For the past three weeks, my son Lyal and his girlfriend Katie have been backpacking the John Muir Trail, from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney. They got done early because they found some folks who were bailing from the trip, and who gave them food, saving a hike down to town. As I drove across the Tioga Pass yesterday, which I had never done before, I was really excited to see them, and also proud of them for doing that, and not a little envious. The Tioga Pass is incredibly beautiful, with lots of great vistas across Yosemite valleys of granite domes, with exquisite meadows and sparkling air. I was amazed, and knew that what I was seeing there probably paled in comparison to the delights (and challenges) they'd faced on the trail.
Driving down the Owens Valley yesterday was incredible, though I was in a bit of a hurry. It was my second trip there, and the place has incredible vistas, of the wall of the Sierras to the West and the White Mountains to the East. I met Lyal and Katie in Lone Pine. They looked fantastic, cleaned up (but still in unlaundered clothes from the trip) and on a natural high from the journey. My pride and envy grew as I heard about the trip. We got out of their room, and took a drive into the Alabama Hills -- a very bizarre place, where many western and other movies have been filmed over the decades. There are some good photos here, and this VR does a good job of giving the feel of the place, but I wish someone would do a web page similar to the flier we got to navigate the hills, which showed where various movie scenes were filmed.
This morning we took off early, and though we had 400 miles to drive, we had plenty of time. We headed North, and took off into the White Mountains, climbing up to 10,000 feet to see the legendary Bristlecone Pines. I'd made an attempt 5 years ago to see these, but hit snow before we got that high. The road going up was very steep, a good drive. Most rewarding was the incredible vistas offered. On one side of the road we could look off across the Owens Valley at the wall of the Sierras, and on the other side we could see basin and range across Nevada. Amazing stuff. The pines themselves were something to see, older even than Sequoia, and testimony to life's need to hang on. Up at this altitude, I could feel the lack of oxygen, and had a small dizzy spell. We took a short walk,
Before heading back into Tioga and West, we stopped at Mono Lake, and walked down to see Tufa formations. This was a great site, too, with a nice interpretive trail. The vista, of this huge basin, from its lowest point was amazing. Mono drains a basin 1/5 the size of entire US, and the trail shows the levels of the lake at various times as Los Angeles drained water from this. It's a tragedy, and you really feel it when you stand there and see how much water was stolen.
Before heading back up the Tioga pass, we had a fantastic lunch at The Mobil, an excellent restaurant at the point where the pass lets out into Owens Valley. I'd never heard of the place before this SF Chronicle story ran last week (great timing!). Damn but the food was good. Katie had fish tacos, Lyal an Oyster Po' Boy, and I an Ahi Tuna burger. We finished it off with lemon cheesecake.
After that, the rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. We stopped at Tuolomne Meadows, and a couple other spots where they showed me they had hiked, and had a nice drive back. I loved seeing them again, and really loved hearing the stories of their trip. What a great time it was for them, and it's something they'll have their entire lives. I got a great couple days out of it and a bit of a chance to live vicariously, plus some fun experiences and great food to boot!
10:21:36 PM 
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