After the biggest snowstorm of 2017, the Cosmonaut crew sets off for the Giant Redwood Sequoias of Grant Grove (Home to the 2nd biggest tree on Earth)
During winter, Grant Grove is transformed as the deep red bark of the trees contrasts against the powdery white of fresh snow.
Dwarfed
Its amazing to think that some of these trees stood hundreds of years before the fall of the Roman Empire & almost 2,000 years before the conquerer Ghengis Khan.
Rising above the ground at 200-300 feet, these trees live up to their nickname as Nature's Skyscrapers.
Spaced Out. In places like this its easy to see how small we are in the grand scheme of things, & the Cosmic Perspective becomes all the more clear.
With sun-lit steam dancing off the fallen Mark Twain tree, the sound of dripping water leads Mother Nature's Symphony amid the 11th largest tree in the world, the Robert E. Lee tree.
The Mark Twain tree is so large in fact, that it acts as a tunnel through Grant Grove.
And if you look up...... there's a window to another world.
Magnificent tree after magnificent tree cocked our heads back, humbling us with their overwhelming presence.
As our path turns icy, we begin Hobo Ice Skating among Giants as we exit Grant Grove.
A little snow-play before setting up camp never hurt.
With camp now fully set up, we wander off to watch the last light diminish as the powdery snow glows a ruby red.
A night hike through Grant Grove offered an eery seclusion with the Robert E. Lee tree towering over us as it climbed into the star scattered sky.
A return inside the fallen Mark Twain tree tunnel sent us straight to stargazing Mark V.
Yawning and ready for bed we say goodnight to these Wintering Giants, still amazed with the grandeur of it all.
A peachy 15 degree night quickly heats up in the unbroken morning sun.
Kept company only by birds in song, the peace and serenity of this mountain morning is something words lack the ability to describe. Best put: it was like a mind vacation.
Breakfast calls for fire! Water supplies now low, its time to melt some snow as we cook up some grub.
Growing increasingly thirsty, some of us take to alternative methods of hydrating.
Sufficiently fed & hydrated, its time to saddle up in Sputnik to find the picturesque Hume Lake.
Hwy 180 has so many sights along it, refraining from detours is near impossible & always worth it.
Like I said, always worth it.
Seriously! Does it get better than this?
Having successfully detoured through this subalpine meadow we take in one last view before we continue up the Generals Highway.
A few miles up the road we reach the icicle-laden creek feeding into Hume Lake.
Frozen! In consequence of the recent storm, a thick layer of ice covers the entirety of the lake.
A Giant Sequoia log used in summer as an archaic canoe spends most of its time as snowy perch during winter.
During July these shores swell with eager swimmers, but December offers a private viewing.
Old Man Winter has a firm grip on the Sierra Nevadas.
Getting a closer look in these conditions is daunting. Icy granite slides like a hockey rink & 10 foot erosion holes lie hidden under fresh snow.
Like the winding river we call it a misadventure & flow downstream along a river of asphalt.
On our drive home, the Generals Highway leads us to one of the best views of Kings Canyon winding into the frozen Hume Lake.
Remember what we said about detours? Yeah, we took a few more.
Enveloped in a milky blanket of fog, the Sierra foothills tuck-in the Sun for the approaching night.