Plans for a highway connecting the Eastern Sierra and the San Joaquin Valley via Minaret Summit had been discussed since the early days of highway building. The gap between Minaret Road, which runs northeast into the Sierra from North Fork, California, and the end of the Reds Meadow Road is less than . An area southwest of Minaret Summit was not included in the Wilderness Act of 1964 in order to leave a corridor for this potential highway. While Governor of California, Ronald Reagan made a horse packing trip into the area. Afterwards he supported conservationists' efforts to prevent this highway. Reagan continued his efforts after being elected President in 1980 and the area was eventually designated wilderness by the California Wilderness Act of 1984. The Sierra Nevada escarpment is now a continuous Wilderness from Ball Mountain (near Inyokern) to Tioga Pass, a distance of about .