We’re going small again for this trip, taking our little trailer “Maxine”
1st 5 days ~ The Eastern Sierra Exploration with our 4×4 Overland group
Discover Mono Lake and the volcanic fields of Mono Crater
Mono Lake, Tufa State Reserve
Mono Lake is a majestic body of water covering about 65 square miles. It is an ancient lake, over 1 million years old — one of the oldest lakes in North America. It has no outlet. Throughout its long existence, salts and minerals have washed into the lake from Eastern Sierra streams. Freshwater evaporating from the lake each year has left the salts and minerals behind so that the lake is now about 2 1/2 times as salty as the ocean and very alkaline.
The reserve was established to preserve the spectacular “tufa towers,” calcium-carbonate spires and knobs formed by interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake water. It also protects the lake surface itself as well as the wetlands and other sensitive habitat for the 1 – 2 million birds that feed and rest at Mono Lake each year.
Water access, Mono Lake Boat Launch, Town of Lago, High Plains Drifter Movie Location
Maxine is actually pretty cozy
The kitchen enhancements are a success! I love our electric induction cooktop, and we even squeezed in a microwave oven and a nice sized hot water heater with shower controls. The trailer weighs in a little more than we had planned at 2300 pounds, but it handles great!
We had electrical hookups here, but unfortunately, the Mono Lake RV Park had sewage drainage issues the entire 7 nights and no flush toilets, showers or laundry room available. We do have a cassette toilet in the trailer and set up our pop up shower tent for the week. Going off grid is no problem, it’s just annoying when also paying premium for an RV spot. No discount or refund for the inconvenience……
Mono Mills
Huddled in the sagebrush-covered mountain, 30 miles north of Mono Lake, was the brawling, ‘boisterous, gold mining town of Bodie, California. With a soaring population of nearly 12,000, the town’s need for lumber to build homes, timber for shoring mines, and wood for fuel was tremendous. Teamsters could not begin to meet the enormous appetite Bodie had for consuming wood. The stage was set for the obvious answer to the problem – build a railroad to the large timber stands south of Mono Lake.
The Bodie Railway & Lumber Co. was organized on February 18, 1881, and shortly afterwards, J. T. Oliver surveyed the route from Bodie to the mill site five miles south of the lake.
Panum Crater
Panum Crater is a volcanic cone that is part of the Mono–Inyo Craters, a chain of recent volcanic cones south of Mono Lake and east of the Sierra Nevada, in California, United States. Panum Crater is between 600 and 700 years old, and it exhibits all of the characteristics of the textbook rhyolitic lava dome.
Rhyolitic volcanoes are characterized by having large amounts of silica (quartz) in their lava. The content of silica at Panum is about 76 percent. It makes the lava very viscous, or thick, and very glassy. Products of this rhyolitic eruption are pumice and obsidian, the volcanic glass that Native Americans used to make arrow points and scrapers.[6
June Lake Loop
June Lake is an unincorporated community in Mono County, California, known for its stunning natural beauty and outdoor recreational activities, including fishing, hiking, and skiing. It features four lakes and is located near Yosemite National Park, making it a popular destination for nature lovers and tourists.
It was so hazy from smoke in the June Lake area that I couldn’t get a decent picture. We did score some amazing ice cream!
Explore the ghost town of Bodie, and moderate trail run into the High Sierra
Disaster at Jorden
De Chambeau Ranch
The Dechambeau Ranch is one of a number of ranches that served the numerous mining communities around Mono Lake from the late 19th century into the early decades of the 20th century. When most of the ore had been recovered and the miners had moved on, the ranches slowly withered.
Dechambeau Ranch is located near Mono Lake’s north shore within the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area, and represents Mono Basin’s ranching lifestyle at the height of Mining activities at the nearby towns of Aurora, Bodie, and Lundy. Buildings at Dechambeau include a ranch house, large barn, blacksmith shop, and garage as well as livestock facilities and a water system.
Ghost Town of Bodie
Bodie is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States. It is about 75 miles southeast of Lake Tahoe, and 12 mi east-southeast of Bridgeport, at an elevation of 8,379 feet. Bodie became a boom town in 1876 after the discovery of a profitable vein of gold; by 1879 it had established 2,000 structures with a population of roughly 12,000 people. The town went into decline in the subsequent decades and came to be described as a ghost town by 1915.
Kavanaugh Ridge
KavanaughRidge is an overlook that lies at 11,000 feet with incredible views into the Hoover Wilderness Area. This trail is only accessible during summer months after the snow has melted.
Mammoth Lakes Area
Obsidian Dome
ObsidianDome is a mile-long 300 foot high lava dome formed less than half a million years ago when magma cooled rapidly’ Essentially it is a big pile of shiny black volcanic glass. It is located about 8 miles north of Mammoth Lakes, just south of June Lake, off of Hwy 395.
We were able to collect some cool samples.
Inyo Earthquake Fault
The Earthquake Fault is actually an impressive fissure in the underlying rock, as narrow as 10 feet and as deep as 60 feet, running north-south across Hwy. 203 toward Earthquake Dome through some of the oldest trees in the region. Look closely at the edges of the “fault,” and you’ll see that the sides of the rock – now 6 to 10 feet apart – fit together perfectly. The fissure opened around 550 to 650 years ago, during a time of intense volcanic activity that included steam blasts at Inyo Craters and eruptions at Deadman, Obsidian, and Glass Creek domes. Early pioneers collected ice here in summertime to make ice cream.
Minarets Summit to Dead Man’s Pass, Lake Marty Loop to Horseshoe Lake, Convict Lake, Hot Creek
Last Day! 4 x 4 Trail to Log Cabin Mine, Top of the World
WOW! That’s a lot of exploring in just 5 days! The Mono Lake/Mammoth areas definitely had a lot to offer. Thanks to everyone in our group for sharing the adventures.
Next: Northwest To The Coast
We left our friends after five days and headed Northwest.
Yes, we’re still chasing National Parks and Monuments in hopes of securing ALL of the stamps is my Passport book. Somehow we’re missing quite a few in California, so we planned to make a big sweep up into Oregon, then down to the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.
First, back to Yosemite National Park…….
finallyfree2roam 
About 12 years ago, Pete and I went to Mono Lake and attempted to get to Bodie – it was early spring. We were in my car – could not get there as there was too much snow! We were driving alone and decided it was not with the risk!
We are still in Tucson until tomorrow.
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