On June 5, National Trails Day, the June Lake Loop Trails subcommittee in conjunction with the Friends of the Inyo and the Inyo National Forest, conducted a volunteer trail crew event for the Gull Lake area.
The Gull Lake Trail Plan, recently adopted by the County of Mono, calls for a set of trails which encircle Gull Lake and will assist in giving pedestrians and hikers alternative routes from the June Lake Village to areas further down canyon, without having to walk along Highway 158. The trails are also design to eventually connect with the proposed "Rodeo Grounds" development area. ·

A series of small earthquakes has centered about two miles east of US 395 and just southeast of the June Lake Loop, The largest, a 3.2 Magnitude shaker was felt sharply in June Lake at 10:06 on Saturday. Other temblors were recorded including a 3.0 at 11:03pm Friday night, and a 3.1 at 9:45pm on Saturday evening. Although small earthquakes to the south near Mammoth and Tom's Place are very common in recent years, it has been unusual for any of them to be centered near June Lake. By Saturday evening over a dozen quakes in all have occurred ranging down to 1.4 magnitude.

USGS List Of Recent Nearby Earthquakes ·

With the harbinger storm that arrived in mid-October, the highest elevations of the Sierra Nevada have had several inches of early snowpack throughout the fall., although temperatures remained above normal, melting away the early snows at inhabited levels. The Thanksgiving weekend storm was kind to the June Lake/Lee Vining areas, favoring us with a lake effect from the Mono Basin and dropping a welcome white blanket (about eight inches in town at June Lake). As of this Monday morning in early December we are again receiving more snow, and the NWS forecasters expect storms to continue arriving throughout the week. It's looking good for the opening of June Mountain on Saturday December 19! ·

The community was saddened by the news of the death of Ron Black, a prominent citizen of the June Lake Loop for a dozen or more years, since retiring from nearly a half-century long career in military and civilian law enforcement to move here with his wife of then five years. Ron and Connie built the Double Eagle Ranch, Double Eagle Resort, Eagle's Landing Restaurant, and Creekside Spa. These properties have been regarded as a considerable contribution to our community as a full-featured resort.

Ron's community contribution did not stop there. Ron is very well remembered, and took a hand in community affairs for our betterment. He was involved in and achieved positive action in many boards and committees, including the Citizen's Advisory Commitee, june Lake Loop Chamber of Commerce, June Lake Fire Protection District, Mono County Planning Commission, and Mono County Grand Jury. He could also be known as an avid sportsman, here in an environment where fishing and hunting opportunities abound nearby.

His death comes after a long battle with serious illnesses which seemed to accelerate after his heart attack and subsequent transplant a few years ago. Services and Burial for Ron Black will be held in Southern California on October 19. Connie survives Ron along with his children Bettina, Ronda, Ralph, Kathy, and Kelli; son and daughters-in-law Art, John Allen, Kris and Karen; along with 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He will be missed by many. You can read the Mammoth Times obituary here. Ron Black was 71.

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On September 4, 2009, Jeanne Petrie, former June Lake resident of many years, and beloved by many local residents, passed away. There will be a celebration of her life at the June Lake Community Center at 1:00pm on Saturday October 10.

Jeanne was born in St. Cloud, Minn. on October 7, 1931, and moved with her family to the Los Angeles area as a young teenager. While attending Pasadena City College she met and married Russell Petrie. After retiring they moved to June Lake. and lived here many happy years before relocating to Bishop 11 years ago.

She is survived by her loving family: husband of almost 59 years Russ; daughters and sons-in-law, Mary and Craig Meinhard, Carol and Kris Leonard, Lisa and Gary Hellwig, Julie and Matt Monroe and Sandra and Jeff Smith; and grandchildren Jason, Reed, Audrey, Nathan, Russell, Ed, and Mollie. Jeanne also leaves many dear friends in Bishop, June Lake and Los Angeles.

She will be in our hearts and forever missed.

On October 10 at the June Lake Community Center, Family and friends can share their memories of this incredible woman of a loving heart. Remains will be scattered by family at a later date. ·

On Friday afternoon September 25, a woman described as of Asian descent and slight build, was hiking up the Rush Creek Trail near Agnew Lake with her husband. According to reports, the man decided he had gone as far as he wanted to go, and turned back. His wife, however, wanted to continue,and proceeded up the trail alone. When she did not return overnight, the Mono County Search and Rescue team was called. Fortunately, nighttime temperatures were quite warm for late September, as she lacked the proper gear for an overnight stay at high elevation.

