Kings Canyon National Park – Like I’ve never seen it before

Brief cap of what I've been up to out there!

I absolutely love Yosemite and have been there at least a dozen times this summer alone. With that said, I have found that it's time to explore new areas.  I have ventured out to parts of the Kaiser Wilderness and areas of Huntington.  My niece and I visited Rancheria Falls on August 7, Rancheria is a short mile hike with a beautiful fall at the end of the trail. It was her first hike and she finally admitted, she is not ready for Half Dome quite yet! The night before our hiking adventure she "nagged" me about wanting to hike half dome, she even was on the internet looking up pictures and saying how "cool" it would be. :) The following weekend I went back to the area to attempt Kaiser Peak. With my navigating skills still in training, I decided to stop after about 2 miles because I could not figure out where the trail went. Needless to say, I have registered for a map and compass class to learn about how to read topo maps and use a compass properly. When hiking in the wilderness, it is kind of an essential one should know. After my short 4 mile hiking that day, I ended up taking the Jeep on some OHV trails to explore different areas that I haven't seen before. I saw some amazing views of Kaiser Wildness and other areas surrounding Huntington and Shaver Lakes.

Another exploration I have discovered recently, is the outdoor school at REI. They offer so many free workshops for hikers/backpackers. I had the privilege of going to three in the past month. Two were backpacking, one specifically for women, and the other one was Fresno County's Search and Rescue team, I found that one fascinating. The stories alone were amazing and what got my attention was that 60+ of the men and women are volunteers. What an amazing thing for one to do. I volunteer through activities at work all the time, but hadn't really thought about volunteering for something near and dear to my heart.  I have this opportunity on my mind. :)

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks...

The drive to these two parks is simple yet beautiful. The view of the foothills and everything surrounding has a way of just letting you be free of worry like nothing else matters. My first stop was Hume Lake. I had never seen this lake before. This was a great place to stop for lunch. A view of a lake and mountains while eating, it just doesn't get any better than that, well for this day it didn't!

Mist Falls – Sunday,  August 14, 2011

This adventure took place where the road ends (literally that is what the map says!). Mist Falls in Kings Canyon National Park is a simple and joyful hike.  With about 800 feet in elevation gain over 4.6 miles, it’s almost like a walk in the park.   Most of the trail goes along a beautiful meadow that has wild flowers and is mostly shaded for those who are enjoying this hike on a warm sunny day.  The trail has gorgeous views of the river and the water is so clear and crisp. Fellow hikers even took this as a chance to cool off in areas where the water wasn’t flowing down stream, this isn’t advisable. Many of the fellow hikers warned me about their bear sitings they had seen. I luckily did not see this bear everyone was talking about.

This particular trail is the path to Pacific Crest Trail if you keep going about 18 miles. And if you past Mist Falls, it will take you to Paradise Valley! There were many backpackers hiking on this trail.  I always find it interesting to ask them where they have been and where are they going. Kind of like Forrest Gump.

For a spur of the moment trip to the park, this has to have been one of my favorite hikes in this area thus far. I guess it's kind of hard to have other favorites when I haven't really done much hiking in Kings Canyon National Park.