Convict Lake

This is a great place and will probably go down as one of our favorites. It is located just down Highway 395 from Mammoth and is situated on a lovely lake. I mean, there is definitely no shortage of lakes in this part of California, but we particularly like this one. It’s just a little more of that eastern Sierras feel; namely, less forested. The dramatic mountain peaks that border it are stunningly beautiful, and it is the perfect size for quiet boating. There is kind of only one long trail around here, and it’s a big one. But there is also a calm loop trail around the lake that is only around two and a half miles.

Given it would be a short travel day, Richard did his morning workout by biking around town to explore all the things. One of the things we worked through was figuring out how important that morning movement is for him. It doesn’t need to be very long, but it needs the intense cardio to get the desired effect. I can always entertain myself in the morning, just by slowing taking my morning shower and screwing around, especially if I have service. I got caught up on all of my pond cam clips from home. We have the regulars, like Mr. Stripes, and the raccoon clan, but I have now seen a coyote pass by twice! Good thing our kitty is indoors at night.

The move from Mammoth was fast, at only about ten miles. We used the dump there instead of Shady Rest because it’s free. It’s a good dump but the potable water spigots are in a bit of an awkward location. No biggie. We found our site and were really pleased. It’s near the beginning of the loop and has a beautiful view. There was excellent solar and a little shade tree for sitting outside when it’s hot. The only bummer was that the cell service cut out just as we entered the campground. Those darn mountains are lovely, but they sure do block signal. Oh well.

The first thing we did was to walk over to the Resort and check out their store. It’s exciting to find places that sell It’s Its and they had both vanilla and cappuccino flavors. They also had a wide selection of grocery items, though no produce. There were little gifts and cute things too. I bought a beer bottle opener, not for opening beer bottles, but because a clever Altoiste posted a picture of using one of these to prop open the door window just a crack. That is super helpful when you only want a little ventilation. 

After doing a visual inventory, and establishing that they do not have free wifi (you can pay $5 for a day per device, but it only works right by the store), we walked around the lake. This is a beautiful 2 or so mile loop and an easy walk until you get to the top of the lake. There are boardwalks to get across all the river crossings, but one crucial section is down. We both ended up taking our shoes and socks off to wade through the ankle deep water.

The next day we did a big hike and put a lot of thought into it beforehand. We wanted to try an experiment by having Richard go balls out for a shortened out-and-back, so he’d be ready to calm down and walk with me for a 4-5 mile climb. He wanted to meet me at the beginning of the climb, which is at the other end of the lake, about a mile from Dory. We wanted to give him a head start so he could go a certain amount of time in one direction, and then turn around and come back. I would wait a certain amount of time before starting my walk around the lake. The question was how much time would result in us meeting up around the start of the climb. This is that word problem where, if a train leaves New York at 8am going 55mpg, and a train leaves Los Angeles at 9am going 60 mpg, where do they meet? We figured, he goes about 3 mph, I go about 2. If we gave him an hour, he’d be 3 miles out. Then he’d turn around and I would simultaneously start. It would take me about a half hour to go a mile and he could cover about 3/4 of a mile coming back, so maybe we’d be within a 1/4 mile of each other. This was serious math we were doing here.

We started our one-hour timers at 7:47. He took off, I slowly started my day with coffee, shower, etc. At 8:47, both of our timers went off. I was ready to lock Dory and start up the trail. He had gotten to a good stopping point and started heading back down. I kid you not, I literally saw him reach the trailhead from about fifty yards away. Nailed it.

Elated with the success of the experiment, we walked together up the Mildred Lake trail. We knew in advance that we might not make it to the lake. There were reports of a bridge being out and a rather dangerous river crossing four miles up the trail. I knew that four miles one way, and a sixteen hundred foot climb would be plenty. The lake is another mile up after that, so you’d be looking at an over ten mile day. But I was ready to decide when we got to it too. We each carried an over abundance of water.

The trail is absolutely beautiful. From the views up the canyon, to the wildflowers and sounds of the river next to you, you can’t ask for more. Except maybe a bridge in that one place. We were both satisfied to stop at the site of the former bridge. The water was rushing very fast and the rocks, even dry, were slippery. Not worth risking our lives to see another lake.

Lots of the trail goes across rocks. Like not bouldering, but packed rocks about the size of baseballs. There wasn’t any scrambling, but you did have to watch your footing carefully most of the way.

We were tired but happy when we reached the bottom, and made a bee line for the resort. Our scheming had resulted in both of us getting what we needed and we were pretty pleased with ourselves. Those It’s Its were well earned and we enjoyed every bite. 

The final day was really about logistics and service. We needed some things in town and I was getting dangerously behind on blog writing. If I get more than two stops behind, I start to forget everything that happened. So we drove back to Mammoth, found a shady spot, and I typed. Richard walked around town some more, and, as is his way, found an excellent ice cream place called Local Scoop that had just opened and had five star reviews. The only problem with traveling with Richard is that I always want to partake in the delicious things he finds. But I burn way fewer calories than he does. I try to monitor the calories in/calories out on these trips, but my guess is that I will have gained some pounds back. But I’m not going to freak out about it. I mean, what is one supposed to do when you get a picture texted to you of a liege waffle topped with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of hot fudge? There is no other sane choice there.

We can add another gorgeous lake to the list of ones I did not boat on. I might have done so if there wasn’t so much afternoon wind. That does seem to be a theme here. Besides water sports, there is the canyon trail. Beyond that, you could rent horses or go fishing, if either of those is your thing. It’s an Instagram worthy location and we really enjoyed ourselves.

Total miles from New Shady Rest: 11.7, 13.5 mpg, 1 hour (including dump). Site 88. No hookups. Great solar. Not really much cell service. Good free, double sided dump. Potable water spigots on the left if you’re entering, or the right if you’re leaving. Flush toilets. Resort store and restaurant. Boat rentals.