This essay appeared in the 1993
Mono Lake
Calendar. Genny Smith, a member of the Mono Lake
Committee Board of Directors since 1981, is an author,
editor, and publisher of many books about the Eastern
Sierra. She first discovered the area as a skier in the
1940s.
This essay captures the spirit of the Mono Lake
Committee's individual exploration approach to recreation
in the Mono Basin.
Wandering Mono's
Wildness
By Genny Smith
You've heard of Mono Lake, of course. Judging from
letters the Mono Lake Committee has received from such
varied locales as Bolivia, Germany, Russia and even
China, it seems much of the world has heard of it. People
know that this strangely beautiful lake is close to
dying. The huge lake east of Yosemite National Park has
dropped 40 feet since 1941, when four out of its five
streams were diverted into an aqueduct that supplies
water to the city of Los Angeles, 350 miles away.
Yes, many people have heard of Mono Lake. But how many
know about the Aeolian Buttes? Mono Craters? Devil's
Punchbowl? How about Mono Mills, Lundy Canyon, or the
Dana Plateau? These are all lesser-known but important
elements of the wild, magnificent basin that nurtures
Mono Lake and contributes water, sediment and chemicals
to it.
It may seem that we have neglected the wonders that
surround Mono Lake on every side. So focused have we been
on Mono's plight, on its beauty and its importance to the
birds by the hundreds of thousands that nest, rest, or
refuel on its food-rich waters, that perhaps we failed to
keep the lake in perspective. It's just one part of an
extraordinary basin flanked on the west by the abrupt
Sierra scarp, a basin whose highest peaks tower 6500 feet
above its lowest waters.
Perhaps we have seldom talked about them, but those of
us who know Mono Lake intimately have always felt the
intricate connections it has with the surrounding land
and its creatures. Recent court decisions make clear how
vital those connections are. Much of the Mono Lake news
today centers on court-mandated stream flows. Work has
begun to restore life to Mono's long-dry creeks, paid for
by the city of Los Angeles.
These newly-reborn streams depend on the meltwater
from the snow-spangled Sierra crest and the high-mountain
forests that hold the moisture through the summer. And so
it goes -- the sagebrush uplands, the glacier-carved
lakes, the volcanoes, the alluvial gravels, the pumice
that blankets most of the region, the long arid summers
-- all this makes Mono Lake what it is -- an alkaline
desert lake three times saltier than the ocean that
produces amazingly abundant food for nesting gulls and
migrating shorebirds.
This calendar, then, makes up for our seeming neglect
of Mono's wonderful surroundings. It puts the lake into
perspective and invites you to explore the entire
basin of Mono. Invites you to walk the roads that lead to
abandoned mines and logging sites and deserted ranches.
To hike the trails that lead far up Lundy Canyon and Rush
Creek to the snowbanks that nourish the streams'
headwaters.
Most important of all, it invites you to leave the
roads and trails behind and wander -- wander away,
anywhere up, north or south or any direction in between.
Much of the Mono Basin remains wild; with just a little
effort you can discover some of its wild places and the
wild things that live there. Not that we can supply you
with a map and say, "Go west two miles and then turn
north..." No, wildness just doesn't appear that
easily, on command.
The thrill of wildness comes from those rare,
unforeseen encounters when you happen upon the
unexpected. As when, in the sagebrush, you discover some
old irrigation ditches or bits of the Bodie and Benton
Railroad bed, or a jackrabbit, so still that often you
will fail to see him. Or when, amidst an alpine boulder
field, you hear a pika's nasal call and then find him
spreading out his hay on the rocks to dry. Or, upon a
snowfield, you see a flock of rosy finches feeding on
frozen insects. Or, under a waterfall, a dipper flying in
and out feeding its young. Or, on a high, rocky slope, an
unexpected field of bright blue polemonium. Or a bighorn
sheep, the same color as the granite, calmly looking down
at you. Or among the stately Jeffrey pine, you discover a
sudden splash of reddish-purple mimulus, tiny monkey
flowers carpeting the white pumice.
So open is this country -- and much of it unfenced
public land -- that you can walk for miles in almost any
direction. Who says you have to hike a trail or drive a
road? Have you never thought of just starting off toward
some point you want to get to? Or following a stream as
 it meanders to... who knows where? Or just
wandering with no destination in mind at all, enjoying
the space, the sky, the silence? Then as you listen, you
may realize it's not silence at all, only the absence of
man-made noise. A quietness that lets you hear the
earth's songs -- insects buzzing, wind stirring leaves,
the faint rustling of lizards and ground squirrels as
they hurry to hide from you. Gentle noises you seldom
hear.
But no matter where your wanderings take you, from any
one of a hundred viewpoints that you discover, always
below lies that magical lake with its ever-changing
colors -- now sky-blue, now silver, gray, green, rose, or
hues with names that you have never imagined.
Fascinating as the lake is, Mono Basin's uplands, its
streams, its nearby volcanoes and surrounding mountains
offer different but wonderful worlds to wander in. We --
and they -- invite you to miles of wildness, countless
surprises and endless days of wonder and discovery.
Top
Lee Vining Creek Trail - Easy in difficulty.
