Lone Pine, CA
Oh my goodness!!! The Eastern Side of the Sierra Nevada Mtn Range is a must, must see! Lone Pine, CA sits on the 395 Hwy at the base of the tallest mountain in the continental US, Mt. Whitney. As you drive north along the 395 to Bishop and then continue on the Mammoth, the mountains remain just as impressive! We will definitely be coming back to this area to explore some more!
Marsh Lake, northwest of Bishop, CA
Home base for the three nights was Lone Pine Campground. We had site #2, which had an amazing view of Mt. Whitney. Our trip actually started a day early (to break up the long drive) when we decided to pick the kids up from Janet’s and stay the night in Beatty, NV. Any stop in Beatty must consist of a stop at the Happy Burro, which did then and on the way home.
Our first day there we drove up to Whitney Portal campground, which is the trailhead for those climbing Mt. Whitney. At almost 9,000 ft, hikers still had another 5,000 feet to climb to summit the 14,505 foot peak. In my most sarcastic tone, we’ll save that hike for another day!
Alabama Hills is a super unique area of granite rock that has been carved out into unusual shapes and arches. We did a short hike to Mobius Arch. Ella wanted to climb on the rocks, but the sharp granite layer didn’t make that possible. While the kids napped, we drove Horseshoe Meadow road to above 10,000 ft. The view of the valley below was impressive. This is also a great starting off spot to hike to various alpine lakes, which we did not do on this trip. We ended the day with a driving tour of Manzanar, one of the many Japanese internment camps during WWII.
Our last day, was THE BEST! We drove to Bishop, got some advice from a recreational store employee who told us about Toms Place just north of Bishop. There are a string of alpine likes that are relatively easily accessed. About one mile in, we hit our first gorgeous lake, Marsh Lake. Topo loved cooling off in the snowmelt water! We hiked the next lake and then decided to turn back. Three miles on a relatively flat trail, carrying two 25lb children is about all our backs can handle these days.
Our return home included a stop at the Dunes in Death Valley National Park and another stop at the Happy Burro in Beatty.
Our usual summer escape destinations include the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and the Ruby Mtns in Northern Nevada, but we will certainly be added the Eastern Sierras to our list.