A dozen or more rescuers, aided by a helicopter, searched the area throughout the morning on Saturday to no avail. Then, during mid-afternoon the woman found her way back, emerging from the woods along Highway 158 near Fire Station #2. She had scrapes on her body, likely from sliding down over rocks during her descent from the high country, and she was showing signs of dehydration. It was guessed that she must have gone up to the Carson Peak area and circled around, descending via Fern Creek or Yost Creek canyon.

Mono County Paramedics gave her a ride to Northern Inyo Hospital for evaluation.

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On August 26 firemen were conducting a prescribed fire near El Portal, under what were supposed to be tightly controlled conditions. At about noon the fire jumped out of its intended boundary and quickly became a large wildfire, sweeping through the Foresta and Big Meadow area toward Crane Flat in Yosemite National Park. Locally here in June Lake, we experienced some light to moderate smoke from this fire as well.

As the firefighting effort encroached State Route 120 through the Park, a section of that highway was closed from White Wolf to Crane Flat along with the Big Oak Flat Road and other area roads. Access between Yosemite Valley and many locations was hampered by the closure, although it was still possible to visit Tuolumne Meadows, Tenaya Lake and Olmstead Point from the Eastern side via Tioga Pass. Gateway communities such as Lee Vining and Groveland experienced a very noticeable reduction in tourism due to the road closures, which continued through the Labor Day weekend. The roads were reopened on the morning of Tuesday September 8, with clean-up operations and hazard tree removal continuing. The 171 firefighters had the 7,425 acre blaze contained before September 10.

You can go to the official Incident Report Page for more details.

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June Lake lies two miles from the south junction of U.S. Highway 395 with California State Route 158. The view from the end of the lake at "Oh! Ridge" is most photogenic, and the subject of thousands of snapshots. At the other end of the lake lies the main village and business district of the community of June Lake, California. Often described as "quaint," downtown June Lake offers a number of lodges, shops, restaurants and taverns.

The lake itself is approximately one mile long and a half mile wide, and is served by two marinas, where you may rent a fishing boat or launch your own. June Lake can also be ideal for sailing and sailboarding. At the northeast end is a swimming beach, popular in the Summer months, and there are campgrounds and RV parks surrounding the lake as well as in town.

If you have never before taken the side trip off of Highway 395, you will be pleasantly surprised, and will probably return again and again.

The June Lake Loop Road travels sixteen miles through the Rush Creek and Reversed Creek canyons, returning to US 395 from points six miles apart. From the Junction Store over Oh! Ridge and past June Lake, through the Village and Gull Lake areas, you will arrive at the June Mountain Ski Resort. Continuing down canyon one passes through the Petersen and Clark Tracts, arriving at the base of Dream Mountain and Carson Peak. From here the Rush Creek Hydroelectric Station controls Rush Creek at its confluence with Reversed Creek, and the road continues past Silver Lake, home of the Eastern Sierra's oldest fishing resort, and finally the Grant Lake Reservoir. The loop is completed by traveling alongside Lower Rush Creek back to US 395 and turning south through the Aeolean Buttes, the oldest volcanic formation in the Mono Lake Basin. Arriving back at the South Junction, we can stop to refuel. ·

The newly formed June Lake Loop Historical Society held its first General Annual Meeting on August 6 at the June Lake Community Center. About thirty interested persons were in attendance as President Dan Roberts gave a welcome address and a brief overview of the origins of the June Lake community. The program consisted of Ron Dunn, longtime summer resident at Silver Lake, who gave a talk on his experiences in the 1940's when there was gambling in June Lake and he and his father were the operators of a slot machine business. Then Igor Vorobyoff spoke about the natural history of the area. Several individuals joined the Society as members and there were some displays of old photos and artifacts, including a mounted Steelhead Trout caught in the twenties by renowned area photographer Burton Frasher. The evening ended with refreshments and sharing of many stories of the past by the participants.

visit the historical society webpage at junelakeloophistory.org ·