"BIG PINE - GATEWAY TO MUCH TALLER... " a Big Pine Travel Page by mtncorg

Big Pine is just a little stop in the road - not much more than a road junction and a garage. Most travelers along US 395 barely slow down. But the roads branching out lead to some of California's most exciting landscapes. Head east - up CA 168 - and you will traverse the wide trench of the Owens River Valley. Mountain walls rise up on either side to over 14000 feet! Ahead lies the steady hard climb up to 7271 foot high Westgard Pass. En route you can see the vast radio antennae farm that is featured in lots of movies. The antennae are all pointed upward, in anticipation of the realization of the X Files. Continue upwards and you will plunge into the heart of the White Mountains, home of the World's oldest living things - the bristlecone pines. You will also be treated to an extraordinary view of the Sierran range in much of its entirety - from Mt Whitney to the peaks of the eastern Yosemite Park. Head west from Big Pine, and you will be directly en route for the trailhead at Glacier Lodge. These two main trails will take you into the heart of some of the wildest and most dramatic scenery you will find in the Range of Light.