Thursday there was rain and hail and thunderstorms. More inclement weather was predicted, but who cares about that? It was the 3rd Annual Lewis and Clark Memorial Day Weekend Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park Camping Trip, and we were excited and ready for some outdoor fun.
Friday we left Orange County at 2:30, made it to Visalia in time to eat at Chipotle, our new favorite dinner spot and by 9:30 arrived at our favorite secret free campground in Sequoia National Forest. Although its not so secret, since there are always plenty of other campers there. This year it seemed less crowded, and we were able to find an actual campsite, hidden back behind two motorhomes, with just enough room in between for us to get our car through. We've been camping so often, we have our routine down: lay down the tarp, set up the tent, put down 2 blankets, 3 sleeping pads (2 for Jennie), 3 sleeping bags (2 for me), pillows, books, headlamps, and we're ready to go to bed.
After 11 or so hours of sleep (one of the reasons I love camping), we woke up and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes that Jennie made. Tasty!
As we were finishing up, it started to snow a little bit, but we weren't alarmed, we're hardy! Since I didn't really bring any clothing for 30 degree temperatures, I thought I'd just wear my fleece pajama pants underneath my zip-off hiking pants, and 3 fleece jackets! What a great idea! We decided to drive to Hume Lake, so Jennie, who is training for a marathon, could run 12 miles by running around the lake four times. I walked around it, but only once. Then I sat next to it and read a novel, until she finished. What a great vacation I was having!
After a picnic lunch and some french vanilla capuccinos, we drove down to the bottom of Kings Canyon for a hike. By then it was raining, so we decided it was the perfect time for a nap in the car. (I guess the 11 hours of sleep we got just wasn't enough!) We woke up, refreshed and energized for a hike, so I threw on my yellow raincoat and started up the trail!
I soon discovered to my dismay that I was wearing too much clothing, and an inappropriate amount of fleece at that (still wearing the aforementioned fleece pants and three fleece jackets, in addition to the rubber raincoat). Pretty soon I was wearing one fleece jacket and had two fleece jackets tied around my waist, and with my camera around my neck, I was defintely looking a little bit bigger than normal.
Our hike to a "overlook" was somewhat ruined by the fact that as we climbed up the mountain, we ascended into a blanket of fog, thus rendering any overlook an overlook of nothing.
To make matters worse, on the way back down the mountain, hastening from switchback to switchback, I somehow managed to twist my ankle. So then I was limping from switchback to switchback. That did not stop me from contemplating the beauty of nature however, since I am hardy!
Looking forward to our dinner of hot dogs roasted over an open fire, the anticipation was somewhat lessened as we discussed our dinner options of cooking in the rain. We settled on making quesadillas on our camping stove, and then eventually going out for pizza! This is what I love about National Parks - you are never far from civilization and amenities!
The next morning we woke up, all warm and toasty in our tent, and waited for the rain to stop. But it never stopped, and when hunger finally stirred us from our sleeping bags, we discovered not rain but snow!
"Oh no!" we said.
So much for pancakes, we ate a breakfast of fig newtons and peaches while standing under the opened back hatch of the car and contemplated a day of hiking through the snow and/or rain with one of us injured and coming back to no campfire that night or hot chocolate the next morning and possibly being snowed into our campground, which, by the way, has no paved roads, or roads at all for that matter.
So we packed up and came home. I guess we're not as hardy as we thought.
Whew. I made it. And 6 minutes faster than last time! Thanks, mom and dad and Jackie and Marc, for coming down to cheer me on. And Jackie, I owe you big time for dragging me along on miles 18-24...I couldn't have done it without you! Here we are, running at our blistering pace...!
I am thinking about running another one to try to hit the 3:40 mark. Maybe the Long Beach Marathon on Oct. 12th . But then I think about all that training and it makes me tired. ugh. Anyone want to join me? Or give me some tips? Or come cheer me on? Or talk some sense into me? 
So...Jeff and I took this trip to the Havasupai Indian Reservation (south of the Grand Canyon) during my spring break, which now seems like a really long time ago, but I thought I'd post some pics anyway. After picking him up at the Vegas airport, we drove to the trailhead and camped there for a night. The next morning, we backpacked about 10 miles in, and then we hung out down by the Havasu River for 2 days, and then hiked back out and drove back to Vegas to see Spamalot. I totally recommend this hike to anyone who loves beautiful waterfalls and lots of boyscouts (and who doesn't love both of those things?).
Going through the scary tunnel to get to Mooney Falls was well worth it. But even if you don't like this sort of outdoorsy thing, you should at least go to Vegas to see Spamalot - it's no Wicked, but it's clever and hilarious and worth the trip. 
Mammoth was beautiful! Fresh snow right before we got there, and then sunshine during our entire stay. Here's the whole crew:
And here we are at lunch time:
Julie and I spent an afternoon on cross-country skis.
We are really good at it!
But it's tiring.
I love Christmas in Mammoth. Can we do it again next year, please?!
Here I am falling in the snow at Grand Targhee - a pretty typical sight for me that day, unfortunately, thanks to the rental board (don't fly Frontier!) and to my lack of skills in general. At least the snow was nice and soft!
Olin, Jeff, and I on our snowshoes. It was a beautiful day, but COLD!
Lunch. Jeff is REI poster-boy in charge of brewing the hot cocoa, while Olin and I feast on cheese and salami on "crackers" that actually tasted like cookies. Whoops - not really a good combo. 
The view on the ride home. Not bad, huh? Can't wait to go back someday...!
Maybe next time, I'll look at the course map before signing up.
