Black Point Fissures and Bodie Ghost Town...

May 8, 2014

Thursday morning we decided we that we weren't finished with Mono Lake. With more hiking in mind we bought breakfast at the Whoa' Nellie Deli in Lee Vining. It is known as the Mobil Restaurant because it is inside a Mobil gas station and convenience store! The chef serves a real gourmet menu, including wine to go with your dinner. Apparently, it is quite the spot having been written up many times. We had huge, delicious breakfasts, then drove on another gravel road to the north side of Mono Lake to hike up the crater and Black Point and find the fissures.

No photo of the enormous breakfast burrito but here's the view from the Mobil.

Greg's commentary – Black Point is another volcanic dome. It is considered the the world's best example of an underwater eruption of lava and ash that is now completely above water. It erupted 13,000 years ago when the lake was 900 feet deep but is now 700 or so feet above lake level. As the dome cooled, vertical fissures opened in the surface. Today, these fissures remain as slightly eroded slot canyons in the otherwise smooth dome. The extend for several hundred yards and range in depth from a few feet to about 50 feet, with a width of one foot to about 15 feet.



The parking lot is on the lake side of the crater, so we could see the islands filled with nesting California Gulls. The majority of the gulls in California, fly over the Sierra Nevada to Mono Lake to nest and raise their chicks. They feed on the brine shrimp and brine fly larvae in the algae-rich water.

Black Point dome from across the lake

Mono Lake from the end of Black Point Road

Bird nesting areas on the islands.

The bottom of Black Point is dark gray sand from the pumice created by the lava. The first part of the the climb up, which has no trail, was like walking on a soft beach, but we had to weave our way around the bushes. Greg suggested that I bring the new trekking poles that I've never used. I was so glad I did! What a difference they made. He used a wooden walking stick, so we were quite the pair.

The climb up Black Point is about 2 miles with 500 foot elevation gain. No trail, just picking our way through the sage brush.

The weather was starting to warm up and the tough uphill climb in the higher altitude, warmed us up and slowed our (my) progress. We had only a rough idea where the fissures were, since we had no trail and only a brief description of where to find them. After tromping around for awhile, we found them and spent time exploring them and climbing down and through one of them.

The smooth, brush-covered dome hides the fissures until you are a few feet away.

The rocks are welded ryolite ash flows with a few interlayered lava flows.

Travertine deposits on the walls from cooling hydrothermal springs or geysers.

Lava-colored lizard on ryolite tuff

More fierce wildlife

Dust devils of toxic alkali sediments on the former lake bottom.

The hike back down took less time than going up, so we got back, with time to drive away from Mono Lake and further north on Route 395 towards Bridgeport. Greg made an impulsive right turn onto the road to Bodie State Historic site. The 13 mile trip up to over 8,000' elevation was on a paved road until the last three miles. Then we went onto a gravel road that had been closed for the winter. Repair crews were grading the surface and putting down more dirt over the bedrock. Wow! What a rough mess! We rocked and rolled all the way up the hill.


The Gold Rush town of Bodie at one time had 10,000 people living there. It was known as a very dangerous place with lots of murders and other violent crimes. Today only about 5% of the town still stands. A fire destroyed most of it. The state of California has left the town as it existed when it was finally abandoned in the 1930's. The buildings still have furniture in them, and the state maintains the town with “Arrested Decay”. Nothing is touched or changed.

The weather was very windy and overcast, which added to the desolate mood of the place. We took time to wander around the buildings and consider life there, high up in the mountains with no trees, and lots of mines with their accompanying tailing piles. Some of the California State Park employees live in the houses in Bodie. There isn't anywhere nearby for them to commute from.

The Methodist Church

Old safe left in the bank ruins

The old mill for processing gold ore is too unstable for public entry.

Siding from old kerosene tins

Bodie proved to be an interesting glimpse into the past. We drove back down the rough road, glad to finally get to the pavement and out to Route 395 again. Time to find a boondock for the night. After one unsuccessful try down a gravel road, we drove through Bridgeport and out into the nearby mountains. We found a spot in the pines of the Toiyabe National Forest, overlooking Buckeye Creek. We couldn't see the creek down the steep bank below us, but we could hear it as we settled in for the night.

Beautiful spot under the Jeffrey Pines