Things to do in June Lake

[windyscotty]

I am starting this thread to talk about all things June Lake and the surrounding area including Mono Lake, Hwy 120, the Hawthorne road, and all the way up to Bridgeport. It's a fabulous country with a lot of western history. It continues to intrigue the modern day explorer.

So this is for the local and the first time visitor to learn more about Mono County and the Eastern Sierra.

I climbed the Mono Craters, walked the rail line from Mono Mills to Bodie, walked all the shorelines of Mono Lake, built trails in the backcountry above June, climbed to the Mono View Mine, wandered Pizona and Huntoon, the Adobe Valley and the Excelsiors. It just about wore me out, and I am sure glad I got all that serious exploring stuff out of the way in my younger days. I'll leave it up to you whippersnappers to take over and find greater things than have ever been found.

[onegoodturn]

Not a whippersnapper, I'm your age WS, but I will post something anyways.

Hike down to Walker Lake and do some fishin'.

[windyscotty]

Real nice shots of Walker Lake. Do you know anything about what is happening at the outlet? I think there are buildings down there that are private property. Coming in from the road that runs up the creek that is gated, it turns into private property at the big meadow. I didn't walk any further than that, but I did wave hi to some fellows that came up the road in a truck.

That meadow has choice sheepherder carvings around it and there are lots of fish in the little creek that runs through there. That whole scene up there is just about an ideal spot. So much so that General Yeager chose that very location to hunt out of in the 50s and left his tree carving to prove it.

That is a nice little camp set up they put in at the Walker Lake trailhead. I have walked down to the lake from there a few times and up the Bloody Canyon trail. They called it Bloody Canyon, because it was hell on the mules and horses they forced down through there. Hell on the people, too!

Well, by God OGT, I could go on forever about Mono County and probably will. Until the next chapter, so long partners!

[Sierra Lady]

Take a scenic chair ride in summer and eat lunch at the chalet! (Loads of fun and great food...did it last year with 16 of my closest friends!) Then maybe play some horseshoes or volleyball.

Or pack your own lunch and start a hike from up there after the ride.

[nekdut]

Carefully playing volleyball there! I hit the ball over the edge down the face and had to hike down and back up to get it.

[onegoodturn]

Carefully playing volleyball there! I hit the ball over the edge down the face and had to hike down and back up to get it.

Classic...at least you had some great views on your hike down.

[windyscotty]

OGT, You are a feisty guy, frisky, exuberant, and I admire that in you.

I heard that in order to do maintenance on the acqueduct tunnel that runs from Grant Lake under the Mono Craters, they made a little rail car system for the workers to ride along through there. Just wondering if that is true or not?

[Biker395]

Ride the June Lake Loop!

[Snowave]

Egg the Gull Lake Lodge!

[Biker395]

Egg the Gull Lake Lodge!

That reminds me!

Omelettes at the Silver Lake Resort (trust me ... they're great).
Drinks at the Tiger Bar ('nuf said).
Feeding the ducks at the June Lake Marina (if you have kids, they won't forget this).

[Snowave]

you're a duck.


I looked into Silver Lake Resort breakfast/lunch as it got great reviews on Tripadvisor, but I was bummed to see it wasn't open in winter.

[pkerr]

Eat Corn Dogs!

[Biker395]

you're a duck.


I looked into Silver Lake Resort breakfast/lunch as it got great reviews on Tripadvisor, but I was bummed to see it wasn't open in winter.

That's the nicest thing anyone's said about me in a long time.

I can vouch for the omelettes ... very yummy. And the cafe is a tiny little affair, paneled in knotty pine and surrounded by aspens. Highly recommended for taste and atmosphere.

http://www.silverlakeresort.net/cafe.htm

[Sierra Lady]

^ Reminds me of the Mule House Cafe down in Reds Meadow!

[Biker395]

^ Reminds me of the Mule House Cafe down in Reds Meadow!

Love that place too ... especially the stove.

Interesting story. Last year, we were up for the High Sierra Fall Century, and we hiked down to Rainbow Falls. Afterwards, we stopped there for lunch. We were the only ones there when we arrived, but a few others showed up some time later. One of them was what looked to be a woman and her grandson who were seated right next to us. They didn't have high chairs, so he was in a booster seat.

So we sat there having dinner, admiring the woman working there (very sweet and attractive, as I recall), and just generally looking out the window, and all of a sudden, my buddy dropped his drink and lunged over to the ground.

The little boy had fallen right off of his booster seat and was headed for the hard tile floor, head first. Holy crap!

My friend is a softball player, and caught his head just inches above the ground. It was over in a matter of a few seconds. I'm telling you, if that kid's head had hit that floor, it would have been ambulance time at least.

And the thought occurred to me. What an odd set of circumstances. We were there, and the kid gets caught with no injuries. We're not there ... we make one simple decision one way or another, and he goes to the hospital. I asked my friend:

"How does it feel to have your hands guided by a guardian angel?"

He shrugged it off. But anyway you look at it, he saved that kid and his family a lot of grief. Good thing I wasn't sitting in the hotseat. My reflexes are not that good!