Hello, my friends! Sorry it has been such a long time since I last posted anything. October turned out to be quite a busy month! My mom came to visit early in October, which was a real treat. My brother was able to get some of the time off too, so we had a great time. One of the amazing things we did was take a drive to the Sequoia National Forest.
Sequoia National Forest
First - a confession. This was not my first trip to Sequoia. I had gone on no less than 2 adventures to this forest, trying to find the Trail of 100 Giants. I had grown up in the mountains of northern New Mexico/southern Colorado, and had seen plenty of pine forests. It wasn't until I heard of the giant trees in the Sequoias that I ever wanted to actually travel to see a forest. From what my teacher told me, the trees were the largest in the world. You could park a bus inside them! This completely blew my mind, and I knew that one day I would just have to see them. So why not go until now? Well, Google maps doesn't have the trail mapped - crazy, right? Well-meaning coworkers gave me instructions that got me lost in the forest, and I never can read/understand the forest service maps. I was, however, determined to change this when mom came to town.
For this trip, I opted to go by way of Hwy 99 north to 65, then cut over to County Road J22/Ave 56 to California Hot Springs. This is a very quiet, desolate road with very little cell phone service. I advise you of this so that you make sure you have a full tank of gas and a spare tire in case you need it (we only came across 5 or 6 cars the entire drive). It is an easy drive, though, with amazing scenery. I think mom really loved it! (Note: These directions are incomplete - check out this link for directions).
A foggy afternoon near California Hot Springs
After about an hour and half drive, we had finally arrived! These trees completely lived up to my expectations. There are few things that take my breath away, and this was definitely one of them. Truly awesome! Below are some of the amazing pictures we captured from that day:
Trail marker at the beginning of the trail
Giant looming behind the more normal-sized trees
A one hundred year old "sapling" in front of a mid-size Sequoia
This giant fell on the trail last fall (of 2011), and closed the trail for several months.
The chainsaws aren't strong enough to cut it up, so they're leaving it there.
Mom and my brother at the base of one of the trees
Brother and I inside one of the trees - you could literally park a truck in here
Beautiful sunset on our way home
Hope you enjoyed the pictures. If you haven't gone before, I totally recommend it. It's truly amazing! I have many more adventures to post, and promise to do so when I have time.
Until next time...
--- Becks
It was truely a "bucket list" experience and one I will remember for the rest of my life. After having lost my father earlier in the year, I needed this trip and could never ever replace Becky for her kindness and generosity in doing this for me.
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