The Mammoth Lakes region of California is a stunning hiking, biking, and skiing destination nestled in the sierra nevada mountains. It's a bit of a trek from Los Angeles for a long weekend, but the scenic drive alone made the road trip well worth it. This past September, we drove the 5 hours from Los Angeles through spectacular thunderstorms, passing signs for the sequoias and death valley along the way.
We stayed at the the cozy Alpenhof Lodge, where guests feel like family and the entirety of Mammoth town is within walking distance. I spent our first afternoon map in hand, walking a loop trail around the nearby lakes. The weekend was devoted entirely to hiking around the lakes, soaking up mountain vistas and abundant wildflowers, and taking the plunge into freeezing Crystal Lake!
Yosemite National Park is a quick jaunt from Mammoth, and we managed to make a day trip of it. We took the stunning June Lake Loop, stopped to explore Mono Lake and made our way along Tioga Pass Road, the high elevation pass that crosses Yosemite.
Mono Lake is over a million years old & Saltier than the sea.
That makes it one of the oldest lakes in North America. Creeks flow off the mountains into the lake, but since there's no outlet for the water, salt builds up as the lake water evaporates. The resulting ecosystem is filled with 2 things: shrimp and flies. Photographers come from wide and far to see the strange tufa towers (the white tower formations you can see in my photo) and observe the millions of birds who come feast on the shrimp & flies every year. Yum.
Yosemite National Park
Almost a million years ago, a massive volcano erupted in the region, creating a network of natural mineral-filled hot springs! They're all just a few miles outside Mammoth Lakes, down a long dirt road, Benton Crossing Road. The man-made tub we found was outfitted with a valve that allows you to control the hot water. We had the place entirely to ourselves for a good soak, before a friendly caravan of Burning Man travelers rolled through and joined us. The only thing that admittedly creeped me out was lowering myself in without being able to see the bottom of the tub... I kept thinking there might be dead creatures down there..
Our last stop in the Eastern Sierras was the Hot Creek Geologic Site: where all the hot springs collide into a mineral-rich bright turquoise pool.
The temperate of the springs can fluctuate 200°F in a matter of seconds.
Swimming is prohibited... It took 14 people dying before the springs and the stream were roped off. I was amazed by the unnatural, brilliant color of the springs, created when underground magma reaches the surface and mixes with cooler waters.
