The eastern side of the Sierra Nevada range, stretching from south of Carson City to north of Tehachapi, is a spectacle to behold. Over millions of years, deep tectonic forces pushed the earth upward, shaping the dramatic landscape that keeps drawing us back year after year. Only six and a half hours from home yet worlds apart from Sonoma County’s grassy valleys, redwood groves, and rolling hills, it feels like another planet. Beyond the mountains, the desert stretches eastward all the way to Utah, filled with volcanoes, hot springs, alpine lakes, and thousands of miles of hiking trails and forest roads. Once you leave the main routes, you rarely see another soul which we find vital for recharging on these shorter trips.
This year, Logan suggested we head to Mammoth Lakes in early October, hoping to catch the fall colors at their peak. It is always a gamble. Some years they arrive late, and one big storm can strip the trees bare overnight. This time luck was on our side, and the colors were in full display.
Unsurprisingly, we were the only people that had pulled into this vista point. I thought the lack of views made it quite moody!
Granite Views from Sonora Pass
Leavitt Meadows
Coming into Bridgeport
Another view from Bridgeport
Storm clouds kissing the tops of distant peaks as we came off Sonora Pass near Hwy 395
Day 2 - Sky Drama, McGee Creek, LA City Water Infrastructure, Mono Lake, Oh my!
Our Mammoth Lakes rental sat above 8,000 feet (2,500 meters), and for the first day it can be disorienting. We’ve learned that staying hydrated helps ward off the worst of it, but sleep inevitably takes a hit. This trip, we found ourselves awake well before dawn. Around 5:30, I accepted that more sleep wasn’t coming, so I made my way to the kitchen, put the kettle on, and watched the sky slowly shift from deep black to the warm hues of a new day.
Clouds gathered quickly, the light intensified, and soon it began to snow and sleet. What a wonderful morning, and little did I know how long the day would become chasing the scenes that followed.
Laurel Mountain
Mammoth Rock. I'd feel guilty building a house so close to such a prominent, natural feature.
Snowy sleet obscures the pine view from our balcony
I checked the weather forecast for the umpteenth time and that little voice in my head was shouting that this was the day for the best photography. Yes, we were road wary and exhausted from the lack of sleep - but gettin' while the gettin's good is the game you have to play when you're out to make unique landscape images.
I'd head that McGee Creek trail was great for fall colors but I guess I live in a bubble as I don't recall seeing much imagery from there. As a side note, I have a distain for spoilers in general, so I generally avoid researching a new location too much beforehand. I want to arrive without preconceived notions of what I need to shoot, and I came into McGee knowing there was a trailhead and that was about it.
I had my worries, but I always have that nagging voice in the back of my head preparing me for disappointment when shooting. It's easier to be let down when you're expectations are low. My main concern coming into McGee was we were arriving too late in the morning for good light. Typically, it's the dawn and sunset light that yield the best results, but when you mix in broken clouds and weather, especially in the mountains, you can get a free pass for good results outside of the normal best shooting times.
I'd head that McGee Creek trail was great for fall colors but I guess I live in a bubble as I don't recall seeing much imagery from there. As a side note, I have a distain for spoilers in general, so I generally avoid researching a new location too much beforehand. I want to arrive without preconceived notions of what I need to shoot, and I came into McGee knowing there was a trailhead and that was about it.
I had my worries, but I always have that nagging voice in the back of my head preparing me for disappointment when shooting. It's easier to be let down when you're expectations are low. My main concern coming into McGee was we were arriving too late in the morning for good light. Typically, it's the dawn and sunset light that yield the best results, but when you mix in broken clouds and weather, especially in the mountains, you can get a free pass for good results outside of the normal best shooting times.
A row of Apens, gently backlit
Color pop in the distance
A short mile and a half hike from the parking lot and we found this view. There was a lot of waiting for light this day.
I've been enjoying using the Fujifilm GF250mm lens to get intimate detail shots.
Light play on McGee Mountain, but due to a bit of focus hunting, this one is soft if you were to pixel peep. It's just fine for the web, so we'll let it go.
Splashes of light, craggy peaks and some other color tourists enjoying the dynamic trail conditions.
One of my favorites from this hike (above) and more light play on McGee Mountain (below)
Excited about the weather turning
And like that, the light was gone and the cold was in.
We left McGee and headed our sites just short of Bishop, admiring the views along the way.
Hwy 395 snaking northwards
Would you believe that even though Los Angeles is nearly 400 miles to the south, that all you see in the three images above is owned by the Los Angeles City Water District? If you haven't watched "Chinatown" starring Jack Nicholson, here's your excuse.
Pastel desertscapes to the north and east.
Pastel desertscapes to the north and east.
The Owens River Gorge is where the Owens River cut a canyon cut through the "Bishop Tuff" - a thick layer of volcanic tuff and ash left behind during an ancient eruption of the long valley. It was surprisingly warm at this lower elevation, we were tired and the hike down to the bottom was along a paved road and we weren't really interested to give it a go this time. We ate lunch, explored the canyon from above and then headed back to our digs for a rest so we'd be refreshed for another jaunt later in the afternoon.
