So, Big Pine is a small town with some Big Problems. I've shared that in an article on our companion blog, Glam on the Lam. You can (and if you plan to spend much time in Big Pine you should) read that here. 

But there's some good, easily accessible, high-yield fishing if you know where to go.

So, I can't say this hike is necessarily easy. In fact, it isn't. But at least it is short-- and it is totally, completely worthwhile. In fact, it may be the best pain to pleasure ratio in all the hikes we've done.

​Families who are Mammoth regulars know how that the Adventure Center is a mecca of fun activities for kids with its rock wall, bungee tramp and pint-sized zipline.

Not only that, but its the portal to the Gondola Scenic tours, and vast hiking areas of the San Joaquin river areas, Devil's Postpile and Red's Meadow. Starting this summer, there are lots of new reasons to haul the littles up to the Center for easy-to-access activities. ​

Ok, call me a tacky tourist, Ugly American, whatever. But its safe to say that my kids are counting the days until the uber-tacky Mammoth Mega Zip zipline opens.

​And its not just my kids. I CAN NOT WAIT to try this myself with The Husband riding right next to me.

I'll never forget the time my girlfriend told me, "You should check out the bowling alley. It just opened and its really cool." Yah, right, I thought to myself. How cool could a bowling alley possibly be? But you know what? She was right.

If you're looking for a day of true mountainside adventure, there's nothing like challenging yourself with a day of climbing a mountainside, or at least a really big rock slab on a mountainside if you're a beginner like me.

What if I told you that on your drive to Mammoth you're within an hour of the oldest living things on Earth? 

What if I told you that those living things grow next to fallen, visible, naturally-preserved wood that pre-exists the pyramids,  earliest civilizations and even the ice age? ​