hike through the snow to the end of the fissure and back. Now you need to be a rock climber to get there, as Stan's daughter Tiffany and granddaughter Juliet did when we were there with them in July 2020. It was a risk that I wasn't ready to take then.
Top: Juliet and Tiffany starting down into the Earthquake Fault.
Bottom left: Tiffany climbing down into the fissure
Bottom right: Juliet walking through the snow at the bottom of the Earthquake Fault
🚙 3.2 Exploring Mammoth Mountain's Main Lodge(18), 06/07/24🚶🏼♀️
Farther up the road from the Earthquake Fault, we reach the Main Lodge (elevation 9,000') on Mammoth Mountain. The mountain is normally open for skiing into July, but this year is closed in mid-April so construction could begin on replacing Chair 1, the main chair up the mountain. We stop on way to Minaret Vista to view the progress.
Top: Stan is standing on the right observing the placement of large logs to separate traffic from the parking lot at the Main Lodge. Mammoth Mountain is in the background.
Bottom left: View of the construction of the new Chair 1 at the Main Lodge
Bottom right: I can never pass up another photo of the sculpture of Woolly Mammoth in the parking lot at the Main Lodge next to the gondola. The sculptor Douglas Van Howd presented the massive life-size bronze to Dave McCoy, on his 75th birthday in 1990. McCoy, an American skier and businessman who established the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in 1942, passed away at the age of 105 in 2020.
🚙 3.3 Exploring Minaret Vista(19), 06/07/24🚶🏼♀️
Two miles beyond the Main Lodge (elevation 9,000') at the end of the highest paved road on Mammoth Mountain, we arrive at Minaret Vista.
Minaret Vista is an awe-inspiring scenic overlook located at an elevation of 9,265 feet on the Sierra Nevada Crest. It provides one of the most renowned views in the Sierra Nevada, highlighting the stunning skyline of the Minarets, which are part of the Ritter Range.
Center: The Minaret Vista sign (elevation 9,265 ft) in the parking lot
Top left: View of the Ritter Range to the west of Mammoth Mountain, including the sharp peaks called The Minarets, which were named for their resemblance to the spires on Muslim temples. Mt. Ritter (elevation 13,149 ft) and Banner Peak (elevation 12,942 ft) can also be seen.
Top right: View of Mammoth Mountain (elevation 11,053 ft) from the lookout at Minaret Vista
Bottom left: Stan and Henry by the snow at the top of Mineral Vista
Bottom right: Zoomed-in view of The Minarets (elevation 12,265 ft) from the Minaret Vista lookout
This area provides a panoramic view of the Reds Meadow Valley and the surrounding Ansel Adams Wilderness, where we hike in August to Minaret Falls and Devils Postpile.
We also hike 1.2 miles from the Main Lodge to Minaret Vista in September. Click on the photo on the right to read about these and other hikes we take in the summer and fall of 2024.
🚙 3.4 Exploring Hot Creek(23), 06/08/24🚶🏼♀️
It has been many years since Stan and I last visited Hot Creek due to its closure in 2006 for swimming after at least 14 people died there since 1968. On our recent visit to the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center, we learn that Hot Creek is now open to the public, although swimming remains prohibited.
As we drive along Hot Creek Hatchery Road which parallels the river, we cannot recall the precise whereabouts of the swimming spot we had previously enjoyed. What sticks in our memory is a gravel parking area perched on the cliff above the river, with a winding trail leading down to the water.
Top left, October 1970: View of Hot Creek from above with people in the water. Note the path below and the small bridge across the river.
Top right, October 1970: I am on the left in Hot Creek with friends Larry & Barbara. In front is my son Mike (age 7) and their daughter Erika. (This was two years before I met Stan and five years before we started dating.)
Bottom, April 2001: Stan is in the middle in Hot Creek with our friend Pete (on the right). Pete stayed with us in our condo for a few days of skiing on Mammoth Mountain.
We stop at the Hot Creek Geological Site – a designated area that didn't exist here in the past. We take a photo looking down at the geysers in the river.
Below is a transcript of the signs at the lookout point.
We decide not to hike down the steep, 0.8-mile-long trail to the water. The surroundings feel unfamiliar compared to our former swimming spot, so we skip reading all the information provided on the posted signs.
Continuing our journey to discover other locations to access the river, we search in vain for the familiar spot we always used, unaware that we had already reached it!
🚙 3.5 Exploring Tom's Place(26), 09/24/24🚶🏼♀️
For the past 60 years that I have been driving to Mammoth, I have noticed a sign along the road near Crowley Lake for Tom's Place. I have always wondered what was there, but I never stopped to find out.
