In March, I went on a loosely planned weekend trip to see big trees in Sequoia National Park and blooming poppy flowers in Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. Season was on the edge of spring and extra hours of daylight has offered beautiful opportunity to see some of the hidden gems of Southern California. I loaded my Nikon F5 with Kodak Ektar 100 film that I’ve stocked up from Adolph Gasser just before the store permanently closed its door on the main block of San Francisco.
Welcome to the photo journey. Shall we?
Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park
Blooming poppies of Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.
Sequoia National Park is located approximately 4-1/2 hours drive from San Francisco and 3-1/2 hours drive from Los Angeles. You can easily make the weekend trip to this amazing park from either part of Californian cities. This time, we left SF early in the morning and reached the park by noon.
Driving in Sequoia National Park or anywhere in the depth of Sierra can get pretty gnarly during the snow season. October through April are snowy time in Sierra and the road condition can change abruptly. I’d suggest checking the park’s official website for up to date information regarding to road condition and snow chain requirements. We went to the park in late March and although the snow already melted away in Three River (a gateway town to Sequoia) we saw decent amount of icy patches above 6,000 ft. elevation mark near Giant Forest and Big Trees Trail.
Along the long winding road there are overlooks to enjoy the great views.
Giant Forest is about one hour drive from Foothill Visitors Center.
I was very curious to see Mt. Whitney that I have summited previous year, but the glorious peak was tucked further beyond the mountains and was not visible from my point of view. If you are interested in hiking to the top of Mt. Whitney, here’s the post from last year that tells you everything you need to know!
General Sherman is the Earth’s largest single stem tree by volume and it stands tall in the center of forest. Giant Forest is very popular point of interest throughout the year, and it is particularly impressive to see when covered by snow. The sky was hazed by frosty chill air and the whole world view was glowing over reflective snow fields.
Big Tree Trails is a small loop hike that takes you to the heart of Giant Forest. We walked around the snowy trail and admired the world's largest tree.
Sequoia National Park also have great hiking trails that you can incorporate to your road trip itinerary if weather and time permits.
Three years ago, I went on a camping trip with MeetUp crew to Sequoia National Park and hiked to the summit of Alta Peak (11,207′) — it was quite challenging hike and my calves were well cramped up by the time I reached the top of bedrock overlooking the canyon ground through floating clouds under my feet. It was perfect introduction to high elevation hiking craze!
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Epic ascension to Alta Peak through clouds.
Gazing down the Earth from the top of Alta Peak.
Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve
Truly magical place on Earth that you have to see it to believe it.
Another beautiful destination for spring time road trip in California is Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. Late March through May is blooming season for the world’s famous poppy fields. We arrived here just in time to catch the early stage of blooming poppies.
Believe it or not, this incredible place is located merely one and half hour north of Los Angeles. I’ve been hearing about the myth of poppy heaven through various friends, but the truth was quite more vivid and saturated. Blue, white, orange, and occasional golden colors made this otherwise empty field on the outskirt of desert a spiritual paradise.
…Doesn’t this place look like a dream?
I choose Kodak Ektar 100 for my go-to film stock for this road trip because of its fine grains and smooth texture. You can find more detail about this film stock on B&H website if you’re interested. I would highly recommend taking this film roll for your next journey!
Feel free to leave a comment if you are interested in getting the photo prints in large format. I have them ready for sale 🙂
Links:
Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP website.
Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve website.