BLM Dispatch #22 - Highway 120 East
I was driving north on California’s Hwy 395, Mono Lake just about to come into view, when I spotted a road sign for Highway 120 pointing east toward Benton.
Until then, my only experience with 120 was heading west into Yosemite via Tioga Pass and Tuolumne Meadows.
I’d driven this stretch of the 395 dozens of times, always craning my head towards the range of light, staring at the formidable chain of Sierra Nevada peaks rising a mile high from the sagebrush covered foothills.
I’ve walked a hundred miles of that high country, mostly along sections of the Pacific Crest Trail. I’ve switchbacked over the passes, swum in icy lakes, camped in the meadows, and watched shooting stars rip across the sky. Each excursion brought adventure, but I never felt…what’s the word…comfortable? Peace?
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