This September, we stop to look at it on our way back from our hike around Rock Creek Lake.
Top left: The front of Tom's Place store, cafe and saloon
Top right: Stan beside the inscripted description in front of Tom's Place
Center: The fireplace inside the cafe at Tom's Place
Bottom left: The saloon inside Tom's Place with the stairs on the left leading down to the restrooms. The sign above the stairwell beside a helmet reads, "Helmet Mandatory After 3 Cocktails." At the bottom of the stairs, there is a sign that reads, "THIS SPACE FOR Gas Customers ONLY."
Bottom right: View of Crowley Lake after leaving Tom's Place for the drive back to Mammoth.
Tom's Place is for sale for two million dollars as of September 2024.
🚙 3.6 Exploring June Lake(27), 08/14/24🚶🏼♀️
After hiking at Convict Lake in the morning, we drive over to explore June Lake. It has been a long time since I was in June Lake. It is where I started skiing 60 years ago in 1965.
1965: My friend Barbara, I and my first husband are on the deck of the chalet at the top of the first chair on June Mountain. The back of Mammoth Mountain is behind us.
On this exploring trip, we stop in the town of June Lake and don't make it as far as the ski mountain. We are with our friend Gale who leads us on our hiking, biking and exploring trips in August and September.
We stop at two stores in town that Gale likes, one of which is a gift shop and the other is a ceramics studio that I hadn't been to before. Of course, I have to do some shopping at each of them.
The Rainbow Ridge Store is a gift and souvenir shop, which is part of Rainbow Ridge Realty & Reservations. I buy a beautiful fleece decorated with wolves that you can spot in several photos in my missives. I also pick up a wood and ceramic jewelry puzzle box.
Willingham Clay Studio is known for its handmade pottery crafted by artisan Ken Willingham. The studio features unique pieces, emphasizing handcrafted porcelain and stoneware pottery. Ken takes us through his studio in the back where he does all of his work and teaches pottery classes. I can't resist getting one of his chimes made of ceramic bears.
Top right: Approaching June Lake with a view of June Mountain in the distance
Top left: Willingham Clay Studio is seen down a side street in June Lake
Bottom left: The Rainbow Ridge Store in the lower left portion of Rainbow Ridge Realty & Reservations on main street in June Lake
Bottom center: Gale and Stan listening to Ken Willingham tell them about his pottery in the Willingham Clay Studio
Bottom right: Ken Willingham telling us about his history of pottery making in June Lake
🚙 3.7 Exploring Bodie Gold Mining Ghost Town(28), 10/23/24🚶🏼♀️
The most fascinating of our exploring adventures is when we drive to the Bodie Gold Mining Ghost Town. It is located in Bodie State Historic Park and you can locate it on the top of Map 2 above. I have heard about Bodie for years, and in October, Stan and I decide to make the 60-mile drive to visit it.
Our Drive to Bodie: On our way, we stop off at the Mono Inn just beyond Lee Vining where we had to cancel our dinner reservations in June after our flat tire episode (see below). We haven't tried dining there this month because the only menu is a winter tasting of 6 courses for $125/person – far more food than we want to intake!
Top: I am standing by the road overlooking Mono Lake. I am wearing my wolf fleece jacket that I purchased in June Lake on our exploring adventure in August.
Bottom: Stan is standing in front of the Mono Inn which overlooks Mono Lake.
Fourteen miles beyond the Mono Inn, we turn right on Highway 270 for the last 10 miles to Bodie. What we don't realize until the paving ends is that the final 3.5 miles are dirt!
After getting a flat in the middle of nowhere on a gravel road in June, we don't want to be driving our Tesla off road again, especially a long way from towing assistance.
Read about our experience with a flat tire in June 2024 in my missive titled 🚙 Stranded in the Wilderness with a Flat🛞 by clicking on the photo on the right.
Stan says to go for it! What was supposed to be just over an hour of driving turns into nearly two hours as I creep along the last few miles at 5-8 mph hoping we do not get another flat.
We finally arrive safely at the entrance to the Bodie State Historic Park at 2:40 PM. We find that the park closes at 4 PM during the winter months from October-April. We have only an hour and twenty minutes to sightsee, less than half the recommended visiting time to see everything.
