Fishmas is fabulous! We know you love fishing in the Eastern Sierra. Maybe you’re with a family of fishers and you don’t fish OR you find that you need a change of pace or scenery; here are a few suggestions of alternative things to do during Fishmas.
Spring is almost here in the Eastern Sierra. The snow is melting and the water is falling. Plan a trip to the wild side of California and take time to see some of these wonderful waterfalls.
Road Trip! Pick your path along US Highway 395, from Los Angeles to Bishop and little beyond, where you will see some of the most curious, grotesque, mysterious and awe-inspiring features of nature and feats of humankind. The Eastern Sierra is often referred to as “the other side of California,” and these places might also make it “the weird side of California.”
I didn’t mean to fall in love with fishing.
Sure, we dated on and off over the years. I did some casting along the North Atlantic as a kid. I threw some lures in the Rocky Mountains and the rivers of the Northwest when I was a young man. But it was never more than casual dating.
There are few places in the world where evidence of the natural history of a region is more obvious and interesting than in the Eastern Sierra. The forces that have shaped our world have produced an astonishing assortment of observable characteristics that give us insight into the creation of this part of our planet.
Payahǖǖnadǖ. “Place of flowing water.” (Numic)
The place of flowing water is the Owens Valley, as it is now more commonly known. It was once a wet, flood plain where water flowed into a large lake at the southern end of the valley. The Owens River still weaves its way through this beautiful valley and water, once again, flows all the way to the lakebed and into large ponds that are home to a remarkable variety of resident and migratory birds.
The railroad in the Owens Valley was more than just a stretch of the imagination. It was a vision inspired by tales of rich strikes in the mines of California, when a lull in mining activity was settling on the Comstock and in Virginia City, Nevada.
“Let us have a railroad from Carson City to Colorado,” wrote a journalist in a Nevada newspaper in 1871.
Several surveys were made by the Virginia & Truckee (V&T) Railway Company by the late 1870s to run a line south from Carson City. By 1880 a line was laid as far as Bodie and on May 10, 1880 the Carson & Colorado (C&C) Railroad Company was incorporated.
Much speculation was made about an intended final destination in southern California, but nothing was made official until March 25, 1882 when the company announced it would build over Montgomery Pass, into the Owens Valley and toward Mojave.
Photography is a passion for many in the Eastern Sierra.
For those who live here or visit regularly photography is often a daily activity. Sometimes it’s just a momentary opportunity to snap a quick image. Other times it’s a commitment to time and place to capture a specific scene.
First time visitors are, almost without fail, thoroughly awestruck by the grandeur of this landscape. Cameras and smartphones are ubiquitous in the hands of tourists and frequently pointed toward the peaks of the Sierra Nevada. It stands to reason then that this beautiful region is one of the most photographed in California.
Host an OWAC Conference
Follow us on Facebook
© 2023 Outdoor Writers Association of California.
Site designed by Wave Cloud Creative
Subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter for the latest outdoor news.