This kayak trip destination is excerpted from the “Killer Trips” feature in Adventure Kayak magazine. 

Mono Lake State Natural Reserve, California

Perched at 6,384 feet in the Eastern Sierras, the flat basin that cradles Mono Lake also creates an unobstructed tunnel for storms to flow through. Lightning, when it strikes, can ignite wildfires fanned by gusting 70-mph winds. Get a weather update at the ranger station in Lee Vining before launching at Navy Beach on the lake’s south shore. From here it’s a short paddle to reach unrivalled seasonal birdwatching and the famous tufa towers—calcium-carbonate spires formed by freshwater springs interacting with the alkaline lake water. Mono has no outlet, and thousands of years of evaporation have concentrated minerals in the water, making this puddle more than twice as salty as the ocean. www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=514

This article is a sneak preview from the Early Summer 2013 issue of Adventure Kayak. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.