Sequoia National Park -- an unadventure

Shortly after Bryan committed to attend UC Davis this fall, Alan and I got busy planning a trip for late September.  We figured -- how can we miss Bryan if we go away on our own adventure?  So we settled on doing a 7 day, 6 night backpacking trip of the Rae Lakes in Kings Canyon National Park.  I called the park the week before our trip and discovered that the Sheep Fire in the area was severely impacting air quality and views.  Oops.  The ranger suggested we change plans and go further south to Sequoia National Park and hike out of the Mineral King area.

It is a long drive to these parks...down I-5 and across the Central Valley.  We left a day early so we would have time to hike a bit through several groves of Giant Sequoia trees.  They are massive and a photo does not really capture their size and stature in the forest.

On our drive through the park -- we saw a black sow and cub climbing a hill.  That was the highlight of the animal sightings on this trip.

The road to Mineral King is 25 miles long and takes 90 minutes to drive.  We finally arrived at a campground by the trail head, set up camp, found firewood, and had a pleasant evening.  We were at about 7,500 ft elevation.   In the morning, we picked up our permits and began the hike.  We knew the trip would include 2 passes close to 12,000 ft and a cold front was due in during the next 24 hours.

We set off -- slowly walking up Farewell Canyon towards our first night at Franklin Lake.

We had crystal blue skies and were hiking in shorts.  Franklin Lake was at about 10,000 ft elevation and about 5.5 miles away.  No way to go but UP.  We crossed several creeks (always a challenge for me) and made our way up through the forest.  The views were incredible.  In the 1960s, there were plans for a large ski resort in this valley--obviously it never materialized.

By the time we saw Franklin Lake, we were both ready to drop the packs.  The first day out with fully loaded packs (30 - 33 pounds) is always the hardest -- and a real incentive to eat up the snacks to lighten the load.  Franklin Lake was amazing.

We set up camp, filtered water, and explored the area.  No campfires allowed due to the elevation.  As soon as the sun went behind one of the peaks, the temperature began to plummet.  The best place to be -- in a mummy sleeping bag.  It was only 7pm!

We awoke to bright skies -- but the sun was a long time finding our tent and sure enough there was heavy frost on our tent and pack covers.  Looking west to Fresno -- lots of rolling, thick white clouds and while we discussed "the cold front" had breakfast and tried to figure out if we should go on or go back.  We had slept close to 12 hours; it was definitely colder; and we could tell that wind and clouds were on the way. I had absolutely no intention of hiking up another 2000 feet to cross Franklin Pass and NOT see the view.  The vote was 60-40 to head out and adventure elsewhere.  

Here are more pictures from the area.

There were ice patches on the trail down.  But going down was so much easier.  It was also amazing to watch the clouds roll in, the wind start to pick up, and to continually put on heavier clothing (gloves, hats, long underwear, long pants) as we hiked to lower elevations.  Temperature back at Mineral King at 1pm:  53 degrees.  As we drove down the hill we saw it go as low as 42 degrees at about 6000 feet elevation.  I can not imagine how cold we would have been at 10-12,000 feet.  So we learned what they mean by "a cold front."  It really means the wind is going to blow stink and temperatures are going to chill the bones.  

We then had the slow windy drive down the mountain to Visalia -- a real town of almost nothing south of Fresno.  We had average Mexican food and then drove 5 hours home.   It was quite late when we turned up our own "Sequoia Drive."   

A whole lot of driving for not very much fun -- some huge trees, a couple of campfires, a mountain lake, and seeing 2 bears.  Ummm.   Not every adventure matches the dream.  And when I do Rae Lakes next year -- I am going in from the east side (Onion Valley).