Trip Report: Snow Camping at Lodgepole in Sequoia Nat Park

[profdant139]

Well, it was kind of like boondocking -- the park service let us stay in the parking lot because there were no unplowed spots available for RVs. But we had fun anyway -- most of the time there was no one else in the whole campground. Lots of snow. Good snowshoeing and hiking. Very cold -- one night the water supply froze when it got down to 11 degrees. And we had a minor bear attack -- no kidding!

If you want to read more (lots of photos!), here is the link:

Snow Camping at Lodgepole in Sequoia Nat Park

And here is an appetizer shot -- if you like this, there are a lot more "snowy big tree, small person" pictures on the blog. (Hey, it's the Sequoias -- what else would I take a picture of??)



PS -- in case you are having trouble spotting the person, that's DW in the lower right corner, wearing a blue hat.

[JT]

We are not looking forward to seeing that area as a burned-out mess -- we will have to wait till after the snow melts to check it out.
----
Ditto. 😞 So many beautiful areas burned in CA (and OR, WA, ID....); one of the worst fire years ever.

[profdant139]

BB, Hume Lake is in the north end near Kings Canyon, and we were at the south end in the Lodgepole/Wolverton area. We often boondock in the national forest not too far from Hume, but most of that area is still closed after the Rough Fire. We are not looking forward to seeing that area as a burned-out mess -- we will have to wait till after the snow melts to check it out.

[bbaker2001]

did you make it to Hume Lake.

[littlemo]

profdant139 wrote:
littlemo, it was cold, yes -- but not unpleasant at all. You know the old saying -- "there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing." At night, we had a down comforter and several blankets, so even though it got down to 28 inside the trailer one night, we were perfectly comfortable -- during that night I slept for nine hours, which at my age (early 60s) is astonishing.

This was not about suffering at all!)

LOL! I too am in my early (soon to be mid) 60s and if I slept 9 hours you could just go ahead and call the coroner because you can be sure I am dead!

Really I'm just jealous. It wasn't too many years ago I would have been the first to be the "backpackers" but now I have mild COPD and the extreme cold really affects me so I have to settle for looking at the snow "up on the mountains". Keep posting those great pics!

[profdant139]

littlemo, it was cold, yes -- but not unpleasant at all. You know the old saying -- "there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing." At night, we had a down comforter and several blankets, so even though it got down to 28 inside the trailer one night, we were perfectly comfortable -- during that night I slept for nine hours, which at my age (early 60s) is astonishing.

Then, as soon as we woke up, we kicked on the heater for a couple of minutes to get the temp up into the 40s. And then we got dressed in very warm clothing -- heavy sweaters, hats, even gloves without fingers (so that we could use our hands while cooking breakfast). Yes, we could have run the heater more than we did, but it's so noisy, and it uses electricity.

During our snow-shoe hikes, we came across a few folks who had been backpacking in the snow -- no insulated trailer, no furnace, no hot shower, no fresh-brewed Starbucks coffee, just a tent and a sleeping bag. Now that is what I call rugged. By contrast, our experience was a piece of cake. (Actually, we brought Danish pastry for dessert, not cake, but you get the idea. This was not about suffering at all!)

[littlemo]

Great pics. Thanks for sharing. Looks sooooh Cold!!!!

[huachuca]

Thanks for posting - really enjoyed the TR and photos. We hope to make it that far west someday but keep finding too much to see and do before we get there. Just got back from two weeks in the Four Corners area and could easily have spent another month looking around.

[OutdoorPhotogra]

Great to see snow this early! Grant's Grove is one of my favorite places. I didn't spend as much time in Sequoia because I didn't want to deal with 198. In the winter you can't get between the parks.

[russkerri]

rockhillmanor wrote:
I always wondered if you see any of those giant trees that have fallen when you go out there? Or do they just live forever!

There are fallen ones. The ranger told us they can just fall over suddenly and are very loud, of course, when they hit the ground. I think we stood beside the roots of one, and the roots towered over our heads.

[profdant139]

Naio, thanks! And Rockhill, the trees live for thousands of years, but not forever - this is a root ball from a fallen tree:



Eventually, the fallen trees rot, and the insides sometimes become hollow:



By the way, the photo post link button somehow altered the proportions of those shots, especially the second one -- I can assure you that my wife does not really look like that at all!!

Edit: I altered the height and width parameters in the "photo post" dialog box -- let's see if the pix are less unflattering! (Yes, they are better now.)

[rwjejits]

Great report. Enjoyed reading.

[tragusa3]

One day... thanks for posting!

[rockhillmanor]

I always wondered if you see any of those giant trees that have fallen when you go out there? Or do they just live forever!

[Naio]

This is the best-written TR of yours tgst I have read. You convey the awe and joy of being almost alone in duch a beautiful place. Thank you! And the photos are amazing.