Towering in the in the eastern side of the Sierra’s is Mammoth Mountain at 11,000 ft. As a premier ski resort during the winter, it doubles as a summer playground full of campgrounds. The ski slopes turn into cross country runs, and the the frozen lakes become cool escapes from the heat of the lowlands. The Pacific Crest Trail and the John Muir trail both cruise by to the west through the Devil’s Postpile National Monument. The town of Mammoth was filled with chalets and condos. Tourism was the major draw and just about everything in it fed off it.

So on July 4 weekend we beat the heat and headed up.

The Lakes

McCleod, Horseshoe, Twin, Mamie, Marie, George, Crystal, TJ, Heart, Way, Emerald, Arrowhead, Skeleton, Dollar, Barney, Duck , Purple, Sotcher, and Convict are just a few in the area. Some lakes attract crowds of paddle boarders, fisherman on small boat, and people wading in. The more remote lakes were secluded, less crowed, and worth every miles hiked.

The postpile

A unique geologic landform of columnar basalt only found in 12 other places on Earth (Iceland, Armenia, Malaysia, Mexico, Australia, Paraguay, Israel, China, St. Mary’s Island, Japan, and Northern Ireland), the postpile is a sight to behold.

After viewing the Postpile we took the trail to Rainbow falls. Absolutely stunning!