Areas Around Bishop in California, October and November 2024

Our home base in Bishop, California on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains allowed us to visit mountain lakes, hot springs, sand dunes, desert, and ancient forests. The town of Bishop itself is lovely. It has a friendly, small town feel, but is bustling with activity and ... my favorite ... bakeries! With easy access to skiing at Mammoth, or rock climbing (apparently this area is a climbing mecca), or just enjoying alpine scenery, Bishop is a great base to work from. We camped for $5/night at the Pleasant Valley Pit Campground, and nabbed two end spots with enough separation from the other campers so Trixie was comfortable outside and for Jody, our Idaho friend, to walk Jazz.

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
	The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest sits at 10,000 feet (3,050 metres) in the Inyo Mountains. The view from the road driving up is stunning, with the jagged Sierra Nevadas to the west (you can see snow and glaciers on top), and the Owens Valley below.
	These ancient trees grow where others don't because they can withstand a harsher, more alkaline soil composition. While many of the trees are still living, the dead ones are more interesting to photograph. Jody and I hiked the Discovery Trail Loop near the Visitor Center in the Schulman Grove, which only gained about 265 feet of elevation, but hiking at over 10,000 feet for me is very hard on my lungs that are more accustomed to breathing at 600 feet!
	I don't understand how a tree would grow so twisted, but it did! Bristlecone Pines live for up to 5,000 years. Image how long ago this tree might have started its incredible journey!
	Sorry, another dead tree. But isn't it beautiful?  This is the Methuselah Tree, and it is 4,856 years old!  I'm so happy that we were able to come up here, because the access road is not maintained in the winter, and is therefore closed. But, there has been no snow yet, so the road is still open. There is another grove (Patriarch Grove) beyond this one at the Visitor Center, but we opted not to drive up to it as it is 12 miles each way of rough, dirt road to get there. Maybe next time.
Convict Lake and Crowley Lake Stone Columns
	Jody convinced us to go to Convict Lake which she has been to before but we have not. It was a pretty windy day, but the trail around the lake was quite sheltered. The lake was beautiful, just as she had promised.
	I had seen photos of the Crowley Lake Stone Columns on one of my Facebook groups, and had added it to my list of places to visit. What a gem! Many people walked the 2 miles to the beach from a parking area off the highway because there is a steep road with extreme dips and ruts that are difficult to navigate. But thanks to Brad's (and our truck's) 4-wheel drive experience and capabilities, we opted to drive, eliminating 4 miles of hiking across boring, open desert. It is still a very steep hike down to the beach where the columns are.
	Jody, Jazz and me on the beach. The columns were created by snow melt from the mountains percolating into cracks of the still hot ash or tuff from a volcanic explosion over 700,000 years ago. The water boiled, creating "evenly spaced convection cells similar to heat pipes". The columns began eroding out of the soil when the reservoir (Crowley Lake) was created here in 1941.
	The columns are large enough to walk between, although the lake hasn't eroded them too far back, maybe 20 feet in some areas. We were lucky the water was low enough for us to walk on the beach. Some days, the beach is submerged and the only way to see the columns is by boat.
	Farther north on the beach, the column are still eroding, but notice the ones on the far left have collapsed onto their sides.
Petroglyphs and the Owens River Valley
	Spending a day closer to camp, we followed Chalk Bluff Road along the Owens River. Snow was expected to fall in the mountains overnight, and the clouds were rolling in from the west. The storm over the mountains created a beautiful backdrop, with the Owens River meandering through the grasses.
	The Chidago Canyon Petroglyphs. This native art, as well as the petroglyphs of Red Canyon, are easily accessible on a dirt road from Highway 6 northeast of Bishop.
	We actually had Trick or Treaters on Halloween night! This group of climbers all the way from Sweden walked up the hill beside our campsites, dressed in orange garbage bags, swinging red lanterns, and yelling "trick or treat!" Jody, Brad and I were outside having a fire, and they thought we looked approachable, even though Jazz went crazy barking at them. We invited them to our fire, Brad shared his honey whiskey and peanut butter whiskey (a huge hit!), and they shared their hot cocoa with us! We spent a couple of hours chatting and learning about each other, our countries, our cultures, our travels, our occupations ... In the morning on our way out for the day, we drove past their campsite for a photo for the memory bank! We still keep in touch. Kneeling in front - Molly and Martin; in back - Jody with Jazz, Henrik, Gustav, me and Brad.
Mammoth Lakes
	The scenic route at Mammoth Lakes begins at the Visitor Center in town. Continuing on Lake Mary Road from Highway 203 will take you past a series of small lakes. First up is Twin Lakes where there is a resort and a campground.
