Conveniently located, just off 395, between Bishop and Mammoth Lakes…

I had heard mention of the “Crowley Columns” from someone…possibly my friend Sam. Then, sometime last year, I saw more details at https://californiathroughmylens.com/crowley-lake-columns/ I added it to my Eastern Sierra “to do” list. This past week I made a whirlwind tour of the Sierra with a friend from Ohio. He was driving a rented 4WD Wrangler, and I was in my Outback, so off we went!

I was in charge of navigation, so the above picture is likely on our way out! Using the coordinates of the Columns, at the easternmost bend in the lakeshore, plus the instructions in the link above, we only made one wrong turn! It was quite helpful to have an AT&T signal, for a satellite map…

At one point, we reached a steep downhill, which looked like my (I-wish-I-had-bought-the-6-cylinder) Outback might have a problem coming back up. We were less than an mile away, and the weather was great. We parked and walked from there.

How did these come about? Excellent question! They were completely unknown and invisible until a few decades ago. This article is hard to paraphrase, so take a look for yourself: https://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-adv-volcanic-columns-mystery-20151115-story.html

It’s definitely accessible by canoe or kayak. We saw some water skiiers, as well, out on the lake.

If you decide to go, note that there are no signs, no water, and it can get very warm here! It is not an official tourist attraction…yet!