Travel – Pathfinders

Hey everyone! It’s been a while since I last posted, but I wanted to share a recent trip I took out to Sequoia National Park. Given the huge storms we had during the holidays, I thought it would be a perfect time to visit the park, though with the recent wildfires, there was a concern that the park would have remained closed before we’d be able to go enjoy the park. Fortunately for us, the fires burned slightly southeast of the actual park, so although parts of the forest remained burned, the actual park itself was unaffected. Although I also wanted to travel to the forest, given the distance between the forest and park, I decided against it.

The Preparations

Being a California native, this would have been my first time driving through potentially snowy conditions. If you haven’t driven through snow before, it can be very stressful if you aren’t adequately prepared. From checking the tires to see if they are rated for snow, to buying snow cables to put in your car in case conditions get worse, that last thing you want to have happen to you is getting stuck in the park because you didn’t prepare your car for the snow conditions

National Parks in California require snow chains/cables in all vehicles during the winter where it may snow, regardless if you have snow tires for 4WD on your vehicle, so you’ll want to make sure you purchase a set of chains ahead of time before making the trip up. You can always return them later if you don’t use them, but getting turned away just because you don’t have cables can be a depressing thought.

Depending on where you are staying, you may also want to pack some extra food with you on your trip to the park. Camping in the park is possible, but I stayed in the neighboring town of Three Rivers. Supplies are limited there, although there are bigger grocery stored about 20 minutes west of Three Rivers. It’s best to do any shopping ahead of time since things can get pricey in the town as it’s very small.

A beautiful lake that you’ll get to see if you drive to the park via Three Rivers.

The Town

I stayed in a village called Three Rivers, which is just outside one of several entrances to Sequoia National Park. If you like small towns, this is the perfect place for you. The main street into the park is also where most of the town’s attractions are, including one gas station, a handful of restaurants, and a small general store. I stayed in an Airbnb which was right behind the gas station, and it was situated right next to the river.

The river this time of year is great to look at, not as great to swim in.

It was a rainy weekend, but it would’ve been great to relax on the patio we had.

The Park

If you are planning to make this trip in the winter, make sure you get to the entrance early. I got there at around 8am and already cars were starting to back up into the entrance of the park. In winter, especially if it’s snowing, it can be easy to get stuck behind a car that might not be accustomed to the snow or driving on chains, which could extend your time in the park considerably. It can also be easy to get stuck if the car ahead of you gets stuck, and there aren’t many turnouts higher up the park, so be warned ahead of time. By the time I left the park, there was about a 1 mile line of cars waiting to get in, which was around noon.

If you like snowy landscapes in California, Sequoia during the winter is one of the best places to be.

For my trip, I decided that I would only visit the General Sherman tree, one of the oldest trees in the park. Given that my car did not have the right tires for snow, and that the forecast was for snow that day, I wanted to limit my time in the park so that I wouldn’t get stuck trying to leave the park afterwards. It took me about two hours after entering the park to reach the tree, with minimal traffic, so your time to reach it may vary.

Once I arrived, there was a small parking lot next to the entrance of the path to the tree. It was quite crowded already, possibly with people that were camping in the park, but I was still able to find some parking before it completely filled up. After parking, it was just a short walk to the tree. There’s not much to do here, other than walk the path and take some photos of the trees, but that’s what I came here for.

Some pictures of the tree up close, there’s a small area to take photos, with a sign in front of the tree.

It didn’t take long after I had arrive for it to start snowing. Once it started snowing, I took a couple more photos, then quickly proceeded to leave the park. The snow was getting worse by the minute, and getting stuck in the park due to snow was not on my agenda for the day. I could have been over-estimating how much disruption the snow would have actually caused, but I didn’t want to chance it.

At least I managed to get a couple great photos out of the snow!

In case you were wondering what it’s like to drive through snow.

Wrap-up

Overall, this was a great trip and I had a lot of fun. I love snowy landscapes, and I think there is something very serene about overlooking an area that is just blanketed in white. Whether that landscape is worth the trouble of driving through snow and braving the cold, I’ll leave that up to you to decide. I’d love to hear about what your favorite season is for travelling, and what type of things you like to see on your trips in the comments below!

With the holiday season coming up, 2020 is proving to be an eventful year until the very end. With the pandemic still going on, and many places showing surges in cases, I wanted to look at a couple places that would be a good getaway while still being far away from civilization. Below are three of my favorite Airbnb’s that I am looking forward to trying to book (if any availability ever opened up.)

1. A Treehouse in Santa Cruz

This charming treehouse can be found in the forests in Santa Rosa. With this retreat, you’ll be near wine country, but still have enough privacy to avoid any crowds during the holidays. It might be a bit hard to find some availability, but definitely add this to your bucket list!

You can find this treehouse at this link

2. An Off-the-Path Retreat in the Desert

If the forests are not for you, how about a retreat in the middle of the desert? With activities such as rock climbing, dune buggies, and hiking, the deserts provide a great way to have some holiday fun while avoiding the crowds. Sure, you won’t be getting any snow, probably, but the amount of privacy you can get in return more than makes up for it.

This little retreat is situated on a private property roughly half a mile off of the main road, and it takes quite a bit of an adventure to get to your lodgings, as the paved road ends and you’ll be navigating across bumpy dirt roads to get there, but nothing quite beats having your own place all to yourself and enjoying your own little slice of paradise.

If you interested in booking the place I stayed at, you can book this retreat at this link

3. A Lookout Tower in the Forest

Maybe you took a look at the previous places and thought, “These are good, but I want to rough it even more”? If so, why not look into renting a fire lookout tower for your next stay? These little known places serve an important function, allowing for early detection of wildfires in our nation’s forests, but at the same time, many of these places are also available for you to rent out. There is nothing quite like waking up in the morning with overarching views of forests all around you. With perfect elevation, natural seclusion, and in the middle of nature, renting one of these lookouts can be the perfect trip if the last thing you want to do is be around relatives for another holiday party.

Fair warning though, these places are usually only open for certain times of the year, and book very quickly, so you’ll have to keep your eyes on it if you want a chance to book one of these lodgings. Also given the Covid situation in California, all of California’s lookouts are currently not bookable until further notice.

If you’re interested in one of these, you can go to recreation.gov and search lookout in the search terms to see what the current availability is like.

Category: Travel

A Winter Paradise – Sequoia National Park