Edison Lake Ferry Tour (continued)

If you're lucky, you'll see the osprey fishing. This day, the adult just watched us chug by. It was a gorgeous day. Ten days before, boat pilot DeWayne Kaestner said it had been a 'whiteout' from snow while going across the lake. At this altitude, you are never sure. There are always a few deer along the way and occasionally a bear is spotted."

"Mothers train their cubs to find food. It might be berries, bark or whatever, or it might be food swiped from careless campers. If it is the latter, then that method is perpetuated to the cubs and carried on. Bears are getting bolder, but campers are also to blame." Worse yet, said Gomez, are people who leave food out for deer and bear.

Gomez said local Mono Indians inhabited the valley, others came from Auberry and Piute Indians from the east side of the Sierra came each summer to trade acorns and baskets. It was a place they could camp, hunt and fish. There would be three or four family units in a single area", said Gomez. "Each year when they left, they set fire to the meadows. They knew it would burn off the dead stuff and clear the way for new growth. Acorn flour was a staple and is high in protein."

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