Early in 2020, Chris and I originally planned on spending our one year wedding anniversary in Japan. Like most things that happened in the last year due to the pandemic, that trip was ultimately cancelled. Instead, we planned for a short trip to Mammoth Lakes! We went in late August, which was too hot for my liking, but we still had fun!
Alabama Hills
Our first stop on the way to Mammoth Lakes was Alabama Hills! I first learned about this place after seeing a friend post a hiking photo a few years back it was so nice to finally see it in person! The Alabama Hills are a range of hills and rock formations near the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada in the Owens Valley, west of Lone Pine in Inyo County, California. The last bit of the road was mostly dirt – we initially planned on hiking to Mobius Arch but it was too hot so we walked around for a bit before heading out.
Mammoth Brewing Company
After exploring Alabama Hills, we finished the remainder of the drive to Mammoth Lakes. When we got into town, we drove to the Village where we grabbed lunch at Mammoth Brewing Company. They had outdoor seating which were a first come and first serve basis. Luckily for us, we found a table right away!
We both got our usual pulled pork sandwiches and a side of sweet potato tater tots! I say usual because you can never go wrong with a pulled pork sammich hehe. Also, their aioli was amazing.
Gondola Ride at Mammoth Mountain
Since we had time to kill before our check-in at the Airbnb, Chris and I decided to do the scenic gondola ride at Mammoth Lakes! The tickets weren’t too bad and since it wasn’t busy, we were able to get on a gondola fairly quick. The panoramic view of Mammoth Mountain was beautiful; however, I’m sure it would’ve been more beautiful during winter with all the snow that Mammoth usually gets. It got extremely windy towards the top, and our gondola stopped for a good five minutes before moving again so that was enough to give me a panic attack.
The elevation at the top of Mammoth Mountain was at 11,853 feet, which was craaaazy high. Probably the highest elevation I’ve been in – Eagle Lake was at approximately 10,000 feet and Heather Lake at 9,280 feet! Whew. The ride back down was 100x better than going up.
Our first day at Mammoth Lakes was super fun! After checking in to the Airbnb, we pretty much just stayed in and ate leftovers for dinner.
