If you haven’t taken a girls’ trip out in the woods… this is your sign to round up your group of girlfriends and get out there!! There’s nothing like being surrounded by nature and having a good laugh with some of your best friends. Free therapy some might say…
How it started:
Since we all live in San Diego, CA, we all piled into the biggest car we could get a hold of, packed it full of camping gear, and hit the road for 7 hours.
My friend was able to reserve a campsite in Sequoia about 2 months in advance. We went in early/mid October and the weather was just perfect! During the day the weather stayed in the high 60’s, and although it got down to the 30’s at night, it’s nothing a little campfire and a warm sleeping bag couldn’t fix.
Where we camped:
Although there are many campsites to choose from in Sequoia, we stayed at the Lodgepole Campsite! Located in the middle of the National Park, this campsite had tons of access to nearby hikes, walks, and one of the visitor centers. Most of the “must-see” walks like Big Giants, General Sherman Tree, Tunnel Log, and Auto Log are located just a short 5-10 minute drive away from Lodgepole.
What a typical day looked like for us:
- Woke up around 8/9 am
- Cooked a big breakfast to power ourselves for the days’ hike/outdoor activities
- Packed our hiking day packs with cameras, lunch, and water
- Hiked and explored the forests and woods
- Returned to camp between 4-6 pm (depending on where we adventured that day)
- Everyone gathered some firewood (twigs, fallen branches, pine needles) for the very necessary nightly bonfire (FYI: not all campsites allow this and require you to bring your own firewood, so be prepared!)
- Cooked dinner on our butane-powered stove
- Sat around the campfire and ate smores, talked about life/dreams, or played board games
Things we bought at the grocery store beforehand:
- 9 gallons of water (for 4 people/ 5 days- for cooking and drinking)
- Soy chorizo (taco night and breakfast burritos)
- Turkey slices
- Egg carton
- Cheese (sandwiches/burritos)
- Cooking spray
- Whole grain bread for sandwiches
- Peanut butter & jelly
- Oatmeal (really easy to make in the morning if you are pinched for time!)
- Velveeta Mac and Cheese (you just add water… no milk refrigeration necessary)
- Chips/other snacks
- Apples and bananas
- Carrots and cucumbers
- Nuts (protein and fats to sustain us on hikes)
- Pancake mix (get the one where you just add water)
- Coffee & oat creamer
- Canned soup (for our lazy dinner when we didn’t feel like cooking or got back late from sight-seeing)
- Wine (no explanation necessary lol)
We were able to buy ice at the Lodgepole campsite store to keep our food fresh and chilled! We also had to put all of our food/ items that smell (soap/ candles/ coolers) in our bear box at our campsite! We were told not to put coolers/ food in the car, because bears will break into cars!
3 Hikes You Need to Do:
- Tokopah Falls
Relatively easy terrain and located only a 5-minute walk from the Lodgepole campsite, this hike is ideal for campers who want to take their time in the morning and are looking for a beautiful stroll through the woods with some stunning views. This hike took us around 2 hours.
2. Moro Rock
In contrast to Tokopah, Moro Rock is a steep vertical climb on top of a rock. It’s a quick 20/30 minute climb depending on your fitness level and need to take pictures of the views every few steps (ME!!) Although touristy, (and for good reason), Moro Rock offers a stunning 360-degree view of the valleys and surrounding mountains.
3. Pear Lake
Located only a 7-minute drive away from the Lodgepole campsite, Pear Lake trailhead offers breathtaking vantage points as well as the option to swim in 3 different alpine lakes along the way. This hike was by far our favorite of the trip, not just because of the picturesque lookout points, but also the physicality and accomplishment of pushing our bodies.
4 Easy walks around Sequoia:
- Congress Trail
2. General Grant Tree
3. General Sherman Tree
4. Crescent Meadow Loop
6 Things to keep in mind/be aware of:
- There was little to no service (our friend who had Verizon was able to have service the whole time).
- Since we went camping in the middle of October, after the high season, there weren’t as many people camping around us… minus the weekends.
- If you stay at the Lodgepole campsite, there are showers for a fee of 1 dollar per 2/3 minutes. There is a quarter machine nearby the showers so no need to stress about carrying a bunch of coins. The showers strictly closed at 5:45 pm and many people were turned away. We got there around 5:10 and barely made it, so make sure to get there ahead of closing time.
- Not all the campsites have showers within walking distance… ours only had a bathroom and we only took 1 shower for the 5 days we were there. Baby wipes will be your best friend!
- Since national parks are popular around the world, you will run into a lot of international people here. We heard French, German, Russian, and even met some people from other countries in Central Asia which was cool!
- Something I didn’t know: At every campsite, there are designated people called Hosts who are at that specific campsite for the duration of the season to help answer questions about anything and everything related to the National Park. We had a question about firewood and she told us we could pick up fallen logs and branches around our campsite. Another woman had a question about her campsite and it being occupied by another camper. The Host was able to help her find a new unoccupied campsite.
Summary:
We had an amazing time camping at Sequoia National Park and I highly recommend it to all my nature lovers out there!
I hope this full itinerary was able to help you plan for your future camping trip! All four of us agreed on a mixture of exploring and relaxing so we created a very flexible schedule like this.
If you would like to see more hiking and traveling itineraries please comment on this post or email us!
I would love to make this a series called Girls Gone Camping! and share all our travel tips with you all.
Leave a Reply