Eastern Sierra Nevadas Ride

It started out, like the ride two weeks before, as an idea about going to Mono Lake, 330 miles north of my home. But unlike the previous ride, it didn't turn into a four-state, multi-day, 3,000 mile ride.

I'd ride up to Mammoth Lakes on a Saturday, stay overnight in the ski resort town, then take the camera to the South Tufa Grove for the sunrise. From the lake, I'd ride south down the east side of the Sierra Nevadas, through the Mojave Desert, then down the Cajon Pass to the Inland Valleys.

The relief map above of my target area is courtesy of Delorme and is copyright by Delorme. For more information about DeLorme, see http://www.delorme.com/ .


I started at 5:00am wearing chaps and leather jacket to keep out the cool morning air. At 6:00 I sat down to breakfast at TNT's Cafe in Victorville - any excuse to eat breakfast there will do.

Up the road on US 395 the Mojave seemed to be waking slowly. Though it was August, the temperature hovered in the high 80s until my tires touched the rim of the Sierras. Nice and cool, if you live in the desert like I do.

The Mojave waking slowly.

Proof that crows can't read presented itself at a rest stop.

A lake near the town of Mammoth Lakes.

View down a canyon toward Mammoth Lakes.

US 395 rolls north at over 9,000 feet near Mammoth Lakes.

South Tufa Grove, Mono Lake, California.

I was checked in at the motel in Mammoth Lake by 3:00pm. Rather than wait until morning, I packed the camera and tripod back on the Road Star and headed back to 395. I could see the lake from the south before turning east on CA 120. The turnoff to the South Tufa Grove is clearly marked and mostly dirt with a fair amount of loose gravel. Not exactly what the bike was built for, but a bit of slow going will do it.

For more information about Mono Lake and the Tufa Groves, see http://www.monolake.org/about/geotufa.

South Tufa Grove, Mono Lake, California.

South Tufa Grove, Mono Lake, California.

South Tufa Grove, Mono Lake, California.

South Tufa Grove, Mono Lake, California.

Tioga Pass, view East.

I woke at 2:00am. and stayed awake, hoping the weather channel would put me to sleep. it didn't work. by 4:00 it seemed pointless to try to sleep. at 5:00am I was pulling out of a gas station in Mammoth Lakes. Though I had the electric gloves on, I wasn't overdressed. To stay comfortably warm, I had to stop about every twenty miles to warm up for a few minutes.

Elk Farm.

Elk Farm? Two rather large fields on the west side of US 395 contained herds of Elk. The male 2nd from the left was the alpha, and busy keeping the other males away from the females. I'd never heard elk calls before. It wasn't what I expected.

Farther along the road, Manzanar was quiet in the early sun. There was no discernable breeze. The peace was broken only by the crunch of gravel under my boots and the whoosh of cars on the highway.

For more information about Manzanar, see http://americanhistory.about.com/cs/worldwarii/a/internment.htm .

On the way north the day before I'd caught a quick glance of a sign. The only thing that registered was the word "Manzanar". A half hour later I remembered that it was the name of the internment camp where Japanese-Americans spent most of WWII.

I kept watch for the camp on the ride home. I could make out the guard tower from a mile away. A closer view of the tower is above. The tower is a reconstruction.

The Guard "Shack" at the entrance to the interment center. It has held up well, unlike the hastily-erected wooden buildings of the rest of the camp.

Looking down Main Street toward the Internal Police Station.

Along Main Street signs mark the location of various facilities such as this one at the site of the Manzanar Free Press.

The Internal Police Station had a concrete foundation, unlike many other public buildings.

Barbed wire fencing defines a rectangular half of the camp, with the guard tower at the far corner of the rectangle.

Back on the road I kept the leathers on until I hit the edge of the desert where the air temperature climbed suddenly into the 80s. With little wind and t-shirt temperatures, it was an ideal summer day for a ride through the desert. Nothing more was needed.