#snow peak

Sierra Nevada Mountains - Sunset Mac & Cheese

On our recent backpacking trip into the Sierra Nevada Mountains we stopped at our favorite dinner location along the way. A nice quiet spot in the Alabama Hills looking up at the beautiful crags of Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the lower 48 states. When the sun started to set we were in for a breathtaking surprise of insanely beautiful color. Awestruck.

Spring at Carrizo Plain National Monument 

Carrizo Plain is amazing all year round and quite lovely in the spring when the grasses are green and the flowers have bloomed. We went during flower season which might be the only time of year you’ll see a lot of people at this remote California location but it still wasn’t very crowded. We were still able to find an amazing campsite with a beautiful view overlooking the vast plain. The wildlife here is unbelievable. But sometimes you have to be patient and keep your eyes peeled. Carrizo Plain is one of our absolute favorite places to visit and camp. You really have to stay the night to get the full experience. One exciting bonus to this trip is that we were testing out our newly restored tent. 

THE TENT: So what is up with this cool tent? It’s a vintage brown label North Face tent called North Star. It was made in Berkeley, California between 1979-1983. Once I saw this really amazing looking geodesic dome sort of a thing way back when it was a dream to track one down and restore it. I spent a few years looking for one and realized quickly that it was very rare and hard to find. When I was lucky enough to actually find one It took a few weeks to restore the tent which was basically removing all of the old waterproofing. Not a fun process but now it’s in close to new condition and extremely fun to camp in. The tent is not intended for warm weather but is perfect for winter and cold weather camping. Even in May, plenty of areas in California are still dropping into the 30′s and 40′s at night. At Carrizo it was getting into the low 40′s. The North Star tent was practically silent all night and rock steady on a windy mountain overlook. I really look forward to using it in the high altitudes of the Sierras. I’ll definitely be posting a lot more photos of this beauty.

Alabama Hills California

An impressive place to make some coffee. Just moments from where they filmed Tremors and Django Unchained. 

GIANT SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK ADVENTURE

This year for my brother’s birthday we went to Giant Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park with a troop of friends. We got the biggest campsite we could find to host this multiple day adventure. We did all the usual stuff like tell scary stories, make delicious food, barricade my brother in his tent and hike deep into the Giant Forest. We managed to climb through a fallen giant sequoia tree which was unbelievable and very cool. 

The number one place we see bears is in the giant sequoia forests. And everyone really wanted to see bears so we went scouting for bears. It can be very rare to see them and we were all fully aware of this. With a few tricks up our sleeves (patience, locations, time of day) we trekked on with certainty that we’d see some bears. After a full day of adventuring and to our complete amazement we stumbled upon the cutest baby bear climbing a tree. She was eating some leaves and her momma was directly below in the meadow. It was a very beautiful moment, a moment I realized I was hiking in a forest that is home to thousands of creatures. 

Carrizo Plain National Monument

This was our first time to Carrizo Plain and it’s a truly incredible place. It’s home to the largest concentration of endangered species in California and we managed to see a few including a Pronghorn and Tule Elk. 

It’s hard to believe that such a cool National Monument is the least crowded place we’ve ever visited in California. The Carrizo Plain is just 100 miles as the bird flies from Los Angeles but by vehicle it’s a trek and be ready for dirt roads because that’s how you’ll be getting around. The Carrizo Plain gets brutally hot and dry in the summer and there are no services in the monument. Come prepared with lots of water and watch out for the low flying birds. The Carrizo Plain is a remarkable hidden treasure.