Hello Friends,
On Wednesday, July 7th, we left the Longstreet Inn and Casino in Amargosa Valley, Nevada early, for a 256-mile trip and headed north to Beaty, Nevada, on US Route 90. Then we turned West at Mt. Jackson on Route 266 over the Lida Pass at 6,460 feet of elevation (only a little scary). Then entered California and turned onto Route 168 and drove up into Westgard Pass at 7,313 feet, where we found signs directing us to the famous Bristlecone Forrest at the peak of the mountain pass.
To get there required Dad to drive ten miles up a very steep, narrow, windy road with no guard rails and drop-offs of over 1000 feet on one side (very scary). He was very nervous, but wouldn't quit until we got there. The trees were worth the trip.
These ancient trees are among the oldest on the entire planet. They only grow at very high altitudes and
only flourish in arid climates where they receive very little rain. Notice how gnarled they are and that the tops of the trees appear to be dead.
The trees pictured above are at least 4,700 years old and many scientists believe them to be the oldest living trees on earth. It was over 20 degrees cooler up there on the mountain top than below in the valley so I enjoyed walking around and meeting new people while we were there exploring and eating lunch.
We went back down the other side of the pass and entered a wide valley that runs north-south between the high Sierra Mountains and the foothills of the Last Chance Range.
We finally arrived at our destination, Mammoth Lakes, California, a very nice resort town on the Eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, in the late afternoon.
The above photograph was taken at an elevation of over 11,000 feet. The peaks in the distance are the High Sierras.
The above photo was taken near Lone Pine, CA, and is the Eastside of Mt Whitney, the tallest peak in the continental US (14,494 feet).
Notice how far above the tree line these mountain peaks are.
On Thursday, July 8th we started tp explore the mountains and Alpine lakes in and around Mammoth Lakes, CA where we are staying for the next eleven days. The first two places we went to were Horseshoe Lake and McLeod Lake a pair of nice alpine lakes on the mountain above the town.
The hike up to and around McLeod Lake was only about two miles, but climbing up was harder than we had anticipated. All three of us, Mom, Dad, and me, all had to stop to catch our breath a couple of times. The thin mountain air and high altitude were more stressful than we were prepared for. We decided we should take it a little easier for a few days until we get used to the altitude and thinner air.
Nevertheless, the scenery was very nice and we enjoyed our first hike in the High Sierras.
Yep, we experienced our first genuine California earthquake at about 3:45 in the afternoon. Later we learned that the area we were in, had a 5.9 quake running from Reno, NV to Fresno, CA, right through the mountains where we were. How exciting! And a little scary!
Later, after dinner, we drove about ten miles outside of town to a geothermal area, called Hot Creek Geological Area. This area is actually a depression left from a volcanic eruption many thousands of years ago which is now a giant caldera (over ten miles wide) of the long-dormant volcano. Cracks and fissures in the rock below the surface trap water and release it after it is super-heated in the form of steam. The released steam heats the water of a stream created by run-off from the mountains and creates hot water downstream.
These stream vents look very much like the ones found in Yellowstone, but on a much smaller scale.
Tomorrow we are going to explore some more of the alpine lakes in the area, See you thenš.
No comments:
Post a Comment