Devil's Post Pile Day 4 (Sunday)

Saturday night the sleep was bad enough that Cameron and I had enough. We decided that Annika will not be invited on any more family vacations until she is 10. Hopefully by then she will want to go on vacation enough to not be as attached to her bed. So we decided that we were going home.

After breakfast Cameron took the girls with him fishing and I worked on packing up camp. They fished by the bridge where Cameron caught his fish on Saturday. He caught some more fish and helped Ali to catch a fish too. I cleaned and packed up camp. When they came back we ate lunch and then loaded the car. We really need a bigger car to fit all our gear inside.

We then drove up to Agnew Meadows. I saw signs for the High trail and decided to add that to my list of backpacking trips I want to go on. I really wanted to just go hiking but all the trails out of Agnew Meadows were very steep. It was much colder at Agnew Meadows and would make a great middle of summer campground.

We then drove up the road and took more pictures of the Minarets. We love the look of those mountains. I would like to climb to the top of Mount Ridder which is on the right and is the blocky looking mountain. In Mammoth we went to an area of boiling hot springs that looks like Yellowstone. We could not get close enough to feel the heat so it isn't as cool as Yellowstone but I was more sure that I would lose one of my girls in hot water. I felt it was a good trade off.

We ate dinner in Bishop and then settled down for the long drive home at night. I kept falling asleep and waking up worried that Cameron would be tired too but like the wonderful husband he is he didn't complain at all. We made it home and Annika slept all night without waking in her crib. She was so happy to see it.

Devil's Post Pile Day 3 (Saturday)

Saturday took a long time to arrive. Annika still did not like sleeping when she was not in her own bed. Cameron spent most of the night in the car with her trying to not allow the neighbors to hear her when she woke up screaming. It also began much to early. We enjoyed muffins for breakfast and prepared for our day of hiking. We decided to hike to Minaret Falls from Soda Springs campground. We planned on hiking down to the Devil's Postpile Ranger Station and then taking the bus out. The hike seemed to be about 3 miles.

Right as we got out of the car there was a bridge that connected us with the Pacific Crest Trail. We hiked over the bridge. I stopped to take a picture since I like bridges. Cameron looked down and spotted a large fish in a pool. He told me, "I am going to catch that fish." I thought that it wasn't a bad idea so we all stopped and waited for him to catch the fish. We didn't have to wait long and the fish was caught.

I loved the hiking trail down to the falls. We were once again hiking alone and it was in tall stands of trees. We hiked past a beautiful meadow and mostly hiked the whole way in the shade. It seemed like an easy hike for all of us and I was glad I had the idea to hike down to the falls instead of up to them.

We arrived at the falls and once again started our time there by ourselves. The falls are very different. There is not nearly as much water flowing over the granite but they are very tall. I didn't get good pictures of the top but here are some of the bottom of the falls. We positioned ourselves on a large flat rock to eat our lunch. Ali spent most of her time trying to catch butterflies and she caught two in about 5 minutes. She kept them in her bug catcher. After lunch Cameron helped the kids climb the boulders to a large pool to wade in. Ali decided that she needed to get in all the way and got soak several times. She actually swam around in the pool. Ashling was more timid but Cameron helped her get her hair wet. Then she laid out like a lizard in the sun to dry off. Later when they came down I went up and took a dip in the pool. We didn't think Annika needed to climb the falls.

The hike down to the ranger station was hot and dry. It wasn't fun because once again it was full of people who were hiking up to the falls. I can't believe I was the only one who thought to take advantage of the busses and only hike down hill. It is more fun because you get to see more and the hike was much better only going down. (I guess it was the visit to the Alps where I was able to see how they hike that allowed me to understand how to use transportation to its best while hiking.)

We rested again in the afternoon. Annika in her crib playing, the girls quietly playing in the campground and Cameron and I snoozed in the tent. That evening we enjoyed showers to get cleaned up a little. I met some people who were hiking the John Muir Trail. I wished to put on my backpack and go along with them. I want to hike the whole John Muir Trail so badly... One day I will.

We enjoyed hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for dinner, the kids choice. Then we had smores with our camping neighbors for dessert. It was a very cold night. And once again very long. Annika spent most of the night in my sleeping bag... which is a mummy bag. There wasn't much room for the both of us but at least she kept me warm.

