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Devils Postpile National Monument
The regular-shaped basalt bricks tumbled all over the ground at the Devils Postpile are as impressive as the 18 metre (60 foot) ridge of columnar basalt behind them.
California’s Eastern Sierra region is a remote and vast wilderness, lightly populated and replete with extensive rugged and magnificent terrain. Sitting in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada, the mountains here rise steeply from the prairies and deserts to the east.
The largest industry in the Eastern Sierra is tourism: based in tiny localities and small cities, and focused on getting people into the extensive national parks, national forests, state parks, and protected wilderness areas. You could get lost for days and weeks on the back-country hiking paths and trails.
Fortunately for me, you can access some pretty uniques and remarkable places with short walks as well!
I was staying with a fellow-photography-enthusiast at her home in Mammoth Lakes, in Mono County California (see: Waters and Wildflowers). Well known as a winter skiing base, the town also provides easy access to nearby summer trails.
It was a short, early-morning drive to next-door Madera County and the Devils Postpile parking lot. From there, it’s a delightful walk into the expansive Inyo National Forest, the fabled Ansel Adams Wilderness, and the Devils Postpile National Monument. Our 8.5 km (5.3 m) part-circuit and part out-and-back walk took us to the magnificent formation of basalt columns known as the Devils Postpile (How I wished for an apostrophe and a hyphen, but that is American English for you!), leading us along a short section of the John Muir Trail/Pacific Crest Trail before we branched off towards the very pretty Rainbow Falls.
The Devils Postpile sits at 2286 m (7500 ft), which is higher than mainland Australia’s highest mountain, so the extra 230 m (758 ft) gain and loss of elevation on our walk slowed me down … as did the scenery along the way.
Join me for a walk in the High Sierras.
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Devils Postpile
It’s a short walk from the carpark to the lofty, 18 m (60 ft) columns of strikingly symmetrical basalt rising above us. The Postpile faces west, and we hadn’t checked the Photographer’s Ephemeris, so of course, the sun was in our eyes and the rocks were bathed in shadow.
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At the Base of the Devils Postpile
According to radiometric dating, the formation was created by a lava flow just under 100,000 years ago. It is thought that the lava that makes up the Postpile was at the bottom of the mass, allowing it to cool slowly and evenly, which gives rise to the long symmetrical columns.
Trees on the Postpile
Basalt columns are a common feature resulting from volcanos, but this is considered one of the world’s finest examples due to its hexagonal regularity and lack of horizontal joining.
Fireweed (Chamaenerion Angustifolium)
When we leave the Postpile cliff behind, we follow the path through a tangle of undergrowth and flowers …
Nature’s Sculpture
… and artfully sculpted fallen timbers.
Dried Bits against the Sky
This is an arid – and often fire-ravaged – region. Drought and the consequent rise of mountain pine beetles have also taken their toll.
Walkers in the Woods
These are conifer forests of tall pine and fir trees.
Burned Logs
The 1992 Rainbow Fire here in the Inyo National Forest was started by a lightening strike, and burned out 8000 acres of forest.
Rainbow Fire Totem
Charred trees still stand as markers amid the new growth. In areas of ‘high severity fire’ the regrowth has been sparse and limited to certain species.
Like a Burned Totem
The charred timber of this standing tree trunk is like an elaborate sculpture.
Ansel Adams Country
Photography enthusiasts know the name Ansel Adams: American landscape photographer and environmentalist. This 93,698 ha (231,533 acre) wilderness area was named for him after his death in 1984. It spans the Inyo National Forest, the Sierra National Forest, and includes nearly all of Devils Postpile National Monument.
Fledgeling Pine
Conifers are slow-growing, so damage takes a long time to regenerate.
Old Damage
Burned out, blown down, and/or rotting tree trunks provide animal homes and ground nutrients.
Fireweed (Chamaenerion Angustifolium)
In the Inyo National Forest
The name Inyo comes from a Native American word meaning “dwelling place of the great spirit.” As we walk along the Middle Fork San Joaquin River, I can easily imagine spirits living here.
Top of Rainbow Falls
After a 4 km (2.5 mi) walk, we reach the top of these very pretty 30 m (101 ft) falls.
Stony Pathway at Rainbow Falls
In the right light, rainbows form in the spray at the bottom of the falls. We weren’t lucky enough to find any.
Katy on the Path
Wildflowers are in bloom everywhere.
Nature’s Artworks
The extreme climate leads to twisted trees and hardy flowers; …
A Natural Bouquet
I think these are a type of Hymenoxys.
Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea)
Riders in the Forest
This is a shared track, …
On the Dusty Trail
… as we are reminded when a trail ride goes past.
Columnar Basalt
Our return trail takes across the top of the Devils Postpile, …
Polygonal Shapes
… giving us a bird’s eye view of the tops of the contracted basalt columns.
On Top of the Postpile
The cooled remnants of the lava flow have been carved, shaped, and polished by the powerful erosive forces of wind, water, earthquakes, and glaciers over the last 80,000 to 100,000 years.
Ranger Michael
As we walk back down the Postpile, we come across Ranger Michael, who is explaining how to tell the difference between the two main trees in the forest: lodgepole pines (Pinus contorta) and Jeffrey pines (Pinus jeffreyi).
Pine Needles
Unfortunately, I have forgotten which is which!
Devils Postpile
We get one last (slightly better lit) look at the Postpile before returning to our car.
As much as it would have been better to have done our homework, and to have explored this area in better-angled sunlight, it is better to have the sun in your eyes than not to go at all!
And, to paraphrase Hellen Keller, if you keep your face to the sun, you’ll never see the shadows.
Keep Smiling!
Photos: 17July2013
[…] before on our short drive west to the Devils Postpile, where we took the hike to Rainbow Lake (see: The Devils Postpile), before walking around Agnew Meadow (see: Wildflowers). We passed it again, on our way back to the […]