On the last weekend of January, Chris and I finally headed to the mountains for our first hike of the year. My younger brother got me an annual parks pass for Christmas so we also (finally) got to use it! I really wanted to head over to Sequoia National Park but due to the snow, we opted to go to Kings Canyon National Park instead, which is to the north of Sequoia and has less winding roads.
That weekend was very cold, so we also bought some secondhand snow chains in case we needed it when we got up to the mountains. Safety first!
When we arrived, our first order of business was to visit General Grant. Named after the 18th president of the county, the Grant tree is the largest tree in the park AND the second largest tree in the entire world (right after General Sherman). Another interesting fact about General Grant is that for a tree this size, it’s actually really young too!
We only explored in the Grant Grove area because most areas were blocked off due to the snow. We did go off the path and did some exploring of our own. At some point, we were just walking aimlessly on the snow that we ended up at the main road!
Despite not being able to explore much, headed up to the mountains is always a fun time! Besides, this was our very hike in snow so that itself was already pretty exciting for me. Afterwards, we stopped by Panda Express for some lunch and headed home!
Interested in visiting Kings Canyon? Check out the official NPS page for the park! What’s your favorite season to hike in?
