Kings Canyon

About a month ago, I purchased a tent.  It was a small purchase made with big intentions...a love of the outdoors is a trait that was instilled in my sister and me at an early age by my parents, and it has only grown stronger since I moved to California.  However, even though I have lived in this awesome state for almost a year, I had yet to properly explore it with a camping trip!  To remedy this, Edel and I packed up his little truck, and made the 4 hour drive out to Kings Canyon National Park.


Kings Canyon is neighbors with the famous Sequoia National Park (essentially they are one in the same), yet, somehow, it is much less busy.  It reminded me of Yosemite, but without all the crowds and traffic.  Basically, IT WAS AMAZING.  But don't take my word for it.  Just look at all of my pictures instead!

Me exploring the creek behind our campsite in style.

Pretty river.

A cool bridge on our 9 mile hike to Mist Falls

Hiking through the canyon to Mist Falls.  The scenery changed with the drop of a dime.

General Grant tree.  Not as famous as General Sherman tree, but still pretty big if you ask me...

This guy hitchhiked a ride for a few miles.

 

(Left) Edel is proudly displaying his handy work.  (Right) Some of the scenery on the drive to Kings Canyon

(Left) A sizable tree at our campground.

(Right) On our way to see Roaring River Falls

We walked along this river on our day hike to Mist Falls.  It was pretty darn picturesque.

Roaring River Falls basically just rushes out of a granite chute.  Pretty cool!

 (Left) Edel's truck (which we named 'Pepe') was such a trooper.  Over 12,000 feet of elevation change overall, and he still got almost 30 mpg!  

(Right) The creek by our campsite

Hiking in style

 

Edel's old man bones were feeling those hikes by the end of the day! Above is me on the way to Mist Falls, frolicking in the ferns.

"I'M KING OF THE WOOORRRLLD!!!" 

Another pretty river shot on the way to Mist Falls.  These trusty walking sticks did us a lot of good along the way! 

Spectacular views.  Zero crowds.

We finally made it to Mist Falls, and the view was well worth the hike.  I promise, a picture doesn't do justice to its size!  This is one of the parks largest waterfalls, and it's about 4.5 miles from the nearest road.

Edel enjoyed our lunch break at Mist Falls by testing out the waters of the river.  It was really cold.

We drove past this cute little fall (Grizzly Falls) on our way home.

This picture is more for my father than anyone.  If he understood how far down the bottom of the canyon was, he would not have approved of my posing like this.  I promise that I wasn't in any danger, but it made even Edel nervous.

On our way home we stopped at a sequoia grove to marvel at some big trees, and we weren't disappointed.  They were pretty big.

Point Reyes National Seashore

Before I jump into things, I want to apologize about the lack of entries recently.  I mostly credit my laziness, but I wouldn't want you to think that Amanda and I lead boring lives.  We don't, I promise!  So here's a little something I found to be blog-worthy: Point Reyes National Seashore.

This massive national park preserve is located about an hour north of San Francisco, just off of the beautiful Highway 1.  The park is packed with hiking trails, campgrounds, rocky bluffs overlooking the Pacific, whale-watching, and beaches galore!  The hike that Edel and I trekked was about 8 miles altogether with a peaceful lake at the halfway mark that we used for a nice swimming break.

We started our hike by walking through a grove of towering eucalyptus trees.  I, for one, think that these trees are just awesome, so I had to snap a quick pic.

 The trail was occasionally dotted with picturesque seasonal ponds in between the mountainside trails, the coastal views, and the woodsy areas.  This place had EVERYTHING.

Halfway to the waterfall, we took a picnic break at Bass Lake, a nice little fresh water lake along the way.  There was a nice small crowd of twenty-somethings, drinking beer and floating on rafts enjoying the summer sun.  We are already planning a return trip to copy their brilliant idea.

After the lake, we hiked a couple more miles to Alamere Falls, a rather breathtaking waterfall that drops 150 feet off a cliff almost directly into the ocean.  The views were pretty decent, if I do say so myself.

Obligatory "couple" photo.  He is absolutely wonderful.

 We attempted to climb down the cliffs to get a picture of the waterfall from the base, but eventually the descent got too steep (and crumbly) for comfort, so we settled for some pictures of the cascades near the top.

These falls were small compared to Alamere Falls, but they sure make Edel look rather minuscule.

This picture was the result of Edel leaning over the cliff on his belly and randomly aiming the camera at the huge fall from the top.  It made me a little nervous, so I made myself busy exploring the surrounding area while he played photographer.

Me having conquered the baby waterfall!  It really was an excellent day, and well worth the two hour drive.  We will definitely be back!