Mammoth in the summer

Mammoth in the summer

I’ve seen this year’s record-setting precipitation reflected in friends’ gorgeous photos of flowers blooming in the desert and overpowering waterfalls in Yosemite. Wow. Last week, my family and I took advantage of the unusually stormy year by making yet another trip to Mammoth Lakes in the Eastern Sierras. I guess it’s hard for us to try new things. Having access to a buddy’s cabin doesn’t hurt, either.

Mammoth Mountain is traditionally open until the Fourth of July but this year there is so much snow that it will be open through August. We’ve hit the slopes during the summer before (shorter hours, cheaper prices, and kids are free) but right now there are much wider runs with a way deeper base than usual. I didn’t see any bare spots at all, even at the bottom of the hill. There were no lines and it was easy to find a nice table for lunch, too. Go get some before the season melts away!

After the slopes closed at two, we decided to visit some nearby lakes that we’d typically ignore. The access road to Horseshoe Lake with its grove of ghost-like trees was still snowed in, so we stopped at Twin Lakes to skip rocks and then hike toward the waterfall. Once we left the trail, we had to traverse through a snowy bank or two but managed to reach the rushing snow melt without slipping or sliding to hypothermic doom.

We stopped by the Mammoth Lakes Brewery for root beer on tap afterward. We had heard that the local all-ages brew is so rich that you can eat it with a fork. Not quite true but pretty close. The four of us shared a pitcher to close out our day on the slopes and lakes.

The next morning, we drove 30 minutes north to Mono Lake. I’ve seen “Save Mono Lake” bumper stickers on pick-up trucks and Subarus since the ’80s but had never actually made the pilgrimage past June to see the iconic tufa structures rising out of the saltwater.

The view is nothing short of otherworldly, with still and clear but green water reflecting the strange towers of limestone. It’s easy to imagine swordsmen from Cimmeria or Mars (or both) battling in front of the landscape that would not look out of place airbrushed on the side of a ’70s van. It’s worth the drive and a couple of bucks in the slot in the parking lot run by the National Parks. Afterward, be sure to visit and support the Mono Lake Committee and get some ice cream and maybe a corn dog at Mono Cone, too.

Driving home, we made a detour through the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine. The swooping drive is said to have inspired the Cars-themed Radiator Springs Racers attraction at California Adventure, and the rocky landscape provided scenery for Tom Mix, Hopalong Cassidy, and Lone Ranger movies and Gunga Din, too.

The Alabama Hills provided a welcome break in the five- or six-hour drive, as well as evidence that the fastest, straightest route isn’t always the best one. Snowboarding ain’t cheap, even with reduced prices in June, and the free stops provided perhaps the most priceless memories as well as necessary perspective as we headed back to civilization. Where to next this summer?