Sequoia / King's Canyon NP

Location Description

Sub-locations

352 photos

Rachel and a giant Sequoia.
Rach on the trail.
I learned years later that Sequoia National Park has air...
I just love how top-heavy this tent always look and how...
Our campsite. On a protected ridge facing south.
A stream was just down the hill.... looks like someone...
Who are you looking at?
A very cute critter indeed. His antlers are still fuzzy.
Rachel and high sierra country.
A row of Foxtail Pines.
Rachel, touching the sap of a Foxtail Pine that is...
It's a large tree to be growing at this Altitude (well...
Rach, in a meadow of "lorax" plants. I have no idea...
Rachel on the summit block. Appropriately named Pear...
John, looking as stupid as he normally does when he...
It's a long way down.
Compare the green lushness of the southern facing slope...
John, squinting as usual.
Eating lunch.
Not a bad place to eat lunch, really. If only that...
Many years later I would ski pretty much exactly...
John and Rachel; Alta peak in the bag.
Rach on the way back down.
I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.
Mmm, cold refreshing water.
Stop taking pictures of me.
John and high Sierra country.
Packing up camp.
One of my favorite outdoor pictures of all time. I...
Rachel and John having found someone to take their picture.
Rachel and John, faces a little better in the light.
Hello, little mule deer.
John and his friend.
John headed up the trail.
Jim on the trail.
Al on the trail.
Al on the trail.
Al and John on the trail.
Al having a good time.
John on the trail.
John on the trail.
John on the trail.
Left to right, Al, John H., and Jim headed up the Bowling Alley.
Left to right, Al, John H., and Jim headed up the Bowling Alley.
Al, using his split board as skis.
John cooling off by a sub-alpine lake. Probably one of...
Rachel hanging out by one of the Jennie Lakes.
Dead tree and moon. Neato.
John and his old school backpack
John, at the campsite for the second night, which was in...
Rachel and our trusty shelter.
Rachel, drying out her clothes.
Rachel.
John futzing around with dinner.
John lighting the stove.
A pretty lake on the hike out.
John on the hike out.
Rachel on the hike out.
Blue butterflies which were partying on the trail.
John and the magnificent 9,000 ft of prominence King's Canyon.
Artistic John and Rachel.
Artistic White M3.
John and Rachel in front of King's Canyon again.
The mighty King's River.
Rachel, scrambling on bolders in King's Canyon.
I thought this might make a neat desktop background. ...
Rachel.
Or maybe this would make even better desktop background material.
So, I think there's a foot trail more-or-less straight...
Mom and Moro Rock in the background.
The winding General's Highway leading into Sequoia...
Mom and a giant sequoia in Sequoia National Park. Quite...
Mom on one of the walking paths through the groves of...
John in Sequoia National Park.
Jimmy the lumberjack.
John, the lumberjack.
Ok, so maybe off-roading in the Subaru Outback that was...
Hume Lake Christian Camp filling station. Note the logo...
Our cabin, below the "mini Matterhorn".
Starting the climb, Saturday morning.
The ridge between Emerald Lake and Pear Lake.
Slowly headed for the top of Alta Peak.
These clouds from the West signal our hour of sunshine...
Onward and upward.
Some minor crag on the way to the top of Alta Peak. ...
Looking eastward, just as I head above the timberline. ...
Uh oh, here comes the snow.
Man, it hardly feels like I'm making progress.
You can get a better view of the avalanche debris to the right.
I better enjoy the sun before it leaves us for the day.
Note to self: Don't ski this slope.
Wait, there's more? I thought we were at the top!
Jim, taking a breather while the rest of the group struggles on.
From left to right, John R., Al and Cathy waiting for...
Bob, crossing an avalanche-prone slope just below the...
Jim, behind an unfortunately placed snowflake, on the...
Cathy, prepping her gear for downhill mode at the summit...
My eyes are sensitive to sunlight, even in the middle of...
Lunch and snowflakes. (Top of Alta Peak.)
This solar panel worked amazingly well, believe it or not.
This is why we came here.
From left to right, Cathy, Alan, and Bob, after enjoying...
Alan, making some turns.
Alan, mid-tele turn.
John R. enjoying the snow.
John R., clearly the one with the best hat on the trip.
Jim, showing us how it is done.
Alan (I think?), once again.
Alan (I think?), once again.
John (Jim to right Allen possibly to left) skiing some...
John skiing, in the middle-ground (yellow jacket).
John tele-skiing near the Pear Lake ski hut.
Last one off the hill: John, making some semi-fresh...
Evidence of yesterday's hard work.
Cathy and Alta peak in the upper right.
A farewell shot of Alta Peak.
Dead tree along the trail up the "bowling alley".
Alan, making the most of the slope with skins on.
Mr. John Recker, teaching the snow who's boss.
Al, using his two feet in favor of his split board.
Cute Christmas tree.
The car got a little buried.
It's a shame to come all the way to Sequoia and not...
At the put-in at Onion Valley trailhead.
Kearsarge Pass panarama.
