Crystal Crag, Lake George

Northern California, a few miles outside of Mammoth Lakes. A piece of heaven. There’s a lodge, Wood’s Lodge, and a lake, Lake George, which lies at the ankles of Crystal Crag – a quartzite mountain jutting up to roughly 10,000 feet. You can hike to the top and soak your feet in tiny mountain pools, or just sit at the lake’s edge and watch the clouds pass and the mood change. Either way, it’s not a place easy to forget.