Would-Be Miners and Occasional Tourists
Building the Tioga Road
“The Road to Broken Dreams”
The Tioga Road began as a rough track up the western slope of the Sierra to the mining town of Bennettville near Tioga Pass. Although built to promote mining in the wild high country, the road never served its intended purpose. By the time it was finished in 1883, the mining boom was over. The route fell into disrepair.
A Road Through the Wilderness
A few decades later, interest in the road was revived as people began visiting the Sierra for reason other than extracting resources. Ironically, the push to blast the road through Lee Vining Canyon came from sightseers drawn to the high country by its wild beauty. Construction crews completed this portion of the road around 1910. Across the road you can see drill holes for the dynamite used during construction.
[Side bar on left]:
“To the laborer in the sweat of his labor, the raw stuff on his anvil is an adversary to be conquered. So was the wilderness an adversary of the pioneer. But to the laborer in repose, able for the moment to cast a philosophical eye on his world, that same raw stuff is something to be loved and cherished, because it gives definition and meaning to his life.” Aldo Leopold
Marker is on Tioga Pass Road (California Route 120).
Courtesy hmdb.org