The team on the final icy traverse to Kearsarge Pass on...
The Sierra Haute Route: Looking south from Kearsarge Pass.
Eric and Bob at Kearsarge Pass.
Switching to downhill mode and taking a breather. At...
Looking east from Kearsarge.
John trekking up to Kearsarge Pass from the west.
Picking our way across the talus slope on the east side...
Bullfrog Lake camp panorama.
Nature's towel rack. Making camp, first night. Near...
Clouds moving in from the east around sunset.
A dark, moonless Sierra night.
Sunrise on the second day.
Cathy and John (far distance) traversing on the approach...
Cathy booting the last hundred feet up Glen Pass.
Bob enjoying a bite to eat at Glen Pass: just over 12,000 ft.
It feels good to put your feet up sometimes.
John ripping it up on the way down from Glen Pass at...
Erik having skiied down from Glen Pass.
Erik nearing the first of the Rae Lakes.
Tracks on the right are mine.
Crossing a frozen (Rae) lake. Fin Dome at far left.
Taking a rest between two of the Rae Lakes.
Putting my feet up.
Fin Dome.
Fin Dome again.
More pretty tracks.
Running streams underneath cantalevered snow banks make me happy.
A sturdy tree.
Miniature avalanche.
Trekking along.
Taking another rest.
John with his feet on solid ground for the first time in 2 days.
View from our campsite 2nd night. Our camp was at the...
To quote Bob Akka, "What is your quest?"
Erik at an interesting river crossing.
John, pulling into a much needed rest stop.
I see bear tracks!
Quite a cornice. Looking south somewhere along Woods Creek.
The snow in woods creek looked like glossy meringue.
Ooh, a place to pump water. No need to melt snow.
John outside the tent, in Woods Creek Canyon. Camp #3.
Third night camp panorama.
Cooking dinner our last night.
We start to get nervous about all the bear tracks we...
At Sawmill Pass, with mighty Mt. Baxter's numerous...
Topping out at Sawmill Pass.
Cathy, John, Erik, and Bob at Sawmill Pass. About...
Erik, smiling for the camera.
The view into Owens Valley, 7,000 ft below.
Wipeout! (John)
Cathy making turns.
A view down the last few miles of trail (yes the trail...
Putting on wet suits and getting ready to jump in the river
Ryan navigating a water chute.
The team gets ready for adventure: Joel, Catherine and...
Monica gets her feet wet in Little Utah Brown. ...
Catherine, in the water of Little Utah Brown Water...
Catherine tests out a water slide in Upper Little Utah...
Monica on a water slide in Ten Mile Creek.
Sometimes the easiest way down is less than obvious. ...
Joel squeezes through the passageway.
Catherine, on dry ground again.
Joel and Monica, apparently excited about something. ...
Monica, Catherine and Joel swim in the muddy brown water.
Catherine follows Monica through a section where the...
Joel in the background. Catherine and Monica in the foreground.
Catherine swims up to a small waterfall / slide.
Joel has found the first rappel station and Catherine...
Joel on the first rappel. This canyon, while far from...
Catherine on the first rappel. Monica waiting at the bottom.
Monica and Catherine sun out on a rock by the side of...
Joel setting up for the second rappel of 125 feet.
Joel on the second rappel. The road in the background...
Joel, on the second rappel
Catherine and John wait in line for the second rappel.
A waterfall along side the second rappel.
Catherine on the second rappel, while Joel provides a...
John, at the top of the second rappel.
Catherine hanging out in a small pool at the base of the...
John, on Catherine's suggestion, takes a variation on...
John lowering himself into a waterfall.
John on rappel.
Almost at the bottom!
Splash!
John and Catherine at the bottom of the second rappel. ...
John, trying to keep Catherine on her feet.
John starting the third rappel, while Joel double-checks rigging.
Catherine rappelling down through a waterfall, sliding...
Catherine rappelling, almost Australian style.
Catherine at the bottom of the third rap.
Catherine swimming in some delightfully brown water.
Joel rappel-sliding down the 170 footer.
Joel rappel-sliding.
Joel at the bottom of the third rappel.
Hand-line slide at the bottom of the third rappel. If I...
At this point, when we went to pull our ropes, they got...
John, helping Joel try to tug the rope down, before...
Catherine on the 4th and final rappel, sliding again.
Catherine at the bottom of the last rappel.
Catherine races down a water slide below the last...
Monica, holding her nose on the water slide.
Joel on the water slide.
Back out in the sunshine again! Toward the end of the...
Catherine tests out a rather steep water slide while...
Too late: Catherine does the water slide without the...
Monica on a water slide with a hand line.
Joel at the bottom of the next water slide.
Catherine leads the way around some slippery cascades.
Monica at the end of a long passageway.
Almost at the end: the team floats down the river which...
These huge red ants were all over the place at the Onion...
On August 31st, Joel and I drove to the Onion Valley...
On the first afternoon, we hiked in over Kearsarge Pass,...
On our way up to Kearsarge pass, our vertical progress...
Joel turned out to be in far better shape than I was......
