Our accidental "national park." - Owens Valley, CA - includes trip planning guide

Sunset, Sept, 1994 by Jeff Phillips

A good source for other hiking options is Gary Olson, owner of the historic Bishop Creek Lodge, built in 1928. The lodge is just down the road from South Lake. It doesn't take much to get Olson talking about the mining history of the area, the $1.5 million in gold excavated from the Cardinal Mine, and the old-timers still looking for colors in small side-canyon claims. But he's also quick to admit that the only real wealth being generated these days is from electricity. Not far down the canyon, Southern California Edison diverts most o Bishop Creek out of its bed and through five hydroelectric powerhouses before the water flows into the Owens.

Just north of Bishop, water is trickling through the Owens River Gorge for the first time in 40 years (the result of a pipe rupture in 1991 and subsequent lawsuit settlement), supplying a new fishery and greening up the canyon.

Water at the bottom of this dramatic 700-foot cleft in pink volcanic tuft was considered one of the Eastern Sierra's premier trout fisheries until the Department of Water and Power built three powerhouses below the new Long Valley Dam on Crowley Lake and diverted the entire river through a series of pipes and penstocks to generate electricity. One of Phil Pister's first jobs as a young biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game was to save ancient moss-backed brown trout weighing up to 20 pounds as the river evaporated.

To walk along the bottom of the gorge, take U.S. 395 north from Bishop about 12 miles, turn right (toward Pleasant Valley Reservoir) and go about a mile, then turn left on Gorge Road. Exactly 4 miles up Gorge Road, turn right, drive 1/4 mile, and park at the gated entry of the Middle Gorge Powerhouse. It's a mile walk down the paved road to the canyon bottom and another 1/3 mile along the river to the powerhouse. From here a trail boulder-hops along the river into th heart of the gorge. The area is also a major draw for rock climbers. On an October weekday, at least 20 different parties were roped to sheer pink and black walls.

One major Owens tributary spared from the generator--in spite of its 6,000-foot vertical drop--is Rock Creek, whose headwaters offer one of the most sublime hikes in the range. The trailhead, on Rock Creek Road at Mosquito Flat, 10 mile west of Tom's Place on U.S. 395, stands at 10,300 feet, according to the U.S. Forest Service, and a well-worn path leads up the wide glacial tongue of Little Lakes Valley. Along most of the 3 1/2 miles to Morgan Pass, the valley is a patchwork of lakes and streamlets daubed yellow by patches of willow and surrounded by jagged granite spires.

You can acclimatize yourself to the elevation--or refuel after the hike--by stopping for a bowl of chili and slice of pie at the six-stool counter in the back corner of the store at Rock Creek Lakes Resort, 7 miles up the road.

Mammoth Lakes: fishing and biking

If you had to pick one activity that defines outdoor recreation in the Mammoth area, it would have to be trout fishing. But strangely enough, no trout are native to Eastern Sierra waters flowing into the Owens. The first imports were fingerlings packed into the Mono Basin in water barrels during the 1850s.