Giant Forest!!

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I woke up at the Lodgepole campground and a storm had moved in and was dropping rain and hail. Once the weather mellowed out a bit I headed over to the visitors center to get another backcountry permit for my next trip... but the permit station was closed! So I had to drive over to the self-serve permit station by the Giant Forest Museum. After getting my permit I decided to spend the afternoon taking a walk along some of the trails in the Giant Forest. I started at the General Sherman trailhead, which was packed full of tourists as usual. I got down to the General Sherman tree, the largest of all the Sequoias, but I've seen it a few times before so I quickly left the crowds and headed out the Congress trail. All the fog moving though the giant trees made it somewhat surreal. Like being in a dream.

The Congress trail

Tree root cave

Looking up at the trees

Eventually I came upon a couple hiking the other direction and they warned me they had just seen a bear. Sure enough a few more bends in the trail and I came up on two bears! When I tried to pass, one of them actually false charged me! It was pretty wild. Once passed them I sat and watched them eat pine cones for awhile. Then I kept moving down the trail, feeling dwarfed by all the massive trees. Eventually I came upon the junction for the Alta trail and decided to hike up it a bit. There were more big beautiful trees all along it. At some point I decided to leave the trail and I hiked a little ways over to a particularly big Sequoia and I stopped and sat there for a bit. As I was sitting there relaxing a few deer came by and actually got pretty close to me without even realizing I was there! I enjoyed watching them for awhile and then I made my way back to the Congress trail and eventually back to the crowds at the General Sherman trailhead.

Watching the two Black bears

Junction with the Alta trail

Hiking up the Alta trail

Selfie with two giant Sequoias

A massive Sequoia

Watching the deer

After the hike I headed back to the Lodgepole campground where I spent the rest of the day getting my stuff all packed up and ready for my next backpacking adventure!

Back at Lodgepole enjoying my campfire