Inyo National Forest

If you go Backpacking permits for the Inyo National Forest are free and can be picked up starting at 11 a.m. at the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center, 2510 Highway 203, Mammoth Lakes; (760) 924-5500, http://www.visitmammoth.com . The center has a large selection of books and maps, and backpackers can rent bear-proof cans to store food in. Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Walk-in permits are free and can be picked up at the Welcome Center starting at 11 a.m. the day before departure.

I wouldn't call it a vacation, exactly. Any time you have three pet llamas and a 3-year-old and you're covering 30 miles in less than a week, it's like, well, let's call it an adventure. My wife, Amber, and I and our high-energy daughter Ediza spent a week in early August exploring the breathtaking terrain between the Mammoth Lakes area and Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park. The adults got a chance to experience the high-elevation landscape through a child's eyes: sledding down a mound of snow on a sleeping pad, pretending to fish with a stick, collecting feathers along the trail, assigning names to the ants crawling on the ground.

If a hike that offers fabulous High Sierra vistas from its beginning, middle and end sounds appealing, this ridge-top ramble near Mammoth Mountain is the trek for you. Vistas are dominated by the Minarets, said to have been named for their resemblance to the spires on a Muslim temple. An eye-popping view of the saw-tooth-shaped range is easily gathered from Inyo National Forest's 9,265-foot Minaret Vista, the beginning of this hike.

If you go Backpacking permits for the Inyo National Forest are free and can be picked up starting at 11 a.m. at the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center, 2510 Highway 203, Mammoth Lakes; (760) 924-5500, http://www.visitmammoth.com . The center has a large selection of books and maps, and backpackers can rent bear-proof cans to store food in. Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Walk-in permits are free and can be picked up at the Welcome Center starting at 11 a.m. the day before departure.

On April Fools' Day the Inyo National Forest switched to a new system for dispensing permits to enter two popular Sierra wilderness areas. But local back-country enthusiasts and mountain guides were not laughing. They say the new reservation system will virtually lock locals out of the Ansel Adams and John Muir wilderness areas by letting distant city dwellers sign up for permits at prime times.

INYO National Forest, home to Mt. Whitney and the White Mountains, laid off 23 employees this month in a cost-cutting move to balance its budget. Among those who lost jobs were hydrologists, wildlife biologists, a deputy forest supervisor, an office assistant and a public affairs assistant. As a result, getting permits for mule packers and to build access roads is expected to take longer. However, the ranger staff will remain unchanged and the Mt.

THOUSAND ISLAND LAKE Ansel Adams Wilderness, Inyo National Forest Ask folks whether they've been to the Sierra, and they'll likely cite a well-tromped trail in Yosemite. But plunge deeper into California's iconic backyard and you get to Thousand Island Lake, a spot around 10,000 feet above sea level where teensy granite islands glitter in the sun, where alpenglow bouncing off Banner Peak rivals the Northern Lights, where you could spend slack-jawed hours staring at the landscape.

Five men hired to build a footbridge over a creek in Inyo National Forest fled the construction site last week after reportedly spotting an eight-foot-tall creature emitting "ear-splitting" screams. One witness said the creature was human-looking. Three others reported seeing a "shadow-like" figure standing in a clearing. The creature disappeared over a ridge after a worker fired one rifle shot in the air.

Remember gorp, the funky trail mix of the '80s? It went the way of hair bands when PowerBars hit the market, but today's outward-bound will find bona fide sustenance at GORP.com (Great Outdoor Recreation Pages). The home page kicks things off with editorial essays, travel deals and Web links -- all geared to experiencing the world outdoors. Seasonal and regional offerings make the site relevant locally. Click on "Close to Home" for day trips and current activities nearest you.

Hulda Crooks of Loma Linda, a 90-year-old great-grandmother attempting to become the oldest person to hike to the top of 14,494-foot-high Mt. Whitney, reached 13,777 feet before withdrawing because of altitude sickness, fatigue and the threat of lightning. Inyo National Forest officials pointed out that Crooks still holds the record. She reached the summit in 1985 at the age of 89.