The rest we had hoped for didn't really materialize, and instead we made our customary stop at Von's market, cooked and early dinner/linner and basked in the feeling of dread having been up since well before dawn. Full of food and deprived of motivation, we discussed staying local to Mammoth and went exploring up the road at Mary Lake and some of the surrounding viewpoints.
Below are views from around Lake Mamie and Horseshoe Lake.
Below are views from around Lake Mamie and Horseshoe Lake.
While rather lovely by all accounts, I could see that the sky was brewing out in the valley. There was still about an hour of daylight left, so we hopped back in the car and set off (somewhat begrudgingly) for different vistas. We hit 395, drew straws and headed north. I was having doubts as it my rear view mirror seemed to be showing more sky action than what I was seeing ahead of us, but I felt like turning around could mean us missing all as the light was fading fast. Committing to something is better than committing to nothing, so northward we continued.
West Portal Viewpoint (again). We stopped here in 2024 and I really have a hard time visiting the same convenient pullouts in such quick succession. However, the view of both Mono Lake and Crater Mountain are decent enough as long as the conditions are good.
As you can see from the top photo, the light was only barely hitting the top of Crater Mountain when we arrived. I dashed through at least a100 yards of sage bush in 30 deg freezing wind to clear some pine trees that I felt were spoiling the view. Boy howdy, I was tired!
Last light looking west as we moped our way back to the car. It was freezing!
A hailstorm made for an interesting drive back to town. This poor chap had it worse than us!
Day 3 - A case of the "Blue Hoos" | Lundy Valley | Benton Crossing
The storm had passed, blue skies dominated and that was okay! We needed a day that was more relaxed.
An all too comfortable "park bear" (thanks for that term, Gina!) explores cars down below where we were staying.
Logan admiring the Lundy Canyon Aspens from below
Lundy Canyon, midday, terrible light and blue skies - but it was perfect hiking weather.
Wrapped the day up with a late afternoon drive along Hwy 120 to Benton Crossing (pics below). The plan had been to meet my brother Matthew at the Crowley Columns trailhead, but we arrived early, saw that there was a mile+ hike to the columns due to road issues and had to bail due to complete exhaustion. My brother and his friend, Rich, did complete the hike and got this incredible image of the columns.
Day 4 - Forest Roads | Inyo Craters | Lava Flows | Owens River Road
With one full day left, we opted to mix things up and turn our sights towards the many dirt roads in the area. We needed time away from people and wanted to continue to explore areas we hadn't been before.
First stop, Inyo Craters. While there's only one pictured below, there are a pair of craters that formed from a volcanic steam explosion a short six hundred years ago.
First stop, Inyo Craters. While there's only one pictured below, there are a pair of craters that formed from a volcanic steam explosion a short six hundred years ago.
We continued on along a variety of dirt roads, often deciding to turn around when encountering deeper mud pits or marginal trail conditions. It's always safer to turn around and being we had a long drive the next day, we really didn't want to get stuck for hours.
Eventually we ended up at the South Deadman Dome lava flow. It wasn't in our loose plans for the day, but when up close we couldn't help but to be drawn in to the bus-sized chunks of obsidian littering its rocky prominence. We didn't know if there was a trail up the side or not, but after twenty minutes of exploration we did stumble upon an old 4x4 track that would have been harrowing to have driven up back when it was still accessible. While driving up it wasn't an option, the old road was quite suitable for hiking.
Eventually we ended up at the South Deadman Dome lava flow. It wasn't in our loose plans for the day, but when up close we couldn't help but to be drawn in to the bus-sized chunks of obsidian littering its rocky prominence. We didn't know if there was a trail up the side or not, but after twenty minutes of exploration we did stumble upon an old 4x4 track that would have been harrowing to have driven up back when it was still accessible. While driving up it wasn't an option, the old road was quite suitable for hiking.
We had this part of the world to ourselves. The trusty CX-50 seemed to be in its element.
Puff clouds were back and I enjoyed the light and shadow play on the pines below the lava flow
Endless lava rock
On our last evening out, we wanted to check out more of the upper Owens River. From my Google Maps scouting, it looked as though there were some interesting river crossings, more LA Water District features worth checking out and some additional dirt roads with potential for cool vistas. However the reality on the ground was that the lands encompassing the majority of the river were privately owned by what appeared to be hunting and fishing ranches.
We made due, travelled further south and enjoyed another quiet sunset to ourselves. We were on this stretch of road for well over an hour and didn't see another car until after dark.
We made due, travelled further south and enjoyed another quiet sunset to ourselves. We were on this stretch of road for well over an hour and didn't see another car until after dark.
Private Ranch Land
This track looked promising, but it dead-ended at a private gate
Further south the fences were fewer and there was more wandering to be had, but the river was now out of reach
XPan Vista
A day shy of it being a true full moon, but we couldn't see any bits of missing. Last light lingered longer than expected and a sunbeam show appeared from beyond the Minarets. One last show for us before we called it a day.
A lone van looking for a dusty pullout to call home for the night
Logan with Hot Creek and the mountains in the distance
Day 5 - Our Journey Home
We were already toying with ideas of what to do on our next visit. Maybe we'd stay further south? Cero Gordo was wrapping up their hotel build, so maybe we'd stay there. Time will tell.
The last sunrise of our stay
Captivating sign on Monitor Pass
Monitor Pass Color