	Twin Falls, which flows from Lake Mamie up above into Twin Lakes. There is some snow on the ground as we are at about 8,700 feet (2,650 m).
	The next lake along the road is Lake Mary, which you can drive around. There is also a sideroad up to Lake George. Pictured here is Lake Mamie, the next lake along Lake Mary Road.
	Looking down onto Twin Lakes from the road right above Twin Falls.
	The last lake you can drive to is Horseshoe Lake. Signs just before reaching this lake warn of elevated levels of naturally occurring Carbon Dioxide gas, which leaches up through the soil and accumulates in low pockets and snow depressions. There are many other lakes in the area that you could hike to.
	The Earthquake Fault is really just a fissure that opened up within the last couple of hundred years, although an actual date is unknown. It is 10 feet wide and up to 60 feet deep. The crack runs north-south and lines up with the Inyo-Mono Craters and the dike that fed the Inyo Domes. This fissure is just off of Highway 203 which leads up to the Mammoth ski area.
	This is one of three Inyo Craters on Deer Mountain, between Highways 203 and 395. They were formed approximately 600 years ago during a steam explosion of nearby volcanic domes. Unfortunately, what we didn't get to see in this area is the Devil's Postpile National Monument, an area of hexagon-shaped basalt columns, as Rangers have closed that road for the winter due to icy conditions. Of course, that just means we have to return another year.
Hot Creek Geological Site
	Hot Creek is like a giant hot tub, although some of the water is boiling temperature so no entry is allowed. This is one of the steaming pools as seen from the overlook at the parking lot.
	The creek, looking downstream. The land around Hot Creek is arid with typical desert vegetation. There is evidence of cows along the creek, probably leased by local ranchers for grazing, although I doubt the cows drink from the creek. It smells only slightly sulphuric, but I doubt it tasted very good. Jody and I hiked downstream a little way and didn't see more boiling water or steaming pools, although more may exist as the creek winds through the canyon. Hot Creek empties into the Owens River.
	Looking upstream, you can see the steam from the hot pools, and Mammoth Mountain in the background. That is where this water originates, as snow melt and rain seep into cracks in the earth, and get heated by the magma which is relatively closer to the surface here. The heated water then percolates back up to the surface, and has formed Hot Creek and it's geothermal pools.
Aspendell and Lake Sabrina
	A short drive west on Highway 168 from Bishop took us up to the small village of Aspendell at an elevation of 8,500 feet (2,600 m) and ultimately Lake Sabrina. The road follows Bishop Creek, which is dammed in several places, created small reservoirs, like this one. The aspens here were displaying their golden fall foliage, unlike the trees farther up the highway where they have already lost their leaves.
	This beautiful, but unfortunately named lake is Intake II. As part of the dammed reservoir system, I guess it wasn't important enough to give it a better name. The Sierra Nevada peaks provide a stunning backdrop. The lake is popular with fishermen who catch rainbow, brown and brook trout.
	At the end of the road is Lake Sabrina. Brad is sitting on the rocks on the lower right, enjoying the sunshine and the view. The water level looks pretty low, although maybe that's because it's fall. All of these lakes and stream are popular for trout fishing.
	A side trip on a good dirt road led up to North Lake, pictured here. I think the highest elevation on this day though, was another side trip to South Lake which is at an elevation of 9,768 feet (2,977 m). We were fortunate to have such sunny, warm weather during our stay as many of these roads are closed for the winter.
Eureka Dunes in Death Valley National Park
	Our last day trip was to the Eureka Dunes in the remote north part of Death Valley. After all of our mountain adventures, it was nice to be below 3,000 feet (900 m) for a change. Death Valley Road off of Highway 168 from Big Pine is mostly paved, except for the last 17 miles (27 km), which is covered with horrific washboard. Those last 17 miles took us about an hour to drive! But the dunes were worth every second on that brutal road!
	The Dunes rise about 700 feet (215 m) from the desert floor. There is a primitive campground at the base, where this photo was taken.
	I hiked along the crest of one of the lower dunes. Thought this view was interesting. You can tell how steep the dunes are as the sand avalanches down the left side.
	We had read that F18s from the China Lake Naval Base in Ridgecrest often fly out here, especially during the morning when the weather is cooler. We could hear a couple of jets rumbling towards us, so when I finally spotted them, I just kept firing the camera, and I got this lucky shot of a jet flying between the dunes and the mountains. Jody was near the top of the highest dune, and the jets were below her. They were probably flying at around 300-400 feet altitude. The roar as they passed us was thunderous!
	A short drive through Hanging Canyon (which was beautiful, but I took no photos) led us to an abandoned sulphur mine only a few miles from the turnoff to the Dunes. You can see how yellow the ground is from the sulphur, although there is only a slight odor. Brad is checking out the rusted tanks.