Sequoia National Forest - Our Final Hours

Do you remember this photo?  We took this shot from the top of the ridge above Dorst Creek.  

See that pretty little water fall and the round pool of water?  Well, on our way back from the Lost Grove, The Hubs and Tamlin did a little cross country exploring to see if they could find that spot.  To see if it would be a good place for us to hang out for the afternoon.  To let the kids get wet, and we could all do a little relaxing before the long ride home.  Turns out, while not easily accessible, they found the spot just fine and there were several pools of water that were just perfect for us and for The Tweedles.  (WARNING: the water was moving very fast, so it was important that we found pools where the water wasn't really moving at all so the kids could play.  Water safety is very important, and so are my Tweedles, so we took no chances.  SAFETY FIRST PEOPLE!)

On our way back for lunch, we found a quicker trail back down to the water.  It was a lot prettier too. Narnia anyone? We made it down to the creek where we did our Dirty Dancing on the fallen tree and followed the edge of the water down stream until we found those pools above.  It was a little tricky as the rocks are all granite and once granite gets wet (or your feet do) it was super slippery. The sides were also pretty steep, so in a lot of places it was hard to find any traction at all.  Sometimes going right down the center was the easiest path.

And when we found our spot, the views were incredible.  This one is upstream from our spot.

And this is downstream.

Talk about your perfect location.  Not a soul in sight except for our little group.  It really was it's own little oasis.

Add some sunblock and we were ready to roll.

This little pool is the perfect Tweedle size. You can't tell from the photos, but it had a nice sandy bottom through most of it. And Bunny wasted no time getting in.  

The rest of us weren't far behind.

Did I mention the rocks were slippery.  A helping hand from Uncle Tamlin was always welcome.

And make no mistake, the water was COLD, but we managed to cajole LW into taking the plunge into the deeper lower pool.

Followed by the rest of us.

And Tamlin posing Sports Illustrated style under the falls.

But it wasn't so bad once you were in it.

Even 1/2 Point thought so.

I did mention about the rocks being slippery right?  Which caused some issues trying to get OUT of these wonderful little pools.  I believe the rally cry here was less about 1/2 Point and more about saving the beer!

And when we were done freezing our little toes off, we found a sunny spot to warm up on.

Or we just waded into the water enjoying the incredible views.

This day couldn't have been more perfect or been a more excellent ending to our trip.  We'll definitely be taking another trip up to do some more exploring!

Seriously.. Thoughts?

Where The Wild Things Are

Having spent summers on my grandparents farm in Texas with a family that hunts, it has been most surprising this trip to find the deer so unafraid of people. It's obvious these deer have never been hunted.  Have never been chased or hurt by people.  It's so strange and yet it takes my breath away.  They're still skittish, still wild, don't get me wrong, but it's so completely different from the deer behavior that I'm used to.  So it still surprised me, when on the morning of our very last full day of camping, we were greeted with this lovely deer walking across the camp grounds.

Towards us.

Eating his breakfast about 10 feet away from us.

The Tweedles were so excited.  You should have heard how hard they tried to whisper their excitement instead of shout it.  They did such a good job at not scaring the deer.  I love that they get to experience this!  When the deer finally wandered off into the woods behind our tents, we pulled ourselves together and The Hubs, Tamlin, Joanne and The Tweedles started to see if we could find the trail to the Lost Grove.  LW and 1/2 Point had decided to stay in camp.. the loooooooosers.  Yeah, I said it!

We started out hiking along this ridge line.

Which overlooked Dorst Creek.

This was a bit more rocky than I was used to, and we weren't entirely sure of where we were going but we decided to follow the trail down towards the creek anyway.  It was our last day and I think we were all just really enjoying where we were.  It's all about the journey people!

The Hubs, Bunny and I had lagged behind the rest.  It might have been because I kept stopping to take photos, but probably the other two just walked slow and I was holding back so they didn't feel bad.  We were just starting to head down the trail when The Hubs whispered my name REALLY LOUD and pointed.

They're so camouflaged, I don't know how he sees them, but off to our right about 20 feet was this buck.  We tried to get the attention of the others, but they couldn't hear even our loudest whispers and they walked on.  And mostly I wasn't worried about them, since I was just trying to walk as close as I could get without startling him.

He didn't seem scared of me, but more annoyed that I was interrupting him.  He didn't let me get too close before he started to move.

I like to think that he knew this was our last day and was just making sure I got my monies worth.  While he kept his distance, he kept coming towards me giving me an even better view of him.  I think this counts as a 6 point buck.  Anyone? Anyone?

At this point The Hubs managed to signal the others and Joanne brought Bug back to see him.

I think having us on either side of him may have made him nervous because he began to move toward the trail in earnest.

