The Eastern Sierra is often referred to as “the other side of California." California's High Sierra Region's eastern kingdom is filled with some of the Sierra's most rugged and magnificent terrain. The eastern Sierra stretches from Lone Pine in the south to the Nevada line in the north and contains many of the Sierra's most awe inspiring settings. From the highest mountain in the lower U.S., Mount Whitney to the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park, this side of the sierra is truly remarkable.
Convict Lake has magical and mysterious appeal from the lake’s picturesque crystal clear waters, and is one of the most photographed and famous bodies of water in California’s Eastern Sierra. Unlike many drive-to lakes in the region, Convict Lake was created naturally. It sits snuggled in a box canyon, some 7,583 feet high in the Sierra Nevada. Just south of Mammoth Lakes and a measly couple miles from Scenic Highway 395, Convict Lake has long been popular with anglers and photographers; both pastimes being easily rewarded by the gorgeous alpine lake teeming with trout. In September of 1871, a group of convicts escaped from Carson City, Nevada, and were cornered by a local posse by the lake. A shootout took place and two members of the posse were killed, including Benton merchant Robert Morrison. The biggest peak above the lake, Mount Morrison, was named in his honor and the lake was renamed after the incident.
A fresh snow blankets a forest of Ponderosa Pines near Mammoth Lakes, California. Ponderosa Pine is perhaps the most beloved of the Western pines. Its soft texture and light color distinguish it from the Southern pines; its wood is among the most beautiful of all pines. Withstanding of high winds and generally fire resistant, the ponderosa pine is the most widely distributed species of its genus in North America. The prolific ponderosa reproduces through seeds in cones and takes about two years to fully mature. Ponderosa pines can be found all across the country -- from Yosemite National Park in California and Hells Canyon Wilderness in Oregon to Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota and Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.