THOUSAND ISLAND LAKE Ansel Adams Wilderness, Inyo National Forest Ask folks whether they've been to the Sierra, and they'll likely cite a well-tromped trail in Yosemite. But plunge deeper into California's iconic backyard and you get to Thousand Island Lake, a spot around 10,000 feet above sea level where teensy granite islands glitter in the sun, where alpenglow bouncing off Banner Peak rivals the Northern Lights, where you could spend slack-jawed hours staring at the landscape.

Clouds rolling over California taunted firefighters Tuesday, offering hope for moisture but sparking worries of "dry lightning" that could ignite more parched vegetation. The National Weather Service raised its fire threat level for the Bay Area, where lightning was expected through the evening, said forecaster Steve Anderson. Officials in the brown Sierra foothills were also trying to douse several large fires blazing since late last week.

INYO National Forest, home to Mt. Whitney and the White Mountains, laid off 23 employees this month in a cost-cutting move to balance its budget. Among those who lost jobs were hydrologists, wildlife biologists, a deputy forest supervisor, an office assistant and a public affairs assistant. As a result, getting permits for mule packers and to build access roads is expected to take longer. However, the ranger staff will remain unchanged and the Mt.

Remember gorp, the funky trail mix of the '80s? It went the way of hair bands when PowerBars hit the market, but today's outward-bound will find bona fide sustenance at GORP.com (Great Outdoor Recreation Pages). The home page kicks things off with editorial essays, travel deals and Web links -- all geared to experiencing the world outdoors. Seasonal and regional offerings make the site relevant locally. Click on "Close to Home" for day trips and current activities nearest you.

The two-lane highway through Lee Vining Canyon is one of the more spectacular in the state, switchbacking up 3,300 awe-inspiring feet from the Mono Basin west to the Tioga Pass and the eastern entrance of Yosemite. The route, California 120, is wild and winding, the canyon dotted with enough streams, lakes and campgrounds to make visitors in this part of the eastern Sierra forget about the national park next door. So forget about it I did.

Morning sunlight scattered off the ermine summit of 13,748-foot Morgan Peak, warming the crisp air as my waxed cross-country/telemark skis glided over the snow-covered road. Rivulets of sweat formed on my forehead, dribbling sun block into my eyes. Minutes earlier, a snowmobile loaded with luggage had roared past me, making short work of the two-mile-plus trek to the lodge; I was taking the more leisurely approach.

Clouds rolling over California taunted firefighters Tuesday, offering hope for moisture but sparking worries of "dry lightning" that could ignite more parched vegetation. The National Weather Service raised its fire threat level for the Bay Area, where lightning was expected through the evening, said forecaster Steve Anderson. Officials in the brown Sierra foothills were also trying to douse several large fires blazing since late last week.

JoBeth Brown, public information officer for Inyo National Forest, has a long list of things people do to get in trouble in the great outdoors: "A kid or dog will jump into a stream and can't get out because of the current. The adult jumps in to save him and soon everyone's in trouble. . . "At a popular campground, a coyote--which had been fed by humans--walks into a tent one night and nibbles on a small girl's head. . .

If a hike that offers fabulous High Sierra vistas from its beginning, middle and end sounds appealing, this ridge-top ramble near Mammoth Mountain is the trek for you. Vistas are dominated by the Minarets, said to have been named for their resemblance to the spires on a Muslim temple. An eye-popping view of the saw-tooth-shaped range is easily gathered from Inyo National Forest's 9,265-foot Minaret Vista, the beginning of this hike.

The cool air of a summer night in the mountains. The warmth of a roaring camp fire. The quiet splendor of the wilderness. Yeah, right. Anyone who has been car camping in California knows what a roll of the dice choosing a campground can be. Ever pitch your tiny two-person tent just a few feet from a motor home larger than your house? Or, wake up to the sound of a tape deck blasting that enduring campground anthem "Freebird?"