Devils Postpile

June 19 - 23, 2015

The purpose of our trip was twofold: we wanted to visit and do some hiking in Devils Postpile National Monument, and to visit a couple of towns that were famous during the California Gold Rush era.  So, we decided to spend a night in Mariposa on our way to Devils Postpile, and another night in Sonora on our way out of Yosemite and Devils Postpile. Through Rubee's research, we knew that Devils Postpile did not open until late May, and the campgrounds there are first come first serve.  So, the weekend of June 20-21 seemed to be a good time to take this trip.    

Day 1:

We started early Friday morning with our road trip routine, getting coffee and donuts at Marina Donuts & Bagels. We then took Hwys 1, 156, 152, and then 140 through Merced to Mariposa. We booked one night hotel at the Miners Inn in Mariposa, which was a good choice.  It was clean and spacious, and the staff was helpful and friendly. Before coming in to Mariposa on Hwy 140 near Catheys Valley, we saw smoke southeast of Hwy 140; several firetrucks passed by us. We prayed that the fire would be contained quickly and would not cause any highway closure to Yosemite, through which is the only way for us to get to Devils Postpile.  Thank goodness, it did not! 

Mariposa is a busy town and has a lot to offer.  We arrived there around noon, and had lunch at the 1850 Restaurant. Then we visited a very informative museum, California Mining & Mineral Museum. 

After the museum, we visited a church and a jail, both were built in the mid 1800s.

The weather in Mariposa is of course a lot hotter than Monterey. It was in the 90s that day with a pretty blue sky! Around 5 pm, we finished all the sites we could see in Mariposa; it was still bright and shiny. So we decided to visit some other S.H.L. (State Historical Landmark) places nearby. From Mariposa, we drove northwest 3-4 miles to Bear Valley, and walked around a cemetery there with tombstones dating back to the early 1800s. We also drove westward to Hornitos, a lovely small historical town.

Hornitos is a very small settlement. We saw some modest homes, but did not run into anybody while we walked around the main street. On our way out of the town, we saw a sign indicating another historical church up the hill. We followed the sign, and sure enough another white church built in 1886.

From Hornitos, we took the Hornitos Road and Hwy 140 back to Mariposa.  We had a very nice dinner at the Charles Street Dinner House (highly recommended by Yelp)!

Day 2:

We got up early, and weren't hungry at all. So we abandoned the idea of having a nice country breakfast at the Sugar Pine Cafe (also highly recommended by Yelp), and set out early to Devils Postpile through Yosemite.  We took Hwy 140 into Yosemite, right before facing the magnificent El Capitan, made a sharp uphill left turn to Big Oak Flat Road, then right turn eastward to Hwy 120, the Tioga Road.  It was a beautiful drive, but we could not make too many stops because we had to arrive at the camp ground in Devils Postpine early in order to get a camp site (first come first serve).  However, we had to stop at Olmsted Point, where we could see the back (north) side of Half Dome. I love Half Dome--it's so beautiful!

Rubee at Olmsted Point--Half Dome in the background 

Charles at Olmsted Point--Half Dome in the background

We continued on Tioga Road, got a close look at Tenaya Lake, and arrived at the Tuolumne Meadows.

Rubee and Charles at Tuolumne Meadows

After the Meadows, we went through the Tioga Pass (9945 ft) out of Yosemite. From there, we took Hwy 395 straight south towards Mammoth Lakes. Before we reached Mammoth Lakes, we saw a sign saying Mammoth Scenic Loop Road that would take us to Devils Postpile. We took it, of course, but were not impressed by the scenic views at all. We passed the Mammoth Mountain Ski area and a huge parking lot with hotels and cable cars taking people up the Mammoth Mountain (11,053 ft). This area is also where one-day visitors of Devils Postpile must park their cars and take the shuttle bus, "except campers!" (Thanks to Rubee's research beforehand because there were "official looking" parking attendants who tried to tell us to park there and take the shuttle bus into the Devils Postpile). We told the Park entrance ranger that we planned to camp in the park for two nights.  We paid the $10 park entrance fee (in addition to the campground fees), and she gave us a map and told us which campgrounds were still open. It was quite smooth, no problem at all!

We drove to the last campground, Reds Meadow, which, based on the map and Rubee's research, is the closest one (out of eight campgrounds) to the Devils Postpile site.  Because June was not a peak time for summer visitors, there were quite a few empty sites. We picked one randomly, and set up our tent.

