With Covid cases continue to rise in the country, road tripping (while social distancing, of course) has become the new normal. Since our last successful trip at Yosemite, we’ve been itching for another one. Before we agreed on visiting the Eastern Sierras, we all got tested and shared our results due to social responsibility.
DAY 1
Friday afternoon, my friend Nick, who graciously let me join his carpool, his girlfriend Tianna and I headed off to Mammoth Lakes, California. Since it would be a ~6-hour drive, we would make it to Hot Creek just in time for the sunset. As soon as I stepped out the car, I was greeted with a wide open view of a curvy hot creek leading to the mountains. We could see steam evaporating into the air as the sun began to set. We immediately took our cameras out to shoot. At around 11pm, we set up our tripods in preparation of the Milky Way. Other friends from SoCal soon joined and we reunited once again–though we could barely see each other’s faces in complete dark. This night was special to me because it was my first time witnessing an actual Milky Way, let alone capturing it. Still baffles me how our naked eyes could only see the hazy light but our cameras could capture the Milky Way with such depth. We car camped for the night and did not go to sleep until 3am.
DAY 2
At around 7am, we woke up to sun shining through our car. We got up and headed towards Wild Wiley’s Hot Springs. This place was well built, from the parking lot lies a long platform that guides you towards the two hot springs. We walked towards the bigger one and emerged ourselves in the warm, steamy water. Everyone was practicing social distancing by staying away from the middle area. This is a perfect place for those who want to escape the mundane city life and relax in a pool of soothing springs from what feels like the middle of nowhere. We took the rest of the day easy by grabbing breakfast at Stellar Brew and recharged at June Lake. For sunset, we drove to a completely empty road that is surrounded by gorgeous mountains. We ran up and down the road, took a drone group photo and overall had a great bonding time. It was a blissful moment–no cars, no noise, just us surrounded by the unbelievable views.
DAY 3
Because we did not get much sleep from the night before, we decided to sleep in and recharge before our big hike on Sunday. The hike to Minaraet Lake was dreaded since Day 2 because it would be a 13.4-mile hike out & back with a 2.9k elevation up. I was glad we decided to push the hike to Day 3 since our energy level was rather low after car camping. By 1pm, we packed everything and headed to the Inyo National Forest. We followed the John Muir Trail. To be honest, I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it up. Though there was an overcast and slight thunderstorm in the afternoon, the sun was still beaming on us while mosquitos were eating us alive no matter how much bug repellent we sprayed. The higher we hiked, the louder the thunderstorm was. I was a bit paranoid. However, there was no going back.
3.5 hours later we were greeted with a GORGEOUS lake! At the edge of the lake laid a patch a wildflowers. Purple, red, orange, white… you name it. This place felt like a paradise. There were only two groups of people who were camping there, so it seemed like we had the whole place to ourselves. After some rest, we started shooting the beautiful scenery. Nick and Derek even took a dive into the freezing cold lake! Then, things got even better. A orange, pink sunset started to appear through the gloomy sky. We did not expect to see such a burn that evening! We quickly took photos before the golden hour went away.
Now the most exciting part is here: we had to hike 7 miles down in complete dark. 3 miles in I already wanted to raise the white flag. My legs felt like someone was to cut them open. Though I am a tiny gal, I powered through, Naruto-style, and followed our leader Young Min down. That night, we had the best sleep of our lives.
Would I do the Minaret Lake hike again? Yes. But certainly not hiking back on the same day.
DAY 4
Monday was MAJOR rest day. It was a quiet Monday morning where everyone worked from the Airbnb. We spent the day working while also reviewing all the photos that we’ve taken over the weekend. Nick, Tianna and I headed home after work and that concluded our yet again, amazing trip.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Being in quarantine has certainly contributed to my lack of motivation. My camera was basically collecting dust since I wasn’t able to go out and capture any photos (I also don’t have a car). This trip was much needed. Being around like-minded creatives who I call friends definitely uplifted my overall mood. I’m grateful to have met this group of people who always motivate each other and act as each other’s cheerleader on social media whenever someone posts new content.
And the views… did I talk about this views? I would’ve never imagined places like Mammoth Lakes exist. I have so much more to explore in California alone and I look forward to more local trips like this soon!
Hi, I’M MINA!
I am a San Francisco based photographer and lifestyle + travel blogger. Born and raised in Hong Kong, I’m proud to say I came from a diverse background. I speak fluent Cantonese! Follow my social media to see what I’ve been up to.
SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG!
OTHER BLOG POSTS