A Brief History of Bodie: The story of Bodie is vibrant and colorful and the town's legacy as a Wild West icon is everlasting. With a diverse population numbering close to 10,000 at the town's peak in 1880, industrious miners and successful businessman rubbed shoulders with notorious gunfighters and unscrupulous gamblers. From the tales of the initial discoverer W.S. Bodey, whose life ended tragically, to the development of electrically powered gold mines and vicious gunfights, the story of Bodie captivates everyone who encounters it.
The news of Bodie's discovery did not reach far and the deposit was almost forgotten. At this time, the massive mines of the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada, to the north were in full production and the gold mines of Aurora, Nevada, to the east were rapidly developing, keeping thousands of miners employed. As these deposits were exhausted, miners began moving into the Bodie Hills and the region rapidly exploded.
In 1876, Bodie had only a few dozen residents. By 1879 and 1880, the town grew to an estimated population of around 10,000 people as the mining industry quickly expanded. To the east of town, the mighty mines and mills pumped economic lifeblood into the town. In the center and south of town, a vibrant business district blossomed, flanked to the west by the well-kept homes of mine management and business owners.
The northern end of town came to life in the evenings, as the dozens of saloons, gambling halls, taverns, brothels, and opium dens of the Red Light District and Chinatown beckoned miners with their expensive vices. Bodie quickly gained the reputation as a “shooters town” due to the Wild West-style gun fights that often erupted during the height of the town's prominence.
In 1881, the Bodie and Benton Railroad was formed and although the 32-mile rail line never connected the towns of Bodie and Benton as intended, it did provide much-needed lumber to the mines from Mono Mills on the south side of Mono Lake. The availability of lumber, which was necessary for building construction, mine support, and fuel, was a major issue for the residents Bodie and until the railway was completed, continuous 20-head mule teams hauled lumber from the forests to the west and south.
At its peak between 1879 and 1881, Bodie's main street reached over a mile in length. During this time, Bodie had 2 churches (Catholic and Methodist), at least 2 newspapers, a telegraph station, post office, 22 operating mines, many large (and very noisy) stamp-style ore mills, multiple motels, several general stores, stables, doctors and pharmacists, union halls, schools, breweries, and several dozen saloons. Although it is difficult to accurately gauge the size of the town due to the transient nature of the region's population in the 1870's and 1880's, Bodie was likely the 6th or 7th largest city in California at this time.
A kitchen fire in the summer of 1892 destroyed much of town to the west of main street. The town was rebuilt, although the damage was done and several of the residents left. Tragedy struck Bodie again in the early summer of 1932 when most of the town burnt to the ground. This fire, which was accidentally started by a young boy playing with matches, sealed the fate of the once glorious mining town.
After major mining ended in 1915 and small-scale mining efforts halted in the early 1950's, the remaining buildings slowly began to decay as residents left or passed on. Due to the town's remarkable ghost town-like remains and the value of the minerals mined from the surrounding hills, the town received National Landmark Status in 1961. California adopted the Bodie State Historic Park in 1962 and it remains today preserved and maintained by the Bodie Foundation.
Bodie Today: Today, over 100 of the original buildings line the dirt streets of the Bodie ghost town; including the old Miners Union building (now a museum), firehouse, jail, the massive Standard Mill (now partially restored), school house, Methodist Church, morgue, and several small homes. Overlooking the dusty roads of the once thriving Bodie, these buildings preserve the Wild West way of life, with many remaining as they were originally found over 60 years ago.
Following are several of the photos that we took during our abbreviated tour of Bodie.
Top right: The Methodist Church
Top left: Inside the Methodist Church
Middle right: The J.S. Cain residence (see J.S. Cain's story below)
Bottom left: The kitchen inside the J.S. Cain residence
Bottom right: A bedroom and sewing center inside the J.S. Cain residence
Top left & right: Views of the Standard Mill from town
Middle left: The Standard Mill closer up
Middle right: Stan by large cables from the Standard Mill
Bottom left & right: More mining equipment
Top left: A saloon on the far left and an old truck
Top center left: The bar inside the saloon
Top center right: The pool room inside the saloon
Top right: Stan behind the old truck
Bottom left: A group of barns and sheds with an old wagon on the far left
Bottom center left: Stan beside the old wagon
Bottom center right: Inside a schoolhouse
Bottom right: An old carriage inside a shed
We were able to watch 15 minutes of a video in the screening room of the museum (formerly the old Miners Union building) before the 4pm closing time of the park. We decided to leave for the parking lot, although the movie was still playing and there was no one to tell us to leave. We were sorry that we hadn't arrived earlier so we could have seen more of Bodie and of the movie.
On our way back to Mammoth, we were treated to this beautiful view of Mono Lake from the road above.
Comentários