Afterwards we went for a hike around Sotcher Lake near our campground.

Have to take another selfie.

Day 3:

It was the highlight of our trip. We got up early, drank coffee and ate some fruit for breakfast.  We made and packed some sandwiches for lunch as there are no restaurants or stores in the park. Because there was no cell phone service in the park, we had to use the paper map to find the trail that would lead us to the Devils Postpile. But it was quite easy. In less than 10 minutes we found the trail head.

  

A Natural Tree-Art

From the trail head, it took us only 30-40 minutes when we saw the magnificent pile of stone columns coming out the earth aiming towards sky!

We followed the trail and up the stairway to the top.  It was flat and smooth!  So interesting!

From there, we decided to hike south towards the Rainbow Falls.  It was a long, but nice hike along the headwaters of the San Joaquin River. To our surprise, as we did not plan for this hike, we came across the Stock Bridge where the John Muir Trail intersects with the Pacific Crest Trail. Having seen the movie, Wild, we learned to appreciate the Pacific Crest Trail, and felt in awe standing on this bridge.

The San Joaquin River

The Stock Bridge

Frankly speaking, we did not know what the Rainbow Falls would be like. We simply followed the trail path and the river, and then, voila!  There it was--much bigger than I expected, and quite beautiful!

The Rainbow Falls

From the Rainbow Falls, the trail continued for anther mile or so, and led us to another waterfall, simply called, the Lower Falls. I was exhausted, therefore, we decided to rest there and have our lunch!

The Lower Falls

After lunch, we turned around going north towards our campground. We took another trail for a change of scenery, walking towards the so-called "Reds Meadow Resort." It was not really a "resort." It simply has some cabins for rent, pay-by-minute showers, and a campground-style general store. It is a resting stop for many Pacific Crest Trail hikers. It was on this trail we saw some fire damaged trees and fields.

  

Our hike from the Devils Postpile to the falls, then back to the campground was about eight miles, and took us 3-4 hours.  We were tired, and decided to wash up and take a nap.

We rested about an hour in the tent, and decided to drive out of the park to the town of Mammoth Lakes for a nice dinner. On our way to Mammoth Lakes, we saw a sign, "Earthquake Fault," and decided to check it out on our way back from dinner.  The town of Mammoth Lakes is very interesting, a bit like Denver to me, a winter ski resort town.  There are many restaurants, coffee shops, and outlet stores. We had coffee at the Black Velvet Coffee shop--wonderful atmosphere, modern and comfortable. We were dying to check emails and surf the Internet.  Next door to this coffee shop, there was a big sale going on at G.H. Bass & Co.  Rubee went in there, just to look around, but not to buy anything ... What a mistake!  Rubee saw so many good deals, and ordered Charles to finish coffee and come over.  We each spent about $200 on bags and shoes, etc.  After shopping, we were definitely hungry.  We went to "53 Kitchen & Cocktails," and had a delicious meal.  On our way back to the park, we stopped by the Earthquake Fault, and it was, indeed, a worthwhile stop.

It was a good and full day!  We both slept pretty well that night.

Day 4:

We got up early and packed up to go.  We stopped in Mammoth Lakes to get some coffee, then drove straight north on Hwy 395 to Mono Lake.  It was quite impressive!

Mono Lake

Our destination today was Sonora, where Rubee reserved one night at the Sonora Inn, a historical landmark building in downtown Sonora.  From Mono Lake, we took Hwy 395 north to Hwy 108 crossing over the Sornora Pass (9624 ft).  This road is, of course, very steep and closed in the winter.  It was so peaceful up there!

We met some hikers. Apparently, the Pacific Crest Trail intersects with Hwy 108 up there.  Some local volunteers set up a tent to provide water, food and supply to hikers.

 
We arrived in Sonora early afternoon.  The Sonora Inn is a very interesting building, and right in the center of the town. We ate lunch at a Thai restaurant, and walked around this used-to-be glorious town during the Gold Rush years.  It still has its charm! By then, we were tired of taking pictures. I kind of regretted that because I got no more pictures after our day four.

Day 5:

We visited Columbia where there is a State Historic Park.  We learned some more about the gold mining industries and towns back in the mid-1800s. It would be nice to come back to this area and stay 2-3 days. After lunch, we headed back home.  I missed Smokey (our cat) quite a bit by then!