June Lake Loop

Hi Blog!

After a frosty morning hiking around the Bodie Ghost Town, we decided to head over to June Lake for lunch. After lunch, we planned to take the scenic drive known as the June Lake Loop. The June Lake Loop is situated against the west rim of the Great Basin and Range Province, abutting the steep eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada. Rush Creek originates from an alpine watershed just north of the headwaters of the San Joaquin River, and south of the Tuolumne River, then flows northeast, becoming the major tributary to Mono Lake. We turned off US 395 onto CA 158. Just before we came into town, we were greeted with a great view of Carson Peak as it looms over June Lake.

We worked up quite an appetite tromping around Bodie, so lunch was high on our agenda. We were told at the Mono Lake Visitor Center that June Lake Brewing makes good beer, and while they don't have a restaurant, they have a really cool Hawaiian food truck in their parking lot. After ordering our beers, Kathy walked over to Ohanas 395 and ordered our lunch - three different street tacos, plus the Hawaiian Plate Lunch which consisted of Huli Huli chicken with rice and mac salad. They were all very delicious.

As for the beer, Dave went with a couple 10 ounce pours of the milk stout and smoked porter, while Kathy sampled six different styles. All were good, but hands down our favorite was the Carson Peak American Strong Ale. Here is what they say about it, "When the head of June Mountain Ski Patrol asks you to make a beer worthy of the iconic Carson Peak that sits watch over June Lake and the surrounding town/valley, you’ve got to go big… 13.1% ABV and 100+ IBUs BIG!" Unfortunately, it is soooo big and rare, they only sell 10 ounce pours inside the tasting room. We could not take any Carson Peak home with us.

Horsetail Falls is the largest flow to run into June Lake. At it highest point, it is around 185' tall. The flow is wide and unless it is a very cold winter, the center is often still flowing as a waterfall. It is a very popular ice climbing route in winter.

Another favorite of the ice climbers is the North Gully. The ice is usually much better quality than neighboring Horsetail Falls because of a much smaller water flow.

As we continued along June Lake Loop Road, we made a stop at Silver Lake.

We would have loved to kayak this lake if the air wasn't 41 degrees with a stiff wind making it feel like 36 degrees! Here is the view up the inflow with the Eastern Sierras in the backgrounds.

Across the lake, we could see the volcanic hills of the Inyo Craters.

Our next stop was along the banks of Rush Creek. This is the same creek we crossed the other day on our way around Mono Lake.

Here is Rush Creek passing the Reversed Peak. Back in the last Ice Age, the Rush Creek glacier split in two when it encountered the resistant rock of Reversed Peak. The main glacier flowed toward the north creating the Rush Creek Canyon. Another glacial branch turned south and east but its flow was impeded and eventually stopped as the granitic bedrock on this southern branch created an uphill path toward the volcanic area of the Mono Craters.

About eight miles from the hustle and bustle of June Lake, the shores of the man-made Grant Lake are barren of trees. Created by the LADWP in 1916 when Rush Creek was dammed, Grant Lake is home to some of the largest rainbows in the region and is one of the best spots for motorized watersports like water skiing, wakeboarding and jet skiing.  This was our last stop on the June Lake Loop Road. Another storm system is heading our way. Time to get back to our RV and find something warm to do indoors.

We are hoping this next front passes through quickly. We have one more day to explore before we move on.  Stay tuned.