Trailhead elevation 6780". 1.6 miles each way. Take
a respite from the road and heat by discovering Lee
Vining Creek. The trail begins 50 yards south of the Best
Western Motel units on the east side of Highway 395.
Follow the trail below the wall and down into
the shady streamside area. Experience the difference
between a healthy riparian forest and a riparian area
devastated by 45 years of water diversions. A leisurely
walk on the creek trail takes 1-2 hours, or less if you
walk only a portion of the trail. The trail ends at the
Forest Service Visitor Center overlooking Mono Lake,
north of Lee Vining. A spur that goes a short way
upstream leads to a picnic table.
Lundy Canyon - Easy to moderate in difficulty.
Trailhead elevation 8200'. 1/2 mile or longer. Drive past
the lake and the store and take the dirt road beyond the
beaver ponds to where it ends at a trailhead. Hike up the
trail through the aspen groves, enjoy the abundant
display of wildflowers, and revel in the beauty of the
cliffs and waterfalls. The trail is steep in places.
Wander as far as you wish and return the way you came, or
shuttle a car to Saddlebag Lake for a more strenuous 7
mile hike.
Parker Lake/Parker Bench - Moderate in
difficulty. Trailhead elevation 8000'. 4-10 miles round
trip. Turn from Hwy 395 onto the June Lake Loop (Hwy 158)
at the north junction. After a mile and a half turn right
onto a dirt road signed for Parker Lake. Follow the signs
to the Parker Lake Trailhead. Hike past the first steep
part to where the trail flattens out next to beautiful
Parker Creek as it meanders through meadows and forests.
At a junction signed for Silver Lake, continue straight
ahead to Parker Lake for a 4 mile round trip, or turn
left toward Silver Lake for an up-to-10-mile round trip
to Parker Bench. After enjoying the view of Mono Lake,
wander back the way you came, or shuttle a second car to
Silver lake for a 7 mile hike.
Gibbs Lake/Kidney Lake-- Strenuous in
difficulty. Trailhead elevation 8000' (Gibbs Lake 9530').
6-9 miles round trip. On Hwy 395 south of Lee Vining,
turn west onto a dirt road signed for Horse Meadows.
Follow the road past the lush green meadows as far as you
can, since most passenger cars will have to park about a
mile from the trailhead. Walk up the road to the
trailhead, and follow the incredibly steep old road
through the forest. Keep an eye out for a trail on the
right that bypasses a steep hill. At the end of the road
follow the trail to Gibbs Lake. If you still have
boundless energy and are feeling adventurous, wander past
Gibbs Lake to Kidney Lake, a mile farther and almost 1000
feet higher. Return the way you came.
Top
Lee Vining Canyon-- Easy to moderate in
difficulty. Below 7800' elevation. 6-24 miles round trip.
This one is a mixture of on and off road, with parts of
it suitable for either road bikes or mountain bikes. Ride
up Hwy 120 west from Lee Vining, and turn left onto a
side road at Cattleguard Campground. Start here if you
want to avoid highway traffic. Ride up the paved road
along the bottom of Lee Vining Canyon, and enjoy views of
the occasional waterfalls along Lee Vining
Creek. If you wish, continue past the point where the
road becomes dirt, and you'll soon arrive at the Poole
Hydroelectric Plant, where the road ends. Enjoy the ride
back down.
Twin Lakes-- Moderate in difficulty. Below
7500' elevation. 25-30 miles round trip. From Bridgeport,
25 miles north of Lee Vining, take County Road 420 signed
for Twin Lakes as it winds through the Bridgeport Valley.
You'll reach Twin Lakes in about 12 miles.
Tioga Pass-- Strenuous in difficulty. Pass is
almost 10,000' elevation. 25-40 miles round trip. Ride up
Hwy 120 west from Lee Vining 12 miles to the entrance of
Yosemite National Park at Tioga Pass. Road is narrow and
steep, watch for rocks on the road and traffic. Pay the
entrance fee and ride another 7 miles downhill to
Tuolumne Meadows, if you don't mind riding back uphill.
Coming back down to Lee Vining is a blast - wear your
helmet!
Top
Horse Meadows/Bohler Canyon-- Moderate to
strenuous in difficulty. Below 8000' elevation. 11.3
miles round trip. Pick up a "Mountain Bike
Trails" handout at the Scenic Area Visitor
Center, which describes the "Moraines and
Meadows" route in detail.
Hartley Springs-- Moderate to strenuous in
difficulty. Below 9000' elevation. 9.1 miles round trip.
Pick up a "Mountain Bike Trails" handout at the
Scenic Area Visitor Center, which describes the route in
detail.
Aeolian Buttes-- Moderate in difficulty.
7000'-8000' elevation. 11 miles round trip. Pick up a
"Mountain Bike Trails" handout at the Scenic
Area Visitor Center, which describes the
"Panorama" route in detail.
Bodie-- Moderate to strenuous in
difficulty. Below 8300' elevation. 22 miles round trip.
There are numerous dirt roads on which to ride in the
Bodie Hills near Bodie
State Historic Park. One of these is the Cottonwood
Canyon Road, which leaves Hwy 167 about 7 miles east of
Hwy 395. Follow it 11 miles until you reach Bodie State
Park. Return the way you came.
Top
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