Written by Barbara Levine
June 2024
🚙 Preamble 🛞
There we were, you wouldn’t believe it! We were in dire straits!
Stan and I and our Boxer Henry are stranded on a gravel road in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire on a Saturday afternoon – ten miles from civilization. We are on the last day of a bike trip to Mammoth Lakes during the first week of June 2024.
🚙 The Story 🛞
We have dinner reservations on Saturday, June 8, at 5 pm at Mono Inn – a high-end restaurant offering a fixed five-course menu overlooking Mono Lake near Lee Vining (see map below).
We leave for the restaurant in the early afternoon so we can explore Hot Creek east of Mammoth Lakes on our way. Our goal is to return to a spot on the river where we once enjoyed swimming year-round. Geysers release hot water from the riverbed, resulting in a range of water temperatures from cool to very hot.
It has been a long time since we last visited Hot Creek due to its closure for swimming after a tragic death there. However, on our recent visit to the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center, we learned that Hot Creek is now open to the public, although swimming remains prohibited.
🚙 Hot Creek Geological Site 🛞
As we approach the Hot Creek area, we make a left turn off Highway 395 just before the airport onto a rough gravel road called Hot Creek Hatchery Road.
It has been many years since our last visit to Hot Creek, and we cannot recall the precise whereabouts of the swimming spot we had previously enjoyed. What sticks in our memory is a gravel parking area perched on the cliff above the river, with a winding trail leading down to the water.
En route to what we believe was our bathing area, we make a stop at the Hot Creek Geological Site – a designated area that didn't exist here in the past. We take a photo looking down at the geysers in the river.
Saturday, June 8: View of Hot Creek from above at the Hot Creek Geological Site overlook.
Below is a transcript of the signs at the lookout point.
On the right is a recent photo from the Internet taken on the hike to the creek below the rim at the Hot Springs Geological Site,
We decide not to hike down the steep, 0.8-mile-long trail to the water. The surroundings feel unfamiliar compared to our former swimming spot, so we skip reading all the information provided on the posted signs.
Continuing our journey to discover other locations to access the river, we search for the familiar spot we always used, unaware that we had already reached it!
Photos from the Past 🛞
I have found photos of Stan or me swimming at Hot Creek on only two occasions in the past – in 1970 and 2001.
Swimming at Hot Creek in the Past
Top left, October 1970: View of Hot Creek from above with people in the water. Note the path below and the small bridge across the river.
Top right, October 1970: I am on the left in Hot Creek with friends Larry & Barbara. In front is my son Mike (age 7) and their daughter Erika. (This was two years before I met Stan.)
Bottom, April 2001: Stan is in the middle in Hot Creek with our friend Pete (on the right). Pete stayed with us in our condo for a few days of skiing at Mammoth Mountain.
🚙 Back to the Story 🛞
After continuing for another mile and a half on the rough gravel road, we reach the end of Hot Creek Hatchery Road. The familiar swimming spot is nowhere to be found. We opt to abandon our quest and make our way to the restaurant by Mono Lake, where we can spend some time exploring before our dinner reservation at 5 pm.
On our way, we noticed a more attractive gravel road to take on our way back, so we turn around and drive back to take Whitmore Tubs Road heading towards Highway 395. It is on this road that the Tesla alerts us that one of our tires has lost pressure.
As we pull over on the side of the road, we discover that the right rear tire is completely flat, and our Tesla is not equipped with a spare tire. Stranded in the wilderness on a Saturday afternoon, we are ten miles away from civilization in Mammoth Lakes.
Luckily, we have cell phone coverage, and Stan contacts AAA Roadside Assistance. AAA Informs us that a tow truck will arrive at 3:08 pm. Knowing we won't make it to the restaurant by 5 pm, I phone to cancel our reservation.
When the tow truck fails to arrive, Stan contacts them. They explain that AAA does not offer off-road assistance, and we need to be towed to a local tire repair/replacement facility. To request a tow truck, the towing company requires $380 to be transferred via Zelle. We have no choice but to pay the ransom!
The towing company informs us that they will be arriving at 5:20 pm. Meanwhile, Stan Is reaching out to tire services in Mammoth Lakes for assistance. A helpful staff member at the Chevron station on Main Street clarifies that there are no tires available for a Tesla in Mammoth Lakes, and the closest location that carries them is 40 miles south in Bishop. He asks us to hold – upon returning to the line, he tells us that his girlfriend is dog sitting in Bishop, and she will drive up the following morning with a new tire for us!
Since the Chevron station is unable to accommodate overnight parking for our car, we make arrangements for the towing company to deliver our car near our condo in Mammoth Lakes, and then return the next morning (Sunday, June 9) to tow us to the Chevron station. In the meantime, we spend the rest of the afternoon waiting for the tow truck to show up.