Trying to spot Charlotte Dome: we think it is the tiny...
I have a funny feeling I camped at almost precisely this...
View of Bullfrog Lake.
John and Joel pausing for a self-portrait. Our plan had...
Joel finds a stake used by the Los Angeles Water...
Joel and I made camp at Charlotte Lake (10,500 ft) and...
As we made our way down the valley from Charlotte Lake,...
Zoomed out, so you can see the relative darkness we were...
Getting closer to Charlotte Dome. 7:15 a.m. We are...
Passing a small stream and one of the last chances to...
Charlotte Dome is now completely bathed in sunlight.
7:30am and still looking very far away.
Joel making his way down a steep hillside. Part of the...
Joel, getting closer to the dome. After 8 am.
View of our climb!
Joel, scouting the start.
Start of the climb! Tree is top of first pitch (of 12).
Joel, seconding the first pitch.
Top of second or third pitch. Almost lunchtime. Not a...
Smog getting worse.
View of the rather difficult face to the left / west of...
Top of the third pitch, I believe, Joel just cresting...
Joel at the top of pitch 3. Stopping for a snack.
Top of the fourth or maybe fifth pitch. Making good...
Another view to the west.
Self portrait at the top of the fourth or fifth pitch.
Joel making his way up. At this point, things became a...
We reached the base of the climb and packed up around...
Headed back to camp, we were treated with a brilliant...
Joel works carefully across an exposed granite ledge.
Alpine glow. We thought carefully about our route which...
... and before long total darkness descended. The moon...
The upshot was that we made what we hoped was a second...
We took turns tending the fire throughout the night,...
We were so exhausted we really couldn't motivate to get...
Joel, contemplating our surroundings and how we managed...
Showing our energy level the next morning: we took many...
We really weren't too far from our dome. I have never...
Back at Charlotte Lake, Joel and I take it easy and try...
Joel, a very happy man to see food.
Monica's tend stood the night without us, and ironically...
Joel, napping as best he could.
Out like a light.
So happy to have water.
Cleaning out our bear locker as we prepare for the trek...
Joel, walking west along the shore of Charlotte Lake.
Looking a wee bit tired.
Joel, trekking across a meadow where we cross the John...
Joel, doing his best to keep it together under...
Snow markers, at least 15 feet off the ground.
Taking a rest at the John Muir Trail junction.
Huh, so that's how it works.
Back at Bullfrog Lake on the hike out.
If Joel looks tired it's because he is. Bullfrog Lake in...
Neat pyramid-looking peak.
Hazy, hazy day.
Climbing back up to Kearsarge Pass. We were passed by a...
Joel, surveying the pass ahead.
Joel takes off for the pass while I limp along. See the...
Joel conquering the switchbacks.
High above Bullfrog Lake. I wish my camera had a built...
Joel, waiting at the 11,760 foot pass.
View down the eastern side of the pass. Now we get to...
Joel checking for cell reception. After this, it was...
Packed up the car and ready to roll out.
Driving down from the 9,000 ft Onion Valley to...
As luck would have it, our much anticipated Indian...
Not sure what we thought of the food. (Joel's salmon...
Monica reads about my new SCUBA camera housing on the...
Monica on the flight to Texas.
I could be crazy, but I think in there is the dome Joel...
Definitely the road to Onion Valley - the approach of our hike.
Monica on Monday MLK day ski touring Winter Alta Peak in...
At around 10,000 ft.
The last 600 feet or so.
Monica at around 10,700 ft.
On top of Winter (or Skier's) Alta. Real Alta Peak is...
Walter and a few others at the top of Skier's Alta with...
A balmy day. Weather inversion with temps in the...
View from the top of Skier's Alta. Not sure what that...
Monica snowboarding the backcountry on Catherine's splitboard.
Riding back down toward the cabin (at around 9,200 ft).
Monica riding. Most of the width of California visible...
Our tracks. And Monica losing steam on the flats.
Trudging along to the next drop off.
Monica built a small snowman.
Sequoia's "Matterhorn" and a few of our friends skiing /...
Moon and shadows cast by the ridge we're currently on....
Monica, hiking up the skin track of the "front lawn" of...
Hiking up the Front Lawn.
Old dead tree. I thought it was a foxtail pine, but...
Sunset from top of the Front Lawn.
Monica, taking off the splitboard to watch the sunset....
Watching the sunset on Monday evening.
Best shot I could get of Jupiter, just to the left of the moon.
Great sunset.
Some sun rays still catching the mountain behind Monica's head.
Time to ski down.
After the sun set, we put our skis back on and the sky...
One more.
Cliff bands above our hut to the east.
As we were taking pictures, Owen and Steve skied up to...
Wednesday morning before our departure, the core crew...
Tori, Walter and Julie skiing out on Wednesday.
Walter.
Eating lunch at the saddle / hump between Panther creek...
Owen.
Done with lunch and ready to ski back.
Tori.
Walter and a moss-covered tree.
The wintergreen effect of the bright moss on a winter...
Back in our cars some road construction caused a 20...