Logistics were much easier for our first plan of the Big SEKI loop - one rental car and done. When we had to reconfigure our trip due to water crossings, we ended up with a one way hike and more challenging logistics. We looked at all our options and none were very appealing and in the end we decided to do what was easiest, although not the cheapest, and rent two rental cars. We arrived in San Francisco late Friday night, got our rental car, and drove to Pleasanton to stay the night. The next morning we had around five hours to drive through Yosemite and over Tioga Pass to Lee Vining and pick up our permits. Pretty views when we could see them - there was some smoky spots from wildfires - but we didn’t stop at all. After lunch in Lee Vining we drove south to pick up the second rental car at the Mammoth Lakes airport (by chance we got a Mercedes - too bad it was mostly going to sit for two weeks!). We continued south to leave one car at South Lake, for our exit via Bishop Pass in two weeks. While there we met two hikers, Joe and Rachel, in need of a ride and we gave them a lift to Lone Pine (luckily the car we were driving was a SUV - we got a free upgrade at SFO).

Joe and Rachel told us about the Bishop institution Erick Schat's Bakery and we decided to stop for snacks - lots of goodies there. We had a nice drive down to Lone Pine where we dropped off Joe and Rachel at their hotel and we checked into Dow Villa. We had enough time before sunset to visit nearby Alabama Hills, less than five miles out of town off of Whitney Portal Road. Alabama Hills is a range of small hills and rock formations at the base of the Sierra Nevada. The most well known feature is Mobius Arch. The scenery is enhanced by the contrast of the weathered boulders and the jagged peaks of the mountains in the background. Very cool spot and hopefully we’ll have more time to spend here on a future trip.

After we completed our hike we had to do all the logistics in reverse. Luckily we had some extra time so we weren’t rushed and could fit in a little extra sightseeing. On our way back to Mammoth to return the second rental car we stopped in Bishop for lunch and a visit to the Mountain Light Gallery, which was terrific and I would highly recommend a stop, except that it closed this fall. :( Still worth checking out Galen Rowell’s fantastic photography through other avenues. We continued north to drop off the car at the Mammoth airport and check into our hotel in Lee Vining. We had the afternoon to spend at the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center watching the films, reading the exhibits, and Norah earning her junior ranger badge. Afterwards we went to Panum Crater and Mono Lake. When Steve and I visited Mono Lake in 2004 I really enjoyed learning about the unique ecosystem of Mono Lake and the grassroots effort to save the lake and wildlife habitat. The Mono Lake Committee Information Center and Bookstore is another great stop that has some good exhibits about saving Mono Lake, as well as books, t-shirts, and other souvenirs to buy. We watched sunset at Mono Lake and went back into town for dinner. There was a full moon rising early so I returned to Mono Lake for a few pictures in the moonlight.

On our second to last day we drove back to the Bay Area via Sonora Pass and visited Muir Woods National Monument. We were worried it would be extremely crowded on a holiday weekend and it was full when we arrived, but because we arrived later in the day (around 4 pm), the crowds were thinning significantly and we had a lovely walk through the woods. We stayed the night in San Jose and spent our last day with our dear friends Tim and Jen before a red eye flight back to NY. Awesome two weeks!