HIGH SIERRA:
LIVING THE HIGH LIFE IN THE RANGE OF LIGHT

By John Flinn

“The Range of Light” was John Muir’s pet name for his beloved Sierra Nevada. It’s not just the ethereal luminosity of the glacially polished granite that drew the renowned naturalist—and continues to draw people—to the Sierra again and again. It’s the pristine lakes and rivers, the dramatic hiking and biking trails, the contrast between the green meadows and stony battlements.

The Sierra Nevada may be one of the highest and most majestic mountain ranges in North America, but it’s also one of the most accessible and user-friendly. Stretching 400 miles from north to south, and about 70 from east to west, it’s crossed by seven highways—four of them open all year—and encompasses everything from Lake Tahoe—where you might find yourself crowding shoulder-to-shoulder around a boisterous craps table—to remote canyons in Yosemite or Kings Canyon national parks where you can spend a silent and solitary afternoon watching Muir’s favorite bird, the water ouzel, plunge into waterfalls and cascades.

In a state with no shortage of superlatives, the region has more than its share: It can boast the world’s oldest tree, the world’s most massive tree, the Old West’s largest ghost town, the nation’s highest waterfall and—until Alaska came along and rewrote the record books—the nation’s highest peak.

The range is home to three national parks, 15 state parks, two national monuments and 20 officially designated wilderness areas. Hikers get itchy feet at the mere mention of its celebrated walking paths: the John Muir Trail; the Tahoe Rim Trail; the Pacific Crest Trail; the Tahoe-Yosemite Trail. At the drop of winter’s first snowflake, skiers begin making plans for the three premier ski resorts on America’s West Coast: Squaw Valley (site of the 1960 Winter Olympics), Heavenly and Mammoth Mountain. Streams rushing down the range’s sheer east slope into the Owens Valley are renowned for their fly fishing.

Geographically speaking, the mountain range is pretty much one big chunk of granite tilted like a badly placed brick in a cobblestone street: It’s gently sloped on the west side and quite steep on the east, lower in the north and higher in the south. Keep that in mind when choosing a hiking trail: for an easier amble, look to the north and west; for a challenging ascent, head south and east.

CITY & TOWN

Now connected by gondola to the Heavenly ski resort, the bustling town of South Lake Tahoe, located on the lakeshore and the Nevada border, has seen an injection of energy and interest in recent years, with new restaurants, shops and galleries. With a large inventory of hotel rooms and a cluster of hotel-casinos just a few steps over the border, it’s a good bet for inexpensive lodging. In Truckee, a handsome old railroad and lumber town between Donner Pass and Squaw Valley, a collection of Old West historic buildings along Commercial Row now houses busy restaurants and bars, some adorned with portraits of gunslingers and desperadoes. Farther south, sprawling Bishop sports the Owens Valley’s most extensive collection of lodging, dining and resupply outlets.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Just a few hours’ drive from San Francisco or Los Angeles, the Sierra Nevada has been California’s outdoor playground almost since the arrival of the original 49ers. In Yosemite Valley, spectators with telescopes watch the progress of climbers inching their way up the impossibly sheer granite walls. Tempted to try it? Sign up for an introductory class at the Yosemite Mountaineering School—or at least treat yourself to a “Go Climb a Rock” T-shirt. With some of the most reliably sunny summer weather of any major mountain range, the High Sierra is a hiker’s paradise, from easy day walks in the Desolation Wilderness to challenging, multi-week journeys through Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks. Skiers have their choice of world-class venues, from beginner-friendly Granlibakken to the double-diamond chutes of Squaw Valley and Heavenly. In summer, many of the resorts—particularly Northstar and Mammoth—convert their lifts and gondolas to carry mountain bikes.

HERITAGE & CULTURE

Native Americans, pioneer emigrants and gold miners all left their marks on the High Sierra—often literally. At Grinding Rock State Historic Park near the town of Twain Harte, Miwok Indians once ground acorns on an outcrop of marbleized limestone. The 1,185 mortar holes they left behind constitute the largest such collection in North America. In the Hope Valley, just south of Lake Tahoe, you can still see ruts in the rocks left by the covered wagons of settlers on the Emigrant Trail. The shafts of thousands of abandoned mines pockmark the High Sierra. One of the best places to see one is the Great Sierra Mine, a short but steep hike from Tioga Pass in Yosemite. You’ll find the remains of old miners’ cabins, but exercise care around the shafts, several of which remain open and unfenced.

FAMILY FUN

If the kids aren’t yet ready for full-on camping, Lake Tahoe has two old-timey resorts with knotty-pine cabins scattered in the trees near the lakeshore, bike and paddleboat rentals and ice cream parlors. Camp Richardson is on the west shore, near Tahoe City; Zephyr Cove is on the south shore, just over the border in Nevada. camprichardson.com zephyrcove.com

5 MUST SEE, DO

The Wild, Wild West
Bodie, possibly the Old West’s most notorious mining town, now exists in a state of “arrested decay” on a high, windswept plain northeast of Yosemite. It’s one of America’s most extensive ghost towns.
www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=509

Mountain Light
The late adventure photographer Galen Rowell was the Ansel Adams of the Kodachrome era. Stop by his Mountain Light gallery in Bishop to see mountain images both iconic and unusual.
mountainlight.com

Climbing Half Dome
The hardest part of hiking to the top of Yosemite’s Half Dome might not be the mile of elevation gain or the vertiginous metal cables covering the last 400 feet: It’s scoring the coveted, mandatory permit. Only 300 per day are given out, and they’re issued via an online lottery.
nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdpermits.htm

Biggest Tree
Tree-huggers, don’t bother trying to wrap your arms around the General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park. With a circumference of 102 feet, the giant sequoia is the largest known tree on the planet. While not quite as tall as its coastal cousins, its staggering girth more than makes up for it.
nps.gov/seki/naturescience/sherman.htm

Long Live Mono Lake
Set in a brooding, volcanic, Tolkienesque landscape, Mono Lake is one of the most otherworldly sights in California, with spiky tufa towers rising out of an alkaline lake. Explore it by kayak or canoe, or take a guided naturalist walk along the shoreline.
monolake.org
calderakayak.com

HIGH SIERRA: LIVING THE HIGH LIFE IN THE RANGE OF LIGHT