Brotherly Love in Sequoia and Kings Canyon

After arriving in San Diego, four days later my brother and I decided to head north and explore Sequoia and Kings Canyon. We were doing some research and learned that the road into Kings Canyon closed for the season that weekend so it would be our last opportunity to go this year. We instantly said "well, we have to go now" and booked our stay at the Wuksachi Lodge an hour deep into Sequoia National Park. 

I took off Friday so that we could have the full weekend to explore the park and after gathering our things in the morning we began the journey. It was scheduled to take us about 5.5 hours in total but we had to make a few stops along the way so it ended up taking us 10 with traffic. The forest just received snow that weekend so all vehicles entering in the gates were required to have tire chains on hand. We stopped at several Auto-Zones that didn't keep them in stock and ended up getting a set at Walmart. We weren't sure how to use them and luckily didn't end up having to because that would've been an interesting on-the-spot experience.

Next stop was REI. My brother's hiking boots were 10 years old and his feet were soaked after a 6 mile hike we had done in Cleveland National Forest a few days before which still had snow on the ground. We knew Sequoia would have snow and the safe bet would be to get him some new boots so his toes wouldn't fall off. Luckily, it was the first day of the REI sale so he got himself some new Oboz and we invested in microspikes to go over our boots so we could hike in the ice and not slip all over the place. These came in handy and we ended up using them all throughout the park. Next up, I rented some snowshoes because we weren't sure what to expect and rather be prepared for it all. I never ended up using those but invested in some for my travels north in January. Hopefully more to come on snowshoeing!

Once we had all our supplies, we continued our journey and got to the park entrance right before 6pm. The ranger checked our pass, made sure we had chains, and let us proceed to our lodge for the night. The switchbacks up the mountain were gnarly and we couldn't see much after dark so we had no idea how far the drop to our death would be so we gently followed the road up until getting to our lodge around 7pm that evening. It was a big log cabin tucked away in the forest with the mountains in the background. 

We planned out our weekend and went to bed. The next morning we headed north to Grant Grove Village and explored for a bit before the visitor center open. This was my first look at the Sequoias in daylight and man, I was impressed. It was so cool to see just how big these trees were. We kept our time here limited because that was the only day we could explore Kings Canyon which was another 2 hour drive through the park. As we descended back down to the valley, the snow disappeared and the scenery changed back to fall. 

We stopped at nearly every overlook and spot on the map until we got to Roads End. As the name implies, we couldn't drive any farther and this is where our 9 mile hike began to Mist Falls. We ventured all the way to the top and enjoyed a beer while watching the water cascade down. 

On our way back to the lodge the sky was a burning red. I've never seen anything like it. Of course I asked my brother why that happens and he actually knew the scientific reason...nerd. 

Sunday we spent in Sequoia and planned to do a 3 mile hike around the forest before heading home. We accidentally hiked another 9 miles that day. We did the Giant Forest loop and then hiked from the museum up to General Sherman, the largest by volume tree in the world. Pretty freaking phenomenal. 

I loved hiking through Sequoia with snow on the ground. It was so cool to see the park in a way that most don't and I got to use my cool new gear. Although we didn't need to use the snowshoes, we definitely needed the microspikes and were able to hike with ease through the trails where most people were struggling not to slip. 

Richard has been asking me about this post because he couldn't wait to make a guest appearance. Here's your 30 seconds of fame my brother, use it wisely. Thanks for the epic memories.