Naturetastic Blog: Bald Mountain & Big Virginia Lake (Phone Pt. 3)

Friday, October 28, 2022

Bald Mountain & Big Virginia Lake (Phone Pt. 3) - Mammoth Lakes Trip

My parents and I spent 2 nights at Mammoth Lakes, CA between October 21 to October 23 in 2022. We explored Yosemite National Park, Inyo National Forest, Mono County, and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in California enjoying the scenery and autumn foliage. I took photos with my phone, my Olympus mirrorless camera, and my Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera. The photos will be split into several blog posts. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos!

Parts:

Cellphone: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Olympus: Part 1 | Part 2

Canon: Part 1 | Part 2

These photos were shot on my cellphone. The photos are from Bald Mountain in the Inyo National Forest and Big Virginia Lake in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

On day 3, after my parents and I finished exploring Mammoth Lakes, CA, we began our trip home. On the way home, my parents and I visited Bald Mountain and Virginia Lakes.

Our first stop was Bald Mountain in the Inyo National Forest. The view was better than I thought. It was quite windy at the peak. Bald Mountain Road (Forest Road 02S162) is a pretty good grade, and really wide, up until the last 1.5 miles section up to the lookout tower. The last 1.5 miles was not that easy to drive on. The last section road was only wide enough for one vehicle, so if you were going down and someone else is coming up, it would suck. The last section of road was also pretty steep and rocky. If you do decide to drive up Bald Mountain, take note! There is an offshoot trail on the last section to another hill, but the trail looked pretty narrow. I think you would need an ATV to drive over, or you'd have to walk that offshoot trail.

A scenery photo of a burned forest and Bald Mountain Road (Forest Road 02S162). The photo is from the Inyo National Forest.

A panorama of the Eastern Sierras (in the distance), forest, clouds, and Mono Lake & Paoha Island (in the distance on the right) shot at Bald Mountain Lookout. The photo is from the Inyo National Forest.

A photo shot inside the Bald Mountain Warming Hut. The photo is from the Inyo National Forest.

After Bald Mountain, my parents and I went to Virginia Lakes in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. We originally wanted to view autumn foliage at this lake, but I think we were 2 weeks too late. Almost all of the autumn foliage has already fallen off, and it was mostly just bare aspen trees in the area.

A scenery photo of Big Virginia Lake and mountains. The photo is from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

A panorama of Big Virginia Lake and mountains. The photo is from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

After Virginia Lakes in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest (cellphone photos only), we drove home via State Route 108 (Sonora Pass).

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.