On Day 8 of a 16 day epic trip, we arrived at Sequoia National Park in California. By this point, we have driven almost 2,000 miles and had spent 3 days at the beach and 2 days at some of California's theme parks. It was time for a little relaxation and enjoying the great outdoors. This was to be the first trip to Sequoia by anyone in the family. We had no idea what to expect apart from seeing some of the largest trees in the world.

The Big Four Ice Caves are a wonder.  Some years almost non-existent, some years speculator!  Every year a little different.  This year - Fabulous.  I hope you can get a sense of the scale of the cave when you see that image I took from a distance.  That little speck of a hiker is Travis approaching the mouth of the beast. 

A few weeks ago, Chris and I had the chore honor of hitting the trail for a couple of nights with Rylan.

Below is a quick video we made for Shug, but I thought I'd post it here for other Southeastern Backpackers listeners to actually see that Rylan does exist, and what you can expect if you ever hit the trail with him.  Here are a few other pictures from that hike.

December 27, 2009

OK, hang on for a little photo tour of Travis and me climbing up to the Pilchuck lookout tower:

Every year for the past 7 years, my sons and I, my brother-in-law and his sons, my father-in-law and other brother-in-law have taken a trip to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge (WMWR) near Lawton, Oklahoma. On these trips, we generally spend 2 days hiking, bouldering and rock climbing. This year, for the first time, it was just my oldest son (12), myself, my brother-in-law and his son (11). So, this time we felt we'd be a little adventurous. We got more than we bargained for!

For those who have never been to the WMWR, it is an extremely rugged piece of property near Fort Sill outside of Lawton, Oklahoma. The mountains are small compared to most ranges in the Rockies and even the Appalachians, but there are few maintained trails and the terrain is generally covered with very large chunks of granite strewn about. You must keep a watchful eye on the trail at your feet to avoid twisting an ankle or stumbling and doing a face plant into the 10 grit sandpaper-like rocks.