Pinnacles & Sequoia National Park

It was a short day at Pinnacles since we were coming from Big Sur. We knew there was some rock climbing close to a parking lot so we headed there. Although the sun was on its way down we proceeded. Since we had no service and the park rangers were no help, we had no idea what route we were climbing, but it looked easy from the ground. Although we’ve top roped plenty of times, neither of us has led sport climb. It was only three bolts and I had a better understanding of how to anchor once at the top, so I went up first. Once on top rope Zack followed and cleaned. I kicked butt for it being my first time. Now we were more confident. It’s one thing to theoretically know how, but now we actually went through the motions of a sport climb, start to finish. We felt great. We decided to go back the next morning and Zack led this time around. Once Zack was on the ground we realized it was October 31st and it was halloween. 

Up next was Sequoia National Park. After some intense air guitaring and blasting some classic rock we made it back towards the mountains. The middle of California is solely produce farms. We were getting so bored driving we started to guess the fruit or vegetable that was growing on an adjacent field. When we passed the garlic field our eyes lit up. When we finally arrived we saw signs of construction and two hour delays. When we entered the visitor center a ranger shouted “quick leave now you can make it to the next car opening” the road only opened on the hour and it was 4:45. We still had to drive north to even get to the road closure. We jumped in De’Von and quickly sped up the hills. The Sequoia trees grow in a relatively high elevations and the road with construction was the only way to see them. When we made it the cars in front of us were starting their engines. Perfect timing. The Sequoia tree is the biggest tree in world. The redwoods are taller but the width of the Sequoia trunk is significantly wider and therefore has more mass. They are two completely different forests. In the redwoods every tree is massive, however in the Sequoia forest, the giants are more spread out and other vegetation is dispersed in between. 

We went to General Sherman Tree hiked around and ultimately made the decision to go back into the closest large town and get $3 Chipotle Booritos. We were starving. Plus all we had to do was dress up in our Halloween costumes, so we couldn’t pass up a deal like that. After we devoured our food we went to a Walmart to see if they had any cheap string lights. Since we have been without lights for what seems like forever. Using our headlights to cook isn’t as fun as you think. We saw a few homeless people in the parking lot but didn’t think much about it since we would be fast. They didn’t have what we were looking for so we left. As we approached our car we spotted a guy trying to steal our bikes!!! Zack started chasing him, but the guy was on a bike so he took off. By the time I knew what was happening we were in the van searching for the guy. Zack was out of his window with bear spray obviously overreacting. Our bikes were fine, we have two locks on them as well as a confusing bike rack that would be time consuming for anyone to figure out. After Zack calmed down we headed to a new Walmart to sleep in. This one had a security guard that we talked to. He looked like he could be 18, but he gave me some peace of mind. He ensured us we would be safe after we told him about our experience. We finished season three of Narcos, maybe now Zack won’t bug me to watch it everything time we have service.