Our Rescue on Saturday Afternoon, June 9
Top left: Henry is waiting for the tow truck to arrive.
Top right: The tow truck finally arrives at 5:30 pm.
Middle right: Stan is watching the tow truck operator prepare the truck for us to drive the Tesla up on it.
Bottom right: Our view from the top of the tow truck on our ride to Mammoth Lakes. Mammoth Mountain is in the center left, and the sharp peaks of the Minarets are in the center right.
Bottom left: Stan is beside our Tesla in a parking spot by the Tesla charging station behind our condo. The Tesla is carrying our bike rack which transports my adult electric Trike wherever we travel.
The next morning (Sunday, June 9), we have our Tesla towed (with us in it) to the Chevron station. Our flat tire is beyond repair. The Chevron guy's girlfriend arrives promptly from Bishop with a new tire.
Once the tire has been replaced, we pack up the Tesla and start our journey back home, departing three hours later than our usual time. We eventually reach our house around 7 pm, following an eight-hour trip that included two stops to charge the Tesla, walk the dog, and have a meal.
🚵🏻♂️ Recap of the Early Part of Our Mammoth Trip 🐕
Despite the incident on our last day in Mammoth, we had a wonderful four-day experience filled with biking, exploring the area by car, and letting Henry socialize with other dogs at the New Shady Rest Campground.
When I planned our trip to Mammoth, I had anticipated that Stan would ski in the mornings for a couple of hours and we would go biking in the afternoons – our usual routine during our visits in May or June. Typically, Mammoth Mountain remains open for skiing until July 4, but this year the mountain shut down early in mid-April to replace the Broadway Express (Chair 1), the primary chairlift at the Main Lodge. Consequently, there will be no more skiing for Stan this season.
Here is a brief photo recap of our four days at Mammoth before becoming stranded on the fourth afternoon. The weather was perfect and the scenery was gorgeous.
🚲 Recap of Day 1, Wednesday, June 5 🐕
Before our arrival in Mammoth the previous day, Stan noticed that my Trike had a flat tire. As we were heading into town, we made a pit stop at a bike store to drop off the Trike for a tire replacement. Little did we know that this would foreshadow the incident that occurs three days later.
Following breakfast at our condo, we retrieve my Trike from the bicycle shop. Subsequently, we cycle leisurely for three miles along the eastern section of the Town Loop bike path encircling Mammoth Lakes. We stop to admire the scenery along the way and to gather further details on attractions at the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center and Ranger Station.
Later in the afternoon, we take our dog Henry for a ride to the New Shady Rest Campground, which features three fenced ballparks and spacious grassy areas where dogs can play unleashed.
Map showing the Town Loop bike path around the city of Mammoth Lakes
Recap of Day 1, Wednesday, June 5
Top right: View of Mammoth Mountain from our condo, with carved bears crawling up the sign for the condo complex across the street.
Bottom left: Stan and I on the bike path east of town. Mammoth Mountain is in the background on the right.
Top left: I am standing next to Smokey the Bear near the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center.
Bottom right: Stan is talking to Vince, a guy we meet at the New Shady Rest Campground, while Henry plays with his two dogs.
🚲 Recap of Day 2, Thursday, June 6 🐕
After a visit with Henry to the New Shady Rest Campground at 7 am and enjoying breakfast at the condo, we embark on an extended cycling excursion along the western section of the Town Loop bike path encircling Mammoth Lakes.
The initial part of the journey heads south along Old Mammoth Road to the bike path. There we divert from our route by crossing a small wooden bridge over Mammoth Creek to reach the Hayden Cabin, an historic log cabin constructed in the 1920s and 30s. Despite hearing about it for years, we had never made the time to explore it. The cabin, now home to the Mammoth Museum, offers a captivating insight into the history of Mammoth Lakes.
Visit to the Hayden Cabin, Day 2, Thursday, June 6
Top left: The wooden bridge crossing Mammoth Creek on the way to the Hayden Cabin.
Top right: View of the Hayden Cabin from the gravel street.
Middle left: Stan inside the living room of the Hayden Cabin.
Middle right: Barbara inside the living room of the Hayden Cabin.
Bottom left: The mounted deer with large antlers inside the living room of the Hayden Cabin.
Bottom right: The kitchen of the Hayden Cabin with a mounted bear's head on the wall.
From the Hayden Cabin, we return over the wooden bridge and proceed west on the bike path alongside Old Mammoth Road. Shortly after, the bike path descends through a tunnel beneath the road at Mammoth Creek Park, where we pause to observe the interior of the recently constructed Mammoth Ice Rink.
Next, we travel on the bike path alongside Old Mammoth Road until it finishes. From there, we transition to city streets leading to a different bike path that takes us to Eagle Lodge – the base of Mammoth Mountain's lowest chairlift.
