Sequoia National Forest
Trip Start
Mar 14, 2011
1
18
27
Trip End
Apr 13, 2011
Sequoia National Forest, California
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Before leaving we had to get chains for our car because this is required due to the snows. Of course this seemed silly to me at first until we arrived. The woman at the visitors center talked about the walls of snow, but assured us we should be fine on the roads because they had been cleared and that the only driving hold-up would be construction which only allowed cars to pass on at certain hours and we had two hours before the next pass through.
We stopped at Hospital Rock to hike a bit and waste time until we could pass. This was a beautiful area with a ferociously moving river running over a waterfall. I thought about jumping in because somehow I managed to dump a red drink all over the front of me which made my pants look a bit tie-dyed. Sadly the river was a bit cold for swimming, but perfect for sitting and watching.
We then got to the construction line and waited in line which caused us to play a bit of cards on the hood of the car while snacking a bit. This was a pleasant respite from the winding roads. On the way to see sequoias we stopped at a lodge which was covered in snow up to the roof and only the sidewalks were clear. Jim and I engaged in a bit of "kick the snow piles" resulting in everyone getting a bit of snow thrown on them. John did some great photography for this event.
Finally, on to the sequoias. They had a plaque at the largest one which was 2,200 years old and was relative to us as we are to a mouse. It's amazing thinking in those terms. I will be much gentler to mice now because the tree seemed crazy large and would have been disturbing if it started moving.
Anyone who hasn't seen sequoias should go! Back to Jim's tonight and on to Death Valley tomorrow.