Devil's Post Pile Day 1 (Thursday)

The first time I set my eyes on Mammoth was at the beginning of our vacation to Yosemite when Ali was a baby. And I fell in love. I am not sure what makes me in love with it but I think it has something to do with the combinations of sage brush, tall pine trees, and green meadows with creeks running through them. It reminds me of home. I think I love the Mammoth area more than all other mountain areas put together. We have been there several times for vacation and still plan on going many more times. This time we decided to camp at Devil's Post Pile National Monument. We had thought about going there before but the pricey enterance fee always drove us to other cheaper destinations.

Devil's Post Pile is down a canyon from the Mammoth ski resort on the backside. It is accessible by driving over the pass near Mammoth and then down a steep, curvy, narrow road. Only those who camp are allowed to drive down the road... the rest take shuttle busses. As we drove over the top of the pass I knew we had chosen our trip wisely. This is what we saw.... I couldn't believe the beautiful scenery and remembered how much I loved the jagged peaks of the minarets. The drive down was beautiful. Each corner brought a new type of scenery. We saw huge granite boulder fields, piles of volcanic rock, meadows, tiny waterfalls, creeks, lakes and aspen trees.

I had read about the different campgrounds and knew that I wanted to camp in Red's Meadow. There is a hot springs there and they have piped the water down to showers that are a constant warm (the kids think too hot,) temperature. Camping is always nicer with showers. So we drove until we got almost to the end of the road where Red's Meadow campground is. We found our campsite complete with secret hiding spots, our own grassy area and a little creek with a foot bridge.

We spent the early afternoon setting up camp, watching the kids wash their crystal rocks (they picked them up on a break somewhere in the desert,) laying around taking cat naps and stretching from the long car ride. The camp was very quiet and peaceful.


After the tent was set up and our foot was stored in the bear box we headed out for our first outing. We decided to go see what Devil's Post Pile was. We didn't tell the kids where we were going or what we were planning to see. So each new thing was a surprise for them. As we were driving out of camp we saw a deer and her baby in the tree-covered meadow. The trailhead for Devil's Post Pile starts at the ranger station. No one can drive in the area except for those camping and it made the parking lot peaceful and quiet. The first thing you see is a meadow with the San Joquin River running through it. I was in heaven. I loved meadows with rivers running through them high in the Sierras. Ali thought the meadow must be the surprise but we said no. We headed down the .4 mile trail to see Devil's Post Pile. We figured if we did the easiest trail first and then worked up the kids would enjoy it more. I was also eager to do this trail on Thursday afternoon so that we wouldn't have to contend with nearly the amount of people.

The walk down the trail was easy and fun. Ashling loved to be the leader the whole way. Ali was content to follow and worked on her skills as a butterfly catcher. She has evolved from being a butterfly catcher with a net to a butterfly catcher who does not need a net. I think she caught two butteflies before we encouraged her to keep hiking. Cameron then held her hand and it was so cute I couldn't resist taking her picture.

Devil's Post Pile is a bunch of volcanic rocks that have made the most interesting forms. They look like a lumber yard of trees only they are stone. I guess you can google it if you want all the details of how they are formed. But to us it was just really cool to see. The kids pointed to it and we said that this is what we had come to see. Ali wanted to read all about it but when the scientific words had her stumbling she asked Cameron to finish. We decided to hike to the top to see the Post Pile looking down on it. All of the rocks are shaped in hexagons and when you hike to the top of the pile you can see this very clearly. The girls loved to hike on the rocks at the top but I remembered the cliffs and insisted that they sit down. I could just imagine Ashling falling off the edge when she tripped. After admiring natures pavement we finished our loop off and decided that we needed to explore that meadow a little more. We hiked back to the bridge that went over the river and then crossed it into the meadow. In the meadow there was a little soda springs. This is where the water bubbles out of the ground and then runs off into the river. I thought it was pretty cool to see the water bubbling out of the ground. We enjoyed the meadow and Cameron wished for his fishing pole. I was glad we had left it at home. Ali learned to skip rocks and Cameron skipped the flat stones clear across the river. Annika enjoyed sitting in the meadow and taking in the scenery with me. Ashling tried to skip rocks but just mostly threw them in the river. Then the girls decided that they needed to cool off their feet and waded into the river. They wanted to go out to the rocks but I realized the river was deeper than I thought and made them be content to play at the side. This is my favorite picture of the meadow. I would love to put my log cabin here and make my living being a farmers wife. Or maybe a mountain man's wife? When it was getting chilly and we felt hungry we left our peaceful meadow to return to camp. The tri tip steaks and baked beans were calling our name. I love this bridge and would love to take a thousand pictures of it but I need a better camera.