Owen Valley, CA

 

by Larry Koenig

 


What the Owens Valley means to the outdoors type is access to thousands of miles of the most spectacular high mountain trails in the country.  Trails originate all along the length of the valley.  The BLM provides crude but economical dry campgrounds at several locations and the Paiute Palace Casino in Bishop provides a free dry camping. 

 While the system of trails is immense and includes the Pacific Crest Trail for endless days of backpacking, incredible places can be reached just by modest day hikes.  The photos were all taken on day hikes in  mid October when the fall colors were already history and still it is an incredibly beautiful area and the temperature in the valley and in the mountains was near perfect.  A previous trip at the end of September caught the fall colors but the valley was unbearably hot though it was still comfortable in the mountains.

Don’t pass through Bishop without visiting Galen Rowell’s Mountain Light Photography and the Erick Schat's Bakery.  Galen Rowell died in a private plane crash in 2002 but his work, some of the best scenic photographs I have ever seen, is still on display.  Words cannot describe the Erick Schat’s Bakery which has what seems like a limitless variety of bread.  Shepherds bread is the signature bread but skip it.  Instead try a Russian raisin and pecan, olive or cheese bread.  If you arrive early in the morning, samples of three feature breads are usually available. For Spectacular views of Owens Valley go to:
Owens Valley, CA be sure to click on slideshow for full size photos.

 



 


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All photos are by Jack Yates unless otherwise noted.
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