Eastern Sierra locations

My wife & I will be in the Bishop, Ca. eastern Sierra area in mid-

September. Flying from Pa. & driving from Las Vegas. I'm familiar

with the area thru pictures only. Interested in everything from

Bishops, Mountain Light gallery to Alabama Hills & any Sierra hiking

for photo opportunities. We have five days in the area & want to

maximize the time. Also interested in any great sights along the

route from Las Vegas. Thank you!

Make sure also to check out Claude Fiddler's gallery accross the street from Mountain Light. Also Vern Clevenger is supposed to have a gallery as well.

 

I'd drive out of town to South Lake and hike 3.5 miles uphill to Barney Lake for some spectacular views - of course you don't have to stop there but after that it gets steep.

 

In the evening check out the Buttermilks. This is a bouldering area that is quite hot in the summer but has some great formations.

 

Drive up to the bristlecone pine reserve to see some of the oldest living trees.

 

If you have never visited Mono Lake drive out to South Tufa - it is about 50 miles north of bishop.

 

You can get info on all of these areas at the forest service station in town. Have FUN

I strongly recommend driving up to the <A HREF="http://biology.ucr.edu/personal/

MACphotos/MACphotosWMscenes.html">bristlecone pine areas in the White

Mountains</A>.

They are the range to the east of Bishop. You go up Westguard Pass road from Big Pine

(15 miles S of Bishop off of Hwy 395). It's a steep, winding, but paved road to the first

grove (Schulman Grove; not sure of the spelling), and then if you like, a more level gravel

road another 10-15 miles to the higher Patriarch Grove. Great scenery all along the way.

If you're so inclined you can proceed another 5 miles or so past Patriarch, park at the gate

to the White Mountain Research Station, and then hike 7 miles on a (rough) road to White

Mountain Peak (14,246 feet; third highest in the state) for more great views. I wouldn't

recommend the peak hike unless you are in good shape and have some acclimation time

at high altitude.<P>

 

I don't know what route you've planned from LV, but it's certainly feasible to go through

Death Valley, then over to the Panamint Valley to the west, then across to Lone Pine and

the junction with Hwy 395 (this is maybe 60 miles S of Bishop). There are at least a

couple of routes to Death Valley from Vegas. Be prepared for both heat and cold; most

any weather is possible at that time of year.<P>

 

Mono Lake (about 50 miles ? N of Bishop) should not be missed if you have the time. It

may be covered with thousands of eared grebes and/or phalaropes, and other migrant

birds.<P>

 

A few pictures of the eastern Sierra in the Bishop area are <A HREF="http://

biology.ucr.edu/personal/MACphotos/MACphotosESscenes.html">here</A>.

A little north of where you will be is the town of Lee Vining. Four fantastic photo sites near here are (1) Mono Lake, (2) Lee Vining Canyon (heading up the Tioga Pass road towards Yosemite from Hwy 395), (3) the June Lake Loop (three lakes and one great trout stream, Rush Creek), and (4) the famous Gold Rush-ere ghost town of Bodie. A nice place to stay in Lee Vining is Murphy's Motel, tel. (760) 647-6316 (around $100/night, clean).

Hi Curt,

 

I described a nice east Sierra hike in this June post and there's some other good related info in it from others.

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008PVS

 

Have a great time! -Greg-

I spent a week in the Eastern Sierra last October - fall is a fantastic time to be out there.

My itinerary included (from North to South) - Bodie, Mono Lake, Ancient Bristlecone Pine

Forest, Alabama Hills, and Death Valley Eureka Dunes. I also had trips out to Mammoth

Mountain and the June Lake Loop looking for fall color.

 

Since you're coming from Las Vegas, you'll be able to drive through Death Valley on the

way. The options are numerous in Death Valley, so I won't go into them here. One route

you could take through Death Valley would take you by the Eureka Dunes and right into

Lone Pine. Be sure to check with the rangers for road conditions.

 

In Lone Pine, make sure to check with the local chamber of commerce for a map that will

take you to a couple of "arches" in the Alabama Hills which make great subjects with Mt.

Whitney in the background. You'll want at least one sunrise in the Alabama Hills.

 

A stop in Bishop to see Galen Rowell's Mountain Light gallery is definitely worthwhile. I'd

also recommend getting a sandwich at Erick Schat's bakery. It's on the main street through

town and impossible to miss. Looks kinda touristy, but the sandwiches are great. It's right

across the street from the tourist office and a park, so it's a convenient stop.

 

As you go further north, make sure to drive through Mammoth and/or do the June Lake

loop. Lots of photo opportunities, though these are best when there's fall color. Mid-

September is too early, I think.

 

Further north, you have Mono Lake which is a classic photo location, and Bodie, a fantastic

ghost town.

 

I'd highly recommend Robert Hitchmann's Photograph America newsletters for great

location information. He has back issues that describe the Eastern Sierra. He's got a

website at: www.photographamerica.com. I'd also suggest you pick up the National Forest

Service map for Inyo county. It's detailed enough to show all the backroads you'll want to

explore.

My friend and I just got back from there. We went to Mountain Light and I must say that Galen Rowell's work is WAYYY better in person than in the books. Those books are produced terribly compared to the real thing. I was already a fan before but nothing can prepare you for those prints that take up the whole wall. Same goes for Vern Clevenger's work which was also displayed at Mountain Light. We went to gallery across the street right afterwards and it was pretty disappointing in comparison. not worth it unless you got time to spare in my opinion.

 

Mono Lake is great, more beautiful than I expected it to be. Bodie is totally worth ruining your tires and paint job to get to. Unless you are part of a photo workshop or pay $40 on the third saturday of each month they kick you out before sunset and you aren't allowed before sunrise. We were escorted out at closing time and then scrambled up the hillside right outside park boundaries for sunset. We got caught so we ended up getting a better view a few hundred yards down the road so it all worked out well. i hated how the rangers follow you and look over your shoulders while you shoot though, its not we were there for any other reason.

 

Some ranger told my friend that it isn't a good time to visit the bristlecone forest because it recorded -126 degrees w/ wind chill in the past week or so. Bishop creek is nice as well. if i had another day, i would have checked out Little Lakes Valley as well.

<i>Some ranger told my friend that it isn't a good time to visit the bristlecone forest

because it recorded -126 degrees w/ wind chill in the past week or so. <i/>

 

I think the ranger was pulling your friend's leg. In Schulman Grove, the temperature

is probably somewhere between the mid-60s to low 70s right now, and in Patriarch

Grove the temperature is probably somewhere in the low- to mid-60s. I would be

quite surprised if the wind chill <i>ever<i/> gets to -126. I am driving through both

places tomorrow...I'll let you know how it is.

<p>I recently put together some Alabama Hills photos on some pages. The sight of the snow-capped Eastern Sierra mountain range (Mounts Whitney, Lone Pine, Langley, Russel, etc) bathed in alpen glow at dawn is magical. Here is a quick link:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.marydoophoto.com/AlabamaHills/">

http://www.marydoophoto.com/AlabamaHills/</a></p>

Calm early morning from near parking lots on east shore, shoot Convict Lake reflections. Just south of Mammoth.

Sunset/dusk if there are some high clouds, shoot from Minaret Summit scenic pull out west across the Ritter Range and Minarets. Near Mammoth.

Morning from Saddlebag hike easy 2 miles into 20 lakes basin. Lots of nice reflection possibilities and mid September alpine willow which densely covers turf areas at ground level, turns a nice red.

White Mountains: Patriarch Grove