At this point I'd say I was about 6-8 feet away from him.  And you can see how close Bug and Joanne were.  Bunny was a few feet back from me with The Hubs.  And this guy?  He didn't run.  He moseyed his way across the trail between us and off into the woods on the other side.   Wow.. how's that for a start to our last day?

Seriously.. Thoughts?

Bear Fight Club

When we first reached the Dorst Creek campground, we had a lot of instruction on bears.   Specifically the North American Black Bears that call the park home.


Wikipedia
"The (North) American black bear (Ursus americanus) is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in search of food. Sometimes they become attracted to human communities because of the immediate availability of food. The American black bear is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern, due to the species' widespread distribution and a large global population estimated to be twice that of all other bear species combined. Along with the brown bear, it is one of only two of the eight modern bear species not considered globally threatened with extinction by the IUCN. American black bears often mark trees using their teeth and claws as a form of communication with other bears, a behavior common to many species of bears.^[1]"


We learned we had to store all of our food in our bear box.  That big brown metal box right there in the picture below, that's our bear box.

Image frivolously stolen from campsitereports.com

We had to stick all of our food, three ice chests and anything with a fragrance including: sun block, scented tissues, all soaps/shampoos etc. in the bear box.  We couldn't even have any of that stuff in our car!

Not our car, but damage was done by a black bear.  Poor car!

Bears have been apparently attacking cars for food since, well, their were cars with food in them.

Image frivolously stolen from the Mother Nature Network- mmn.com

Basically everything but our clothes needed to be in the bear box.  Heck even our trash and our recyclables needed to be placed in bear-proof containers.  And can I take just a second to applied the national parks service for providing recycle specific bear proof bins?? How awesome are they!!!  

That box looks pretty small doesn't it? Especially considering we were 8 people using just the one box.  Heck, we had an entire cooler only dedicated to beer for the guys!  What this meant for us, is unpacking and repacking just about everything in the bear box EVERY.DAMN.TIME we needed something.  I'm not exaggerating here.  We must have unpacked and repacked that damn box over 100 times in just the 5 days we were there.  What we learned from this? Get a group spot when you have more than 4 people so you have more than one bear box at your disposal.  It will save your sanity.  And your back.  And keep you from campers rage.  True story.  

On our very first night, the wonderful Canadian couple who was staying at the very next campsite over told us they'd seen a bear wandering through their camp early the previous morning.  So, I guess the quick run-down of what to do in case we do, in fact, come across a bear made a bit more sense.  And for the record, not only do the park rangers run down bear rules with us, but they're posted. In the bathroom.  Above the mirror.

The first rule of bear fight club is don't talk about bear fight club... er, I mean.  The first rule with bears is DON'T RUN.  I don't know that I can emphasize this enough.  When you run you become, PREY.  You do not want to be PREY.  Bears chase PREY.  Bear maul PREY.  Then bears eat PREY.  Not to be mistaken for pray.. which you should do liberally if you happen to come across a bear in the middle of the night on your way to the bathroom.  Not that I did, but it's good to have a plan.

The second rule is don't try to take anything from the bear.  I laughed when I read this one.  So if a bear wanders into your camp and steals your beer, you let him have it.  Honestly, trying to take your beer back from a bear is a bad idea.  Beer Stealing Bears are Bad. Say that five times fast! I dare ya!  No, I double dog dare ya! HA!

And, if you're afraid of the bear, make a lot of noise.  Bang pots they say - you know, the ones in the bear box.  Yell at the bear to go away.  We told the Tweedles to make sure they yell "BEAR" really loud so that other campers will know it's a bear that's the problem and come help them/us.  Of course, I'm not sure anyone other than me could tell the difference between their normal screaming at the top of their lungs because they're having just so much fun, and screaming because they're scared of a bear.  But hey, I like to have a plan, or at least seem like I do.  Self delusions are good.

Turns out that none of these bear fight club rules were used on our little trip.  That's not to say we didn't see a few bears on our trip. We saw four in fact, although 3 of them were on the side of the road as we drove by and I didn't get a photo.  So really I have no proof of those 3 and you probably don't believe me without proof.  But I know in my heart I saw them and I don't care what you think.  Not really.  Okay, I care, but I'm going to pretend I don't.

But the fourth bear?  That one I do have proof of.  After our hike to Muir Grove Sunday morning, we decided to head over to Lodge Pole Market & Gift Shop to stock up on some low food supplies (read: beer) and just as we were leaving the camp grounds to the main road, we saw this little fella in the meadow.

This isn't the greatest shot, but there was a park ranger standing beside the road to make sure people didn't block the road with their cars and to keep us from wandering down into the meadow to become an extra crunchy snack for the bear.  We're not allowed to feed the bears after all.  Not even ourselves.  We all got out of the car and an elderly couple who was also bear watching lent The Tweedles their binoculars so they could get a better look at the bear.  (Thank you nice elderly couple!)  Our first bear sighting!  We were all so excited.  And this little guy?  He just kept munching away despite all the paparazzi.

