Trail News / A Great Hike in the Morning and Skiing All Afternoon

A Great Hike in the Morning and Skiing All Afternoon

My good friend Stan Bales who works as a Recreation Planner for The Bureau of Land Management decided to come visit us in Mammoth Lakes. Stan loves the great outdoors and always tries to fit a lot into each day (life is short). I wanted to take him hiking and skiing and he only had one full day to spend here. Well, Mammoth Lakes delivers on opportunities close to home and we decided to take a beautiful hike and ski in the same day.

The Convict Lake Loop sits just to the east of the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and does not get as much snow as Mammoth Lakes, just a few miles away. The trail around the lake is in good condition thanks to some work in recent years. The trail on the north side of the lake was dry on our hike and we connected to the Convict Creek Trail that leads into the John Muir Wilderness Area. We hiked for about 2 hours and took a break to chat about life, work, trails, and adventures. The scenery was stunning and Stan was in his element.Â After taking a few photos, we headed back to the trailhead where we parked.

Then, in just a few minutes, we were back in Mammoth Lakes getting our ski gear on. We walked a short distance to one of the many bus stops, hopped on the free bus, and hopped on the Panorama Gondola at Main Lodge. From the top of Mammoth Mountain we could see forever, and Stan pointed out some peaks he had climbed when he was a young man. We both smiled and pushed off into the backside of Mammoth Mountain. We made turns together, talked on the chairlift, and bonded as people do when they spend time together in the great outdoors. Mammoth Lakes has a way of bringing people together on beautiful winter days with such a diverse menu of opportunities for outdoor recreation.