Sequoia

There’s something about taking off for an adventure with the night sky still dancing in the windshield that adds to such a vivid sense of excitement and anticipation. In the darkness of the early morning with only the moon and stars lighting up the sky, we were off for another adventure with Beth the Tacoma. The hours went on, with the road speaking to us as the miles added up. Before heading into the mountains, we stopped to grab Breanne a breakfast burrito. It was delicious and bigger than her arm. We continued to our destination with only a couple hours to go. Before winding our way up the lush green mountain road, we first had to go through rolling hills that were brown and dry and many trees burnt from previous fires. We stopped on the way towards the entrance into the mountains to stretch our legs and for Breanne to eat breakfast. The vehicles rushed by, starting their climb up to the mountains which gave us a rush of anticipation to get going so we could disappear into the beautiful trees and winding trails of the area. Once we entered the green mountain trees, it was breathtaking. We were in awe with how green, full and lush all the plants and trees were. Surprisingly, the mountain roads weren’t too busy for a summer day. We took our turn off and began heading towards where we would be camping for the night, but also exploring for the day. About three miles up the road we came to a nice camp spot right off the road, so we pulled over to give it a look. A few hundred yards below our campsite, nature gave us a great gift in terms of a beautiful river flowing into a natural swimming pool which would serve as the afternoon activity. The great thing about leaving home extremely early is we get a lot of time at our destination to explore, off road, have snacks, and more. Charlie had a plan of what we were doing for the day; we were off roading to a lookout that gave breathtaking views of the forest in which we found ourselves encompassed by, and a beautiful lake that was full of summer activity.

Charlie scoping the campsite for the night

Charlie aired down the truck, and we headed up the trail. As we climbed up the mountain, we made a few stops to check the lines of the oncoming sections, and Beth crawled through everything with ease, her new shock relocation really adding to her capability. With each trip we go on, we gain both confidence in driving and spotting abilities, especially when it is just the two of us on a trail. As we inched our way up the rocks, dodging bigger boulders and branches, we stopped for a minute to test out our new drone. Once we finished messing around with the drone, we hopped back into the truck and continued up the mountain. It was extremely fun to hit a new trail and have to figure out sections. This trail offered a very unique driving experience that included fun rock sections, big holes, beautiful trees to look at, huge granite faces to drive on, and lots of options to cater to whatever experience the driver would be looking for. The trail reminded us of the time we went to Yosemite and was beautiful going in and out of the tall pines with the rock structures mixed in. As Beth continued climbing up the mountain we got to a spot that was multiple thin layers of the granite rocks that we needed to crawl up in order to make it to our final destination. The closer we got to the top, the more excited we were to see the look out over the cobalt blue lake below and of course to enjoy a cup of coffee on top of the mountain. Finally reaching the top, on offer was a 360º view of the lake, a beautiful green meadow, pine trees, and in the far distance, you could see the Washburn fire that was happening in Yosemite. The fire did make the sky hazy, however, it was still an unbelievable lookout. Before making coffee, on the fire lookout tower someone had installed a swing facing the overlook of the lake. Like children, we both took turns swinging and admiring the beautiful view. Once back at the truck, Charlie made us mountain top coffee and we snacked on some crackers, carrots, and hummus. We didn’t take too much time on top because we wanted to make sure we were back down the mountain in time to get to our camp spot and cool off by the river.

they forgot to use the tacoma symbol lol

overland people buying a drone-original we know

Snaking our way down, we pulled into the campsite that we had spotted earlier. Although not the most ideal camp spot due to the close proximity of the forest road, the river portion was definitely worth it. The afternoon was spent down by the river cooling off from the extremely hot day and exploring downstream. As you guys know, we both don’t love to cook while camping, so dinner was a very easy meal. We made backpacking meals for dinner, just had to add hot water. for dessert, Breanne had a backpacking meal of rocky road pudding. Adding water to a bag for dinner makes the clean up real easy. The sky was still light as we headed up into the GFC for the night. We were both very tired from the 4 o’clock departure that morning. The sound of the river flowing, birds chirping, and crickets was such a soothing sound as we headed to bed.

