Another Trip, Day Three

None of us on the trip had ever been to the National Monument of Devil’s Postpile, a weird rock formation. (Have you noticed that the word “weird” can describe most of what we saw while on the East Side of the Sierra Nevada?)

Frankly speaking, this thing ain’t worth the trip. The entrance gate didn’t warn us to park above and catch a shuttle, and then after a long winding bumpy road, we got to an overfull parking lot. What?? We parked in one for overnight parking only and walked back to the trailhead. A poo-ranger decided to clean the women’s restroom at the busiest time of day and there was a very long line. The short trail was crowded and dusty, and then this is what we saw.

This is it.
Can we go now??
There was a touch of fall color along the trail.

We headed back up the road, looking forward to the view point for the Minarets. As we were leaving, the entrance station guy asked to see our permit! Well how do you think we got past you as we headed in, Mister Bossy-pants??

This was Trail Guy’s favorite part.
There were 2 awesomely simply viewing devices. When you lined up the pipe with a peak name, you could look through the pipe and see that peak. We spent some time trying to decide where to put such a thing in Mineral King.
This is Banner Peak, a mountain that is wildly popular in backcountry photos. It looks different from this angle, but I was thrilled to see it because it appears in a book I edited and designed, “Trail of Promises” by Louise A. Jackson.

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2 Comments

  1. Agreed on the Devil’s Postpile. The first time I saw it was at the end of a long backpack trip and the area’s restrooms were more appealing than the jumbled basalt pilings. But they definitely are another east side oddity! (columns, not privies)

    • Louise, seeing Banner Peak from the Minarets vista point was a highlight for me! And I am glad to hear we aren’t the only ones with a “meh” reaction to this pile of rocks.

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