Tag: Eastern Sierras

Alabama Hills

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Alabama Hills was so pretty.

I went on the Alabama hills trip and it was so beautiful there. Everywhere we went, we were surrounded by boulders, and the horizon line on all sides was made up of either distant blue mountains or interesting rock formations in the shape of cashews, mittens, or huge stone hands. 

When I was little, I never really appreciated nature much. Whenever I went hiking to a scenic spot with OVS or my family, I focused my attention more on my tired feet than the beauty in front of me. I never saw what was so great about sunsets or mountains.

However, on this camping trip, I couldn’t stop feeling so grateful to have the opportunity to be out there, and I couldn’t help taking pictures of all the mountains and sunsets and little caves to hopefully take home a little bit of the wonder I felt out there. There was even a pink moment out there, where all the white stone mountains turned pink in the morning. It was so pretty that it was worth unzipping the tent and braving the freezing air to watch the sunrise.

Picture Credit: Mike Reyfman

Eastern Sierras

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This past week, my outdoor education group and I went on an excursion to the Eastern Side of the Sierras.

We backpacked into the cottonwood lakes, as well as another lake with a name that should probably not be repeated on this blog.

Upon reaching our final camping spot (South Fork Lakes), we were all astounded by the view the scenery and view that the lake had to offer. The campsite was positioned right next to a beautiful lake with Golden Trout swimming around peacefully, deer hanging out with their newborns, and some noisy coots. To top it off, a short hike over a hill would lead to this…

We all got up early in the morning to see the sunrise on our first night there. The view was alright.

The highlight of the trip for me was backpacking past an old cabin that was used in the 19th century for either fur trappers or something along those lines. It stood out to me because I was reading a book about the (in)famous Kit Carson, one of America’s greatest mountain men and fur trappers. The cabin stood about four feet tall and was right next to a small river with plenty of California’s state fish.

On our trip, we went in as a group of four students that never really hung out together, or talked to each other much, but by the end of the trip we knew each other even better than any of us expected.

Strangely enough, our sport ends early. We are all going to have to join some other sport that, to me, will not be nearly as fulfilling (no offense Mr. Alvarez). There’s something about the back-country that cannot be replicated anywhere else. It is unique to each person that experiences it, and will continue to be for as long as it’s there. My advice? Go see it quickly.