Seriously.. Thoughts?

Sequoia National Forest - Part IV - Muir Grove

Saturday night after the General Sherman Tree, the Museum, and Moro Rock found some of us in this state of prettydarntired.  It's a real condition.  Seriously, go look it up on Wikipedia, you'll find us there looking just like this. Promise.  (okay, not really... but we really were tired).

After going to bed early and sleeping through the night, almost all of us got up super early Sunday morning.  One of us, didn't feel the need to go hiking.  One of us decided sleeping in was far more of a good time than going out into the new world of monster tree epic-ness.  One person .. well, I'm just going to say it.  One person was a party pooper.  I don't want to name any names, but his initials are 1/2 Point.  But you didn't hear it from me.

Those of us who were ready to see Monster Tree Epic-ness TM (do you like how I trade marked that? From now on, just know if you hear that .. it's mine.. and I expect royalties.  A lot of them.) hiked up a trail to Muir Grove which started ever-so-conveniently in our campgrounds - That was Dorst Creek for those of you playing the home game.  And while the trip there wasn't through a sea of Sequoias, it was through some of the pretties forest we've seen so far.

Beautiful ferns as far as the eye could see.

The trail was well marked and easy to travel.  About 1/3 to 1/2 of the way there, we crested a hill and were greeted with this absolutely amazing view.  Seriously, I'm in awe.

We sat for a few minutes and just caught out breath..er I mean.. gaped at the beautiful view before we continued on and encountered this beautiful deer just trying to enjoy breakfast.  How annoyed must all these animals be, to constantly have pesky humans interrupting their day for photo ops??  They really don't like it when you yell "Say Cheese".  They tend to wander off quickly in disgust.  It's a shame really.  Where's their sense of customer service?  I plan to write a stern letter to the Park Rangers as soon as I'm done blogging.

We continued on and crossed multiple streams, some bigger than others.  And I don't know if the park rangers do this on purpose, but the few times we got to cross trees to reach the other side were like Disneyland.  Maybe even better than Disneyland because there weren't any long lines to wait through for your turn.

The trail did actually go around, but how much fun is that?  Especially to a little 4 year old Bug.

Or a 6 year old Bunny, or a 23 year old Lone Wolf, or me whose age is better left unsaid.  That guy on the log?  That's our friend Tamlin who came along with his wife.  He got mistaken for a park ranger a few times on our treks.  But you know, he just rolls with that stuff, answering questions like he works there!

And just when I thought we'd never get there.. out of the pines rose a Sequoia.  Then another, then another, then another.  And this time there weren't any fences to keep us away from the trees.

We had a quick snack of apples and water before starting to really explore.  The Tweedles quickly found trees that were big enough to wander into.

Then we came across a tree we could all fit into.

I got the obligatory "nice family" shot.. and then we went for something a bit more our speed.

I think I'm suppose to be throwing gang signs, but it turned into I Love You signs instead.  Because that's how I roll.  

When we wandered around to the other side of this same tree, we found a space that was even bigger that we all fit into.  I even got to use the timer on my camera, I felt so fancy!

We all decided that come the apocalypse, this would be a great little house in the woods.  Off the beaten path, near a water source (without being too close), plenty of deer and wild editable vegetation, and this tree would probably fit a family of 6-8 comfortably. Add some cut limbs to the sides and back, park a fire in the middle (which would smoke out the top) and it could be home sweet home.  Not that we think about apocalypses much.. or watch Doomsday Preppers on Nat Geo.. or wonder if maybe we should buy shipping containers and bury them in the ground at the farm fully stocked with food, water and ammo just in case.  Nah, we're not like THOSE people at all.  We just have good imaginations for homes in the woods is all.

Tomorrow.. we'll talk Bears.

Seriously... Thoughts?

No Good Very Bad Day

Apparently Sunday was a very bad day for our family.  It started in the wee hours of the morning when Lone Wolf's boyfriend (here forward known as 1/2 Point) managed to dislocate his shoulder.  He did smile pretty for the camera knowing this was showing up in the blog though, so at least he's in good spirits.  Although, it might have something to do with the fact that we fed him.  Either way, glad he smiled.

Then Bunny slipped while getting an icee out of the freezer and did this lovely damage to her lip.

Then Lone Wolf felt the need to annoy/squish Glamour Girl while finishing off her BBQ Ribs.

I'm telling you, if this expression isn't the epitome of sisterly-love in this family, I don't know what is.

Turns out it wasn't all bad for one of us.

With just a little begging and an ear half up to just the right person.

And he got his happily ever after.

More Sequoias to come..