Adventure Weekend at Mammoth

 After having many trips canceled, we finally got out of town and headed up to Mammoth Lakes for a long adventure-filled weekend.  The drive up was uneventful but the view of the Sierras from 395 where obscured by haze and smoke.  We got to the Devils Postpile and drove and found there were plenty of campsites still available.  We found a great one at Red Meadow right next to the creek.  After setting up camp, we hiked to the resort for a milkshake and headed to Rainbow Falls.  We then hiked back to camp and went to bed.

Next morning, we woke up, broke camp and made the short drive over to the Devils Postpile overnight parking lot.  After packing our packs, we headed.  The trail started with a steady uphill of the west side of the river valley.  We got a great view of the basalt formations on the way up.  It then dropped into the King Creek drainage.  Then the real uphill started for a few miles before leveling out before reaching the Fern Lake outlet.  At the lake, we poked around for a site and found one just barely 100 feet from the water.  The lake was very nice and spent time on a small beach near our camp watching some anglers.  Another early night for us as we read before going to sleep.

We were awoken by somebody walking nearby and talking loudly.  It turned out to be a rather grumpy old guy patrolling the lake and complaining about the other campers.  He was particularly upset about the folks camped right along the water. Pretty odd.  The hike back was mainly downhill but with a butt kicker climb out of the King Creek.  Jyoti's IT band really started to hurt but she made it back to Devils Postpile ok.  We drove over to Minaret Falls campground and found a nice picnic bench to have lunch with views of the falls.  After eating we headed into town to await our check in time.

There is tons to do in Mammoth during the summer time.  Here is a digest version of our activities:

• Took the gondola to the top of the mountain.  On the way down, we stopped at the halfway point to checkout the information displays.
• Checked out the earthquake fault.
• Drove around the lakes with a stop at Horseshoe Lake; it was pretty crowded.
• Drove down Old Mammoth Road to see some of the old mining stuff.
• Visited the Mammoth Museum.
  
• Took the bus to Twin Lakes and rented a row boat.

 

Jo along the trail

Atop Mammoth Mt

Fern Lake selfie

Fern Lake camp