I have traveled to Lone Pine, California for each of the last two summers. The main draw for me is, of course, Mt Whitney. This hike is on many bucket lists and I was fortunate enough to snag an overnight permit in 2019 for some unforgettable camping. That, however, will be the subject of a future post.
Lone Pine has a lot more to offer than a ridiculously brutal day hike. Alabama Hills is a nice spot, there is an abandoned gold mine to explore nearby, and after losing 10,000 calories on Whitney, there are a few nice restaurants to tank up. One spot that doesn’t get a lot of press is the Mt Whitney Cemetery. I came here after my two day hike up and around Whitney (and my sleepless overnight at Outpost Camp), and when I felt like I wasn’t too far off from just pounding in my own tombstone and calling it an eternity.
The Lone Pine area is home to several interesting resting spots for some of the earliest settlers to the area. Mt. Whitney Cemetery, founded in 1864 by the Knights of Pythias (during their very early days), is probably the most well known and certainly the largest, being the final resting spot for hundreds of souls and souls to be (it’s still an active cemetery). Located just north of Lone Pine, and offering spectacular views of Mt Whitney to the west and the Inyo range to the east, it is an idyllic place for a final resting spot.
There are a number of very early graves here, most likely the earliest settlers to the area. I also like the fact that Gustav Marsh is buried here (he was instrumental in the construction of the Mt Whitney Trail that we all enjoy). The place has an eerie reverence about it, as if those buried here know they have won the cemetery lottery. I mean, it must suck to die but to be located in such an imposing place seems like a reasonable perk. I’ve seen some pretty uninspiring final resting places in my day… but this one would be high on my list.
I was also impressed by the diversity of tombstones. Some are very nice and a few represent an entire family plot. Others in the area are simply rickety wooden crosses with no name or information. Some are for infants or young children (they always get me right in the feels) and some are for anonymous folks. Lots of interesting/tragic stories are buried in these graveyards and I would love to spend some time to figure out how these people came to wind up here. Life stories and death stories are both fascinating!
Across the street from Mt Whitney cemetery is a fairly nondescript fence enclosing the mass grave of a bunch of victims from the massive earthquake that occurred in Lone Pine back in 1872. There was a moderate earthquake in the area in June, 2020 that caused damage to the Whitney trail. The 1872 earthquake was almost 1000 times more severe, destroying most of Lone Pine. There is a plaque here and a cool virtual geocache (GC9345), but while I was here (pretty much all alone), I had a visit from Alice. Alice was a little girl killed in the earthquake and buried in the mass grave. She seemed playful and wanted me to visit the nearby pedunculate oak (GC81Z34), which I did. I grabbed a couple of acorns from the tree to try to grow here in San Diego (actually I’ve tried twice now) and haven’t had much luck. Maybe she just does this to get me to visit her more often!