What we did:
-Whitmore Hot Springs
-Convict Lake Hike
-Mono Lake – South Tufa
-Mono Cone
-Earthquake Fault
-Inyo Craters Hike

Where we stayed:
Wildflower Condos #61 (Airbnb)

In a nutshell: We were fortunate enough to be able to meet up with Emily Richardson on a spontaneous trip to the Eastern Sierras. This region is one of our top spots in California – and we keep finding new things to do each time we are there. We were able to enjoy the natural hot springs – soak in the views at Convict Lake – and explore the out of this world terrain at Mono Lake – South Tufa.

For our dedicated readers: This blog posts marks a deviation in our blog – for two reasons:
1 – We know that lengthy blog posts might not be something everyone has the time for – but they may still want to know where we went and a quick summary
2 – We had primarily used this blog for international trips; and now due to COVID-19 we are going to need to do a lot more domestic trips for the foreseeable future.

Emily had reached out to say that she was on her way out to visit her family in St. George, Utah. Due to changing plans – we no longer were planning on flying down to San Diego to visit Jon and Yvonne – so we floated the idea of meeting up somewhere. Emily shares a love of the National Parks as well – but unfortunately, most parks were still closed.

We discussed a few ideas – and landed on the Mammoth Lakes region. Somewhere that Emily hasn’t been – and one of our favorites.

We all arrived Friday night after work – but most of our adventure started on Saturday morning. On a previous trip, last fall – we had gotten to experience the Whitmore Hot Springs. Emily was interested in seeing them – so we started our day off there. The parking lot was a little misleading – but it turns out quite a few individuals camp in that area.

We didn’t have to wait too long before one of the hot springs was cleared of other people – when we were there the last time we shared a hot spring with another couple – but due to COVID we didn’t feel comfortable doing that.

The springs were hotter than I had remembered – I think it was because we had gone in the fall and the air temperature was much cooler. The hot springs are such a fun experience and very picturesque with the white capped mountains surrounding us.

We made our way over to Convict Lake – beautiful alpine lake with a rugged back drop. There was a relatively easy 3-ish mile hike around the lake. We had planned on kayaking – but the boat launch area was busy and we hadn’t made a reservation for an additional kayak so all of us could go out. We decided to come back later when it was hopefully less busy.

After lunch, we made the 30-mile drive to Mono Lake. Andy and I had driven past this area numerous times – but had never been able to make the stop. After doing a little research, we realized that South Tufa was where we wanted to be.

We arrived to the park – after paying $3 for the car we got out to make the quick walk to the water. The tufas are formed from fresh water springs underneath the salty water. Mono Lake is twice as salty as the ocean! It really felt like we were on another planet with all of the tufas surrounding us. It’s a short hike – you don’t need more than an hour to walk around the south part of the park. We would highly recommend this area – very fun to see the different landscape.

At this point we had felt like we had earned a treat – a year or so ago – we had run into another couple when we were wine tasting in Paso Robles. Somehow we got to talking about the East Sierras – and they had told us about this “Cash Only” fast food restaurant that’s near Mammoth Lakes. We had made a mental note – and finally, this was our time! We stopped to get milk shakes – and they were amazing!

We had made a reservation to go kayaking on Convict Lake – and by the time we got back to the lake the weather had turned. There were actual white caps on the lake. As much as we wanted to go out on the water, it looked like we wouldn’t have a lot of fun – and could potentially be dangerous. They thankful refunded our kayak reservation. We had missed our window of opportunity, but I suppose another reason to go back another time.

Another item that was high on the list was Mammoth Brewing Company – we had driven past but just hadn’t stopped. When we got there we thought we were going to have to sit outside to eat & drink. However, there indoor seating was open. We walked in and found the one random table that was off on its own – we wanted to make sure that we were able to social distance. It felt nice to be in a social setting again – and felt like we were far enough away from anyone else that we weren’t worried too much.

The next morning Emily hit the road back to Minnesota – and we decided to do a few quick pit stops before we left town. We stopped at an earthquake fault where you could see how the earth was torn apart. This was dog friendly – so Linus and Jasper got to come on the hike with us. It’s a short 15 minute excursion, but pretty neat to see.

One last minute add had been Inyo Craters Trail. I had looked this up the night before – thought it might be nice to stretch our legs before our 5 hour drive back. It was extremely windy – and we got on the trail (not quite at the trailhead), so we got a little turned around. However, as you come up to the end of the trail you can definitely see the crater formation. There were only a few others on the trail – so it was nice to be out in nature soaking up the fresh air. These were believed to only have been formed 550-650 years ago.

We will definitely be back to Mammoth Lakes again soon – so much left to see and do!