Sequoia and Yosemite... Bam!

Made the drive up to Sequoia National Park this weekend with some friends, Dave and Trav. We saw the big General Sherman, and then went and made the climb up Moro Rock.

From the top of Moro Rock, enjoying the dark clouds
and setting sun over the San Joaquin Valley

And then came the night. The third time was a charm for starting the fire, and I was out watching the last couple of logs burn out when the rain came around nine. The intensity of the rain was definitely exaggerated by the echoing effect of our tent, but then came the crazy flashes of lightning and immediate thunder booming off of the mountain walls around us. The rain soon turned to snow, and all of a sudden we're woken up by our tent collapsing in on us because of the weight of the snow on the roof. We had no idea what the heck happened, and it was hilarious. Needless to say, we woke up the next morning to almost a half foot of fresh snow.

A little detour from the hike we took that morning to climb a rock and get a view.

So during a hike to a waterfall that morning, the snow began falling again. Without chains, we thought it'd be best to get down the mountain as soon as possible, so we threw everything in my car and crept down the windy road. After a wet burrito in Visalia, we got the word that weather was better in Yosemite, and and spent the rest of our trip camping in the Valley.

Attempt #1, fail. Attempt #2, fail. Then I refused the help of a nice asian man. Attempt #3, success. I guess I underestimated that log.

Quote of the weekend definitely goes to Travis on our last night in Yosemite: "Hey look, we got a doggie." As Dave and I turn around to see a bear walking up to and through our campsite. Literally between my car and the bear bin. We all jumped up, Travis banged some pots together and we watched it run past our neighbors and into the dark. Then for the next couple of minutes we tracked the bear's progress by the sound of other campers' clanking pots from throughout the campground.