A place to visit in the southern Sierra

Hi all - I'm looking for a recommendation. I'm flying from Palo Alto
down to Taft-Kern (L17), and then taking a day to fly back (in a
'gutless Cutlass'). I'd like to detour to somewhere in the Sierra to
make the trip back more interesting, so I am looking for a
recommendation of somewhere to fly into that is scenic, is near
somewhere that is cool to visit for hiking in said lovely scenery,
where it's possible to make the logistics work (ie no rental car
necessary, or one on the field).

The area I'm looking at is Kern-Valley / Lone Pine / Eastern Sierra /
Mammoth. If you head east from San Fran, then rollow the Sierra range
down until you are due north of LA, that defines the area.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Tom