Mt. Whitney

Waterfalls at the trailhead

This is the starting elevation
of the hike

The final stop to our adventure was Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states.  We were excited to see that the clouds were high enough that we could actually drive all the way up the access road to the camping area and portal to the trailhead.  I had no idea that Mt. Whitney was so accessible nor did I ever dream we would be able to actually hike it (note here...I really hadn't ever looked to see if we could actually hike it).  We saw cabins built into the side of the mountain across from the access road and thought they would be awesome to rent.  I must have screamed tourist when I naively went into the portal store and asked how to go about renting one out.  Apparently they are all privately owned. In any case, we have decided to continue our quest to climb the highest point in every state that we can so it looks like we will be planning a hiking adventure for next summer.  Round trip is approximately 22 miles which is done by many in one day.  That doesn't even sound remotely fun to me or Scott so we are going to look into the huts along the trail and at the top and plan a two day adventure.  Obviously Zach won't be able to accompany us on this one, anyone want to come out and hang with our favorite little man for a couple of days?

Family Camping Adventure Part 2

After leaving Sequoia, we made our way to Fresno for a food stop and then headed up to Yosemite.  As soon as we had cell service I was on the net trying to find out what the weather was and whether there were any cabins, hotels, etc. nearby just in case.  I would not be sleeping on the ground in snow.  A girl must put her flip flop down about certain things.
Thankfully, although the first night dipped below 30 degrees, the ground was dry and we were actually snug as bug in a rug.  Zachary did well with camping.  Two days of playing in the dirt and exploring the outdoors is a little boy's dream!

The view from our campsite

My men :)

Buds

Mirror Lake

Exploring at Mirror Lake

Too much excitement for
one morning!

Yosemite was gorgeous, both in scenery and the weather to explore.  However getting out of camp when you have 6 adults and 4 children under the age of 6 is a mighty undertaking.  By the time we finally boarded the shuttle bus I was almost ready for a nap myself!

A gorgeous view of the canyon

The Lower Falls

I was happy to get out on the trail and see Mirror Lake, which I hadn't seen the last time I came, but was a little heartbroken to see how low the water levels were.  It was still breathtaking and the low levels actually gave some room for the kids (both big and little) to explore.  On the way back Zachary fell asleep on my back for a while which was a blessing.  We also got to see the falls in all of their glory They were dry on my last visit and I was excited to see them.

There's a bear in there...

A Stellar's Jay watching us
while we changed Zach

As we pulled out on Sunday morning to start the long drive home, I was truly grateful that our first camping experience as parents of a toddler happened with people who had already done it many times.  I took away more than one tip and Scott has already begun to research new tent options.  We decided to take the northern Tioga Pass route out of the park since it was open and were lucky enough to see another bear (I forgot to mention in the other posting that Scott has seen a mama and babies while we were in Sequoia, which he had been searching for all his life) and

Too much fun!

as we passed through the gate at Tioga Pass (just under 10,000 ft) what did we have the pleasure of encountering again?  Snow of course.  We followed the sand and plow truck down until the snow changed to rain.  In May.  There is something fundamentally wrong in my mind about seeing snow in May.  It really does mess with my comfort in the universe...

Tioga Pass &
the start of snow

First Family Camping Adventure Part 1

Its hard to believe that its been a year and a half since I've posted.  Ok, maybe not so hard to believe given the life changing events that have occurred.  Three days after my last post Zachary arrived and changed our life forever.  A month and a half after that we packed up and moved to the land of sand, where everyone has beachfront property.  What a wild trip it has been.
Given Scott and my penchant for the outdoors and camping, it seemed only fitting to indoctrinate Zachary as early as possible.  So that's what we tried to do when we headed out to Death Valley.  Back in March.  But it seems that Death Valley is not in our cards since both times we have visited our vehicles (ok let's be clear-Scott's vehicles) broke.  C'est la vie.  We will not give up so easily on the camping.  Death Valley however, may have seen the last of us.
So on this epic four day whirlwind trip we left our comfort zone and headed first to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, then to Yosemite National Park, and finally a surprise visit on the way home at Mt. Whitney.  Scott did most of the planning for this trip and I handled the packing.  When my friend Michelle (with whom we would be camping with at Yosemite) told me that they were expecting snow in the park I laughed nervously but packed accordingly.  Thankfully Scott had booked us into a sweet little cabin at the northern end of the park...

We made it to the gate...on the very southern end

Ok look, the rain is sticking to the window.  Hey wait a minute...what's that white stuff??? 

O. M. G. 

1-2 inches by the time we woke up the next morning 

 Scott was bound and determined that we would see the General Sherman. 
At over 2,200 years old, this 275 foot tall mammoth Sequoia is the largest living tree in the world.

So tall you can't even get it all in one shot!

There's the canopy!

We were ready for a nap...

A cross section of the base of a giant Sequoia

Zachary just wanted to know where there was more "ice" (aka snow)
for him to eat...

Leaving the park.  I refused to get out of the truck since my feet were now thawing in the truck so Scott parked the truck, got out, and I rolled down my window for a brief moment to snap a few shots.