Each of the canyons and draws on the east slope of the Sweetwaters begins in Nevada and winds up in California. The Silverado Mine lies halfway up Silverado Canyon. Unmarked at the highway and accessed due west of the Sweetwater Ranch, there are remnants of the mine and other activity in the area. As always, visitors should use care to avoid open or obscured mineshafts and tunnels. Lightly trafficked and primitive, these sites are not marked. A trickling creek runs throughout the year, and cattle graze here in summer and fall.
At the southernmost end of the range, southwest of the Sweetwater Ranch, is Mount Patterson. Towering to 11,384 feet above sea level, Mount Patterson is accessible to approximately 10,900 feet by four-wheel drive road on the east slope. Star City, now just a vacant plateau, rests near 9,500 feet. Belfort, at 10,200 feet, qualifies as a ghost town, the remnant of a once productive silver and gold mining district.
The views from any angle of Mt. Patterson are spectacular. A 100-mile eastward panorama scans the Bodie Hills, Corey Peak (10,520 feet) and Mt. Grant (11,245 feet). Corey Peak, Mt. Grant, and Lucky Boy Pass (8,001 feet) lie due east in Nevada's Wassuk Range. The west side of Mt. Patterson, accessible by California dirt roads, provides a sweeping view of the Sierra Range.
Additional travels and activities in the area include the ghost towns of Bodie, Aurora, and Masonic. For fly-fishers, the East Walker River's acclaimed catch-and-release section is just below the Sweetwater Ranch. Dirt road access to Lucky Boy Pass leads to Mono Lake, California, or Hawthorne, Nevada. Nearby Bridgeport, California, provides meals, lodging and resources like camping, boating, and fishing at Bridgeport Reservoir or picturesque Twin Lakes.
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