After Eagle Lodge, we follow a bike path and city streets that lead us to the bike path along Main Street, and then back to our condo. This cycling route, including a visit to the Hayden Cabin, takes us 3 ½ hours.
Bike Ride After Our Visit to the Hayden Cabin, Day 2, Thursday, June 6
Top left: Stan beside the playground outside the new Mammoth Ice Rink at Mammoth Creek Park.
Middle right: Inside the Mammoth Ice Rink which is used for multiple sports in the summer.
Top right: Observing the cascading water at the Mammoth Creek waterfall from the bridge in Mammoth Creek Park.
Middle left: View of Mammoth Rock, a monolith rock mass that tops out at 10,377 ft, from the bike path to Eagle Lodge (at the bottom of Chair 15).
Bottom left: View of Mammoth Mountain from the bike path to Eagle Lodge.
Bottom right: I am with my Trike next to the eagle sculpture near Eagle Lodge.
After a late lunch in our condo, we take Henry to Shady Rest for his twice-daily romp with other dogs.
🚲 Recap of Day 3, Friday, June 7
Friday is a break from biking as we opt to explore by car with Henry. Following his morning stop at the New Shady Rest Campground, we drive up Mammoth Mountain to see the progress on the new Chair 1 at the Main Lodge.
Halfway up the way up the mountain, we stop to visit the large Earthquake Fault.
The Earthquake Fault, Day 3, Friday, June 7
Top: Barbara and Henry above the Earthquake Fault.
Bottom left: Another view from the other side of the Earthquake Fault.
Bottom right: Stan is standing above the Earthquake Fault where snow is visible in the bottom. The climb down to the snow is more treacherous than we feel like attempting at our ages, I remember when I climbed down many years ago and walked through the fissure.
Our next destination is the Main Lodge at Mammoth Mountain. The town of Mammoth Lakes sits at an elevation of 7,900 ft above sea level. The altitude at the Earthquake Fault is 8600 ft. The base of Mammoth Mountain at the Main Lodge is 9,000 ft, while the mountain's summit reaches 11,053 ft.
The Main Lodge at Mammoth Mountain, Day 3. Friday, June 7
Top: Stan is standing on the right observing the placement of large logs to separate traffic from the parking lot at the Main Lodge. Mammoth Mountain is in the background.
Bottom left: View of the construction of the new Chair 1 at the Main Lodge.
Bottom right: I can never pass up another photo of the sculpture of Woolly Mammoth in the parking lot at the Main Lodge next to the gondola.
The sculptor Douglas Van Howd presented the massive life-size bronze sculpture to Dave McCoy, on his 75th birthday in 1990. Dave McCoy, an American skier and businessman who established the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in 1942, passed away at the age of 105 in 2020.
Lastly, we ascend beyond the Main Lodge to reach Minaret Vista – the highest accessible point by car near Mammoth Mountain.
Minaret Vista, Friday, June 7
Center: The Minaret Vista sign (elevation 9,265 ft) in the parking lot.
Top left: View of the mountain range to the west of Mammoth Mountain, including the sharp peaks called The Minarets, which were named for their resemblance to the spires on Muslim temples. Mt. Ritter (elevation 13,149 ft) and Banner Peak (elevation 12,942 ft) can also be seen.
Top right: View of Mammoth Mountain (elevation 11,053 ft) from the lookout at Mineral Vista.
Bottom left: Stan and Henry by the snow at the top of Mineral Vista.
Bottom right: Zoomed-in view of The Minarets (elevation 12,265 ft) from the Mineral Vista lookout.
🚲 Recap of Our Bike Ride on Day 4, Saturday Morning, June 8
On Saturday morning before our fateful flat tire incident in the afternoon, we cycle a new route on the eastern Town Loop, different from the one we had taken four days earlier on Wednesday, June 5.
Bike Ride on Day 4, Saturday Morning, June 8
Top left: Stan is riding near Mammoth Middle School (on the right) with Mammoth Mountain in the distance.
Top right: A colorful fish in a playground along our route..
Bottom left: The Volcom Brothers Skate Park along our route.
Bottom right: The Eastside Mill & Lumber Company with Mammoth Mountain in the distance on the left.
Following the bike path, we reach a tunnel beneath Highway 203 close to the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center. From there, we continue cycling to the New Shady Rest Campground. Although we have been driving Henry there twice daily, we hadn't cycled there in a while.
So there you have it – a fairly comprehensive description of the four days we spent biking and touring by car around the Mammoth Lakes region in early June 2024 – concluding with being stranded in the wilderness on our final afternoon.
🚵🏻♂️🐕 The End of Our Four-Day Trip to Mammoth in June 2024 🚙 🛞
Comments