Source: 2007 Q4 Beartracks, Pat & Carol Fagan
“Goodbye God, I’m going to Bodie.” Those chilling words were penned by 11 year old Anna Lockmoor in 1879 when her family moved there in search of their fortune. Bodie was known as the wildest mining camp in the west and once sported a population of 10,000. It was said there was an average of one murder per day.
Today, the remaining town is a State Park and is in remarkably good shape. The state maintains it in a state of “arrested decay”, which means they will repair roofs and foundations but otherwise the buildings are left alone. What is truly fascinating about the town is that when the residents abandoned the town, they mostly left all their belongings behind. Even more remarkable is that over the years antique hunters and vandals left the town alone. Walking the streets, looking inside the windows of the shops, you get the eerie feeling that the inhabitants must have been spirited away by aliens.
Having long been fascinated with the town, I once searched for a landing spot near by. I don’t know how I missed them, but it wasn’t until much later while looking at a sectional I noticed two dry lakes north of town. This past summer Carol and I flew over the dry lakes on our way to Arlington and, from altitude, they looked land able. Although excited to make the trip I chose to wait until the weather cooled off some and wouldn’t you know, by the time the planned departure date came we were not so much concerned with heat as much as snow. An early fall snow storm threatened to cancel the trip for the year but it turned out not to be a factor.

The westernmost dry lake is more than twice the size of the eastern one. I intended to land on the larger one but noticed on close inspection that there are a lot of large rocks scattered about. In addition, the surface looked pock marked with divots of an indeterminate depth. We flew over to investigate the eastern dry lake and found it to be in much better shape. Both lakes sit in somewhat of a bowl formed by a lava dike. Wanting to test the surface prior to landing, I set up for a touch and go, but the combination of dropping into the lake over the dike, coupled with the high ground speed due to the high 8500’ field elevation caused me to rethink the wisdom of landing on the smaller lake bed. We diverted back to the large lake bed and I found a line that would allow me to miss the larger rocks. I made a trial pass, bouncing the wheels on the surface and found it to be hard and relatively smooth. One more time around and we were down and taxing to the southern edge of the lake bed. While tying down the plane I discovered I had landed down wind, so the eastern lake bed would have been sufficiently long.
The town is a 4 to 4.5 mile hike south, on the other side of the hill. There is a 500’ to 1,000’ elevation gain and loss each direction. The variation depends on whether you choose to contour around the hill or climb all the way to the hilltop. That may not sound like much, but coupled with the high elevation, the trip can be strenuous. It is also possible to mountain bike to town as there is a decent road that winds along Bodie Creek to the east. It is about 7.5 miles to town by bicycle, but the elevation change is only 400’. Unfortunately, there is no camping in town, so you will have to hike back to the plane to overnight. To get the most from your walking tour walk south through town to the entrance station.


Although you could avoid paying the entrance fee, the detailed walking guide you get when you pay is well worth the few dollars. We only had time to glance in a few buildings, yet we saw some incredible sights. The undertaker’s office had several coffins inside. A casino had an old slot machine, roulette tables with chips scattered around, and a bar still stocked with bottles. A mercantile looked as if you could walk right in and purchase all the supplies you needed, provided you didn’t mind the dust. Spend some time in Bodie and you’ll come away charmed.