Hikes Planned for Alabama Hills

The Bureau of Land Management will hold hikes in the Alabama Hills in February to discuss film history and view scenic arches.
 
“Film History in the Alabama Hills” hikes will be held Feb. 16 and 23. An “Explore the Arches” hike will be held Feb. 17. Participants in any of the hikes should meet at 10 a.m.at the Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitor Center, corner of Routes 395 and 136 in Lone Pine, to carpool to the site. The driving time is about 10 minutes.

“There are hundreds of arches throughout the Alabama Hills and participants will learn about the geologic processes lead to their formation,” said Dave Kirk, Alabama Hills steward for the BLM’s Bishop Field Office. 

The arches hike is a relatively moderate hike that enables you to view several arches in a seldom visited corner of the hills including the elegant “Hitching Post” Arch.  There will also be an option to make the hike into a loop, passing some historical movie locations and even more arches.

“There have been more than 400 movies and countless commercials filmed in the Alabama Hills” added Kirk.  “On the film history hike, participants will hear interesting and amusing stories about numerous productions as we explore the camera locations.  This walk covers an area of Movie Flat that includes locations from memorable films such as Gunga Din, Bad Day at Black Rock  and Tremors.”

The arches hike will take 1 to 1½ hours and is a relatively easy walk covering less than a mile.  The film history hike will take 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours and includes one moderately strenuous portion along a dirt road that descends and climbs out of a wash.  Each hiker should carry at least one liter of water and dress in layered clothing for a range of temperatures and windy conditions.

Central California District   2800 Cottage Way      Sacramento, CA 95825