As we explored more of the meadow, I spied a marmot next to the stream. He had probably come down to have a drink of water. Marmots are fairly large rodents...about the size of a housecat. Aside from their tails, they look a lot like beavers. They like to live amongst the rocks in high altitudes. We spent quite a while trying to take this guy's picture. I couldn't get a close-up shot of him, as he kept hiding. He sure was a cute little fellow.
The Troy Meadow area is quite popular with the off-road vehicle enthusiasts. The whole area was teeming with motorcycles and ATV's. As noisy as it was during the day, it was very quiet at night, save for the wind which was blowing constantly thru the night. I was nice and warm in my new sleeping bag though :)
The next day, we got up in the morning and walked down to the meadow to see if we could see any wildlife. It seems like all the animals were either sleeping in or hiding from us. We did see a few chipmunks and a lot of birds.
After we took down the tent and packed up, we drove off down the mountain. Next destination: Whitney Portal. We drove into Lone Pine, CA to gas up and have some lunch. We had lunch at this pizza place called The Pizza Factory. We had a medium combo pizza to split among the 2 of us. After a dinner of trail mix and some nuts the night before, that pizza tasted like the best damned pizza in the world - lol. Bellies full, we took off to Whitney Portal...elevation 8360 feet. This area is the trailhead to Mt Whitney Peak...the tallest peak in the lower 48 states at 14,495 feet. Now, I certainly had no intention of attempting this trail. I am in no shape to do so - lol. Chris has climbed it though. We took it easy and climed a little way up a trail to a cascade (like a mini waterfall). I took some pictures and we stood near the water and the mist spray sure felt good. At this elevation, it was quite a bit cooler than down below in Lone Pine.
On the way down from Whitney Portal, you can see the famous Alabama Hills, where many western movies were filmed. In fact, each October, movie buffs from all over gather in Lone Pine for the Lone Pine Film Festival. A great many old westen and modern movies have been filmed in this area. If you watch an old western movie sometime, look at the scenery. Maybe you will see Mt Whitney in the background.
After descending back down to Lone Pine and filling up my gas tank, we took off again. Destination this time: The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the Inyo National Forest's White Mountains. First off, we stopped to get a campsite at Grandview Campground. Camping here, incredibly, is free, though they do ask for a small $3 donation. There is no water available at this campground, and they have only the old-school outhouse type "bathrooms" (a hole in the ground with a seat on top - lol). There were quite a few sites still available. We couldn't believe our luck! We pitched the tent and set off for Schulman Grove...the sight of the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. We didn't arrive there til almost 5 pm. The Visitor Center closed at 5 pm, so I picked up a few postcards, paid the $5 fee and then we set off on the Discovery Trail. We opted for this trail as it was only a mile round trip versus the 4 mile round trip of the Methuselah Trail. We simply did not have enough daylight left to complete that trail, as it would take about 4 hours to complete. The Discovery Trail was a nice trail. It did get rather strenuous at times for me, as I am not used to the 11000 or so feet altitude. It does have a 200 foot ascent up the mountain and it is mostly uphill. There is such a thing as altitude sickness (yes, there really is - lol)...
I was feeling some effects from the high altitude, including some dizziness, headache and fatigue. The trail, for me, was difficult at times. But we stopped and rested a little every 20 seconds or so when we were going uphill in order to not overdo it and get full-on sick (puking and all - lol). At the top of the trail, the view down below was incredible. The climate and vegetation is so different from below. On one side of the mountain, there were trees...on the other...none. It looked like arctic tundra...almost like you would expect to see a herd of reindeer coming up over the ridge, or a polar bear basking in the sun. It was vastly different from any other place I have ever been. The trees were not all that tall. Bristlecone Pines have a very short growing season..approximately 45 days out of the whole year. They survive with minimal moisture and in poorly nourished soil. Yet, these trees are some of the oldest living things on the planet. In fact, the oldest tree, the Methuselah Tree, is some 4600 years old!
After we completed the Discovery Trail, we decided to go on further up the road to the Patriarch Grove. To reach this place, you have to drive on a rough and steep dirt road. Now, I don't have an SUV...I drive a Chevy Cavalier (lol). But my little car made the trek. The Patriarch Grove was closed though, because snow drifts had blocked the road and they don't plow up there. So, we traversed onward to the locked gate at the White Mountain Peak trailhead, which reached an elevation of over 12000 feet. This is the highest point I have ever set my two feet on the ground at. (airplanes don't count - lol). It was absolutely freezing up there, and I was very light-headed by this time. The landscape up here, in subarctic conditions, was vast and treeless. In some parts, it looked almost like a lunar landscape or something out of a desert. The climate is very dry and cold, and very little vegetation grows up there. There were no squirrels or other mammals to be found. Only a few birds flew here and there. I didn't even see any insects. Some people had parked their cars at the gates and set up camp, probably to get a head start on the White Mountain Peak trail in the morning (* White Mountain Peak is 14,426 feet in elevation). It was so cold, one would wonder how those people would feel in the morning when they woke up freezing - lol.
After a little while, we headed on back, as it would be dark soon, and I wasn't too keen on driving down a dirt road in the dark. After about an hour of driving 15-20 mph, we finally hit the pavement and headed back to the campsite. When we got to the site, Chris started a campfire and we sat out and looked at the stars. The sky was gorgeous. The night sky was moonless and full of stars. The Milky Way was clearly visible. I just stood out there on the dirt road and looked up to the sky, much like I used to do when I was a little girl. I sure wish I would have had a telescope.
Monday morning, we took down the tent and headed on back to Bakersfield. But first, we went up the mountain a ways to a vista point where you could see the Sierra Nevada range in a panoramic view. It was incredible. You could also see the town of Bishop, CA far down below. It was a fitting end to a great weekend.
It took over 5 hours to drive home, but the weekend was great. I saw a lot of sights and things I have never seen before. And of course, I took a lot of pictures! I am looking foward to going back to Yosemite this weekend to see Tioga Road, Tenaya Lake, and Mono Lake!
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