Land of Giants

Just a few hours west of Death Valley is the land of giants...the magnificent sequoia trees. We spent a couple of days in the Sequoia National Forest north of Kernville with our friend Britt. He spent the summer here as a whitewater rafting guide on the Kern River. Normally we are not able to drive up into the groves with large sequoias because the road is all snowed over, but this weekend we were able to since it is still early in the season. This is the Trail of 100 Giants...

Afterwards we drove over to Dome Rock to soak up some great views looking south in the Sierras.

White Mountains

Still trying to beat the winter weather we spent a day up in the White Mountains in the Bristlecone pine forest. This is an area that we've wanted to visit for the past four years and have not been able to because the road is always snowed over. This particular day we were driving in and out of the clouds/snow and were able to drive up to 11,000 ft, but were socked in by clouds when we got as far as we could get and couldn't see anything. This road leads to a trail that takes you to the highest peak in Nevada, over 14,000 ft., and takes you through some of the oldest trees in the world.

On a clearer day the views looking west at the Eastern Sierras are spectacular (still pretty nice today).

WOW! The things people do in a rental vehicle!

This is the worst the road got.

After driving as far as we could and not seeing very much, we drove back down to 10,000 ft. to hike in the Methuselah Grove.

The Bristlecone pines are the most amazing trees, so gnarled and hardy. They are ancient organisms that have been through so much in their lifetime of 4,000+ years....if only trees could speak.

This is the Methuselah tree (below), the oldest known tree in the world at almost 4,800 years old. Core samples were taken back in 1957 (drill holes pictured above).

Such awesome trees!

The young pine cone.

Views looking east into Nevada.

Boss taking a snow break.

What a great day!

Horseshoe Meadow

Our first few weekends off from work this season we have driven up to the mountains to take advantage of snow-free roads and trails, and to escape the 100 degree temps of Death Valley. At the southern end of the the eastern Sierras there is a paved road that takes you up to 10,000 feet. Several trails branch off from this area and connect with a huge network of trails in the Sierras.

Overlooking Horseshoe Meadow.

At the pass we connected with the PCT, the Pacific Crest Trail that runs from Mexico to Canada. It was the first piece of the PCT that we've ever done.

Back down in Horseshoe Meadow.

It was a beautiful day and the perfect hike for the three of us!