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Eastern Sierras Trip |
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September 5 - 8, 2013 |
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We did a lot in just a couple days!
We made this trip so that Mike could ride in the 2013 Mammoth High Sierra Fall Century, a bike ride that he has done several times over the years. This year, he rode 50 miles starting and ending outside the town of Mammoth Lakes.
Mammoth Lakes sits above 7500 feet, and Mike's ride was going to include some uphills and downhills. So, to acclimate to the altitude, we arrived a day early and did some sightseeing.
But first we had to get there, and driving over the Sierras this summer meant dealing with the Rim Wildfire that had been burning for weeks near the western entrance to Yosemite National Park. Our regular route over the mountains, the Tioga Pass through Yosemite, 
was closed and so we took the Sonora Pass, about 25 miles north of Yosemite. The Sonora summit is around 9,600 feet, but smoke obstructed most of the view on the outbound ride. When we descended into the Owens Valley on the other side, the air cleared and we enjoyed beautiful views of Mono Lake and the surrounding area, top left. The winds kept the smoke away for the riders in the High Sierra Fall Century ride on Saturday, September 7.
But that night the winds changed. By the time we started our ride home on September 8, the views of Mono Lake and the surrounding mountains were obscured by smoke, below left. These two pictures were taken from the same road in the same general area.
Climbing up to the Sonora Pass going home, we left the smoke behind and managed to see a lot of the mountains and forest that we'd missed on the incoming ride. Those pictures are in the Alabama Hills collection.
During our short stay in the eastern Sierras, we explored Mono Lake, the Devil's Postpile National Monument, Bodie State Historic Park, and the Alabama Hills at the base of Mount Whitney, below. These links will open photo collections from each of those locations.
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