Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Round 2!

Yesterday, my friends and I took another day trip out to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park as a way to wrap up our winter break! This would be our second trip in just over a month and it was totally worth every minute. We left home at around 6:20AM and were on the road for roughly 2 and a half hours before we made our first stop at a Wal-Mart in Tulare. I had to pick up some tire chains that I ordered earlier that morning and we also bought some snacks and had breakfast. After that short stop, we stopped for a pit of gas at the place we went to last time (where we had the whole keys locked in trunk fiasco) and surprisingly, the man at the register remembered us!

So by the time we made our way into the park, it was getting on around 11AM. The drive was absolutely gorgeous, I really wish I could have gotten some pictures of it. After paying our entrance fees, we continued driving up the winding roads, and halfway to our final destination, there was just snow EVERYWHERE. It was amazing and got us really excited for the day to come.

This was the view at the entrance of the Lodgepole campground (which was shut for the winter presumably). We had to walk through the entire campground to reach the trail we'd be hiking that day.

This section of the Kaweah river was almost completely frozen over at the end of our hike.

After a bit of falling in the snow at the start, the trail became nicely packed and easy to navigate. Did I mention how great the view was?

More views of the river along the trail.

About halfway through the trail, we walked through a grove of very tall pine(?) trees. It was like stepping into a completely different environment, especially given the rapid drop in temperature in this area.

But at least the snow here was so nice and powdery!

As we neared the end of the trail, it became slightly more inclined. The grove we went through in the pictures above can be seen in the background.

Just before we reached the falls, the trail became lined with these large boulders. Some of them made pretty neat overhangs, while others formed these narrow pathways, which made the going a bit tricky.

Nevertheless, this was the view that treated us on the other side! My jaw was on the floor at this point. I still can't get over how magnificent the view was. And although the falls had almost completely frozen over, it was still roaring away behind all the ice.

After soaking in that gorgeous view, it was time to head back down. We wanted to catch the sunset before leaving Sequoia.

And that's a wrap! There was a decent bit of fog over the mountains that made for a nice shot. It was such a great time adventuring with some of my closest friends, even though the day just zipped by so quick. Until next time!