Lee Vining – Hiking California

When Mel and I leave Twin Falls, Idaho for the full day drive to Lee Vining in California, we stop for lunch in Lovelock, Nevada (population 2,003 - elevation 3,900 ft)  where “Your love remains locked”.  Our down-home, righteous-cookin’ lunch is enjoyable at an establishment called Cowpoke Cafe whose motto is,  “Eat here now before we both starve”

Mel and I will cruise west across Nevada on the Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway (I-80), a modern alternative to the California Trail.  We drive south on I-95 past the Fallon Naval Air Station, under the steep cliffs towering over the west shore of Walker Lake, past Mount Grant and Corey Peak, the turn right at Hawthorne onto Hwy 359, past the interesting and high-security Hawthorne Army Ammunition Plant and up and over 7,626 ft (2,323 m) Anchorite Pass to the Nevada-California border.  Here, the same highway changes to number 167 and swings west past the north shore of Mono Lake, a gravel road exit to Bodie and a T-junction at Hwy 395 where a left turn and 7 more miles (11.2 KM) delivers us past the fascinating west shore of Mono Lake and into the small, tourist town of Lee Vining, California.

It is wise to arrive in Lee Vining with reservations.  Mel and I arrive later in the afternoon without reservations and most of the limited accommodation is filled.  As we wander about town looking for a reasonably priced motel room, we experience discouragement first, then a stroke of luck.  The Lee Vining Motel opens their reservation office at 4:00 PM each day and notifies the public by hanging a flag out front.  Who knew?  By some act of mercy, we happen to be wandering past at 4:00 PM and stop in to book the first of the thirteen rooms.  The office closes when all the rooms have been taken, usually about 20 minutes later.  Mel and I reserve our Lee Vining Motel accommodation for three nights as our staging location for hiking the east part of Yosemite National Park.  Then, we do a walkabout around town prior to supper at Nicely’s Restaurant.

Mel and I veer off the main street towards Mono Lake and discover the Mono Basin Historical Society Museum on corner, park land where a collection of interesting exhibits command attention as reminders of days gone by.  One of the most intriguing is the Upside Down House.

Adjacent to the Mono Basin Historical Society Museum is Hess Park with picnic tables and a children’s playground.  The park is named for Gus Hess, the father of Lee Vining.

During our stay in Lee Vining we walk through the back roads of town in early morning before an excellent breakfast at Nicely’s Restaurant or at day’s end after supper.  Nicely’s offers standard fare, done well, and the service is provided very efficiently by hard-working staff.  We discover the Protestant and Catholic Churches and an empty, closed building, for rent, with no parking, welcoming the world.

Lee Vining is a small bustling tourist town in the summer, strategically located at the east entrance to Yosemite National Park.  In winter, when High Sierra snow closes the Tioga Pass Road, Lee Vining is predominantly closed.  There are few customers and only a few weather the winter waiting for the next tourist season to arrive.

Prior to our stay at the Lee Vining Motel the proprietor had implemented motion sensitive light switches to save energy and enhance guest convenience.  The problem was that one of these switches operated the ceiling light directly above my bed.  All efforts to resolve the issue failed and I spent three nights at the Lee Vining Motel with Mel’s jacket hanging from the thermostat to cover the motion detector so the light would not wake me up every time I moved.  Maybe it will be fixed before next season’s unwary guests arrive.

From Lee Vining, Mel and I stage hikes to Gaylor Lakes, Lembert Dome, Dog Lake and Soda Springs before we will travel up through Lee Vining Canyon one last time on the route across the center of Yosemite National Park via Tioga Pass Road (Hwy 120) from the east side to Crane Flats, then south past Yosemite Valley to our next staging location near the southwest corner of Yosemite National Park.  We will leave a lot of remarkable trail unexplored.