In the quiet and stillness of the morning, we enjoyed coffee down by the river, taking in each moment. We discussed the morning plans and we decided to do some more off-roading, so Breanne could fly the drone more and just be on the trails a little longer before heading to Hume Lake. The off-roading we did was just to have fun and explore rather than trying to make it to a destination. Charlie attempted and completed harder routes, while Breanne would stand outside spotting and flying the drone. We didn't go off-road for that long, but long enough to make it to a ginormous rock with a lookout of all the green pine trees around us. It was time to head back on the road and get out of there so we wouldn’t be getting to our next destination late. Once we got to the main road, Charlie aired up our BFGs, and then down the mountain we went.

The lush scenery that the forest offered was so refreshing

Winding down the main mountain road back to the highway we drove through lush ferns, pines, and sequoias, but also witnessed the aftermath of dead, bare trees from a big fire that went through the Sequoia National Forest. The way we were getting to Hume Lake, which is located within Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park, you have to drive through the Fresno/Clovis area and we took the back way and got to see a lot of farmland. Once we started heading up to Kings Canyon National Park, there was a little coffee shop on the right hand side that we had to stop at. After grabbing a coffee and a snack, we had about an hour and a half until we got up to Hume Lake. Passing the National Park entrance, we had to stop at one of the main attractions in the park, The General Grant Tree, aka the nation’s Christmas tree, the third tallest tree in the WORLD. This was the quickest little detour and we ran back to the truck and continued the drive.

the size of these trees are mind blowing

The drive up to Hume Lake was a very narrow road that you have to be alert on at all times, thankfully it didn’t last too long. As we came around the corner, Charlie got all giddy and said that’s Hume! We went to Hume Lake because Charlie's sister, Caylee, was doing an internship there for the summer. We decided that we would camp for one night then spend the next two nights at the cabin with Charlie’s family. Hume Lake is a place very special to Charlie because he grew up going to the Christian camp there. However, after two days there, it is now a special place to both of us because it is one of the prettiest places surrounded by great people, national parks and so much adventure. It was early afternoon when we got to the cabin and we quickly settled in and changed into our bathing suits and headed to what was called the slipping rocks. Don’t be fooled by the name, these were in fact, slippery rocks. All the “kids” meaning Charlie, Caylee, and Breanne, slid down the rocks like a slip n slide and it was so much fun! They truly felt like they were kids again. We all then headed to a close cove in the lake and swam out to what Charlie says is the infamous floating log. Kids would pile on top of the log and jump off of it or would play king/queen of the log and see who could stay on top the longest. Of course being the kids at heart we are, we had to join in on the fun. Making our way back to shore, we dried off and headed back to the cabin. After an evening run, we enjoyed a night of family time and a great meal that Charlie’s mom prepared for us.

The next day was our final day in the Hume Lake area, and we made a point to take full advantage of it. We started off the day with an early gym workout, and then headed back to the cabin for breakfast. We then drove down the canyon to hike to an absolutely stunning swimming hole that Caylee knew of. The hike in was truly remarkable, with granite slopes looking down on us from their viewpoint, thousands of feet above. We made our way to the swimming hole, and enjoyed one of the coolest spots to swim we had ever been in. The bridge that crossed the river offered an excellent jumping platform into a brisk, crystal-clear river rushing below. We spent the next bit of time smiling and laughing and enjoying the warmth of the sun. We hiked back to the trailhead, content and fulfilled. By the time we made it back to the condo, it was late in the afternoon. Fighting off the fatigue that we were all experiencing, we forced ourselves out of the cabin to walk around camp before renting a few canoes to paddle around the lake. It was an awesome experience, with the whole family getting on the water, even Charlie’s 92-year-old grandmother Barbara getting to enjoy the lake. We paddled around the edge of the lake, stopped at huck rock to jump in the water, and enjoyed some time at a secluded beach. We finished off the evening by watching the campers compete in the belly flop contest off the end of the dock with mini trampolines. We went to bed, so excited about the day and ready for a good night’s sleep. After a quick morning the next day, we headed home, encompassed by this breathtaking landscape of the area, and reflected on an amazing trip the entire way home.

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Headed Out Again

Open Trails Open Minds