fivespot cabin

intermittent closure of Generals Highway this winter

Road construction continues in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park. I believe they are replacing a bridge at Halstead Meadow. For fivespot guests, that means the General Sherman tree and trails at Lodgepole will be inaccessible, but the General Grant tree, Hume Lake, Big Baldy, and Big Meadows trails are open and within a 30-minute drive from the cabin. Here's the latest from the Park website:

Generals Highway (Lodgepole to Grant Grove)
Closed on 1/2/2012: From Wuksachi Lodge to Montecito Resort (8 miles south of Hwy 180). 
UPDATE: As of Saturday, 1/7: Due to limited snowfall, the road between the parks will be open only on upcoming weekends and holidays from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. until measurable snowfall closes the road. After snowfall, the road is expected to be closed through April 1.

So, in brief, while there is no snow, Generals Highway is open on weekends and holidays. As of today (January 10) no snow/rain is expected for at least 7 days (this year's La Niña pattern is holding off any moisture). Hopefully that will change soon, and once it does, Generals Highway will be closed altogether until April 1.

Call the Park to get up-to-the-minute information: (559) 565-3341 (press 1, 1, 1) or (559) 335-2856.

fivespot tchotchkes on YouTube

Enjoy this fun stop-action movie made by fivespot guests last Christmas. Winter vacations are the best for inventing your own entertainment!

 

 

U.S. National Park Service Free Entrance Days in the National Parks

Visit Sequoia - Kings Canyon National Park for free! There are 17 free days in 2011, including National Park Week, April 16-24. National Park Free Entrance Days

That's a great time for driving up from the Valley through spring flowers, then snow-shoeing in sequoia groves. Fivespot is usually snow-free in April, so it's no problem to get around. Come on up!

above the fog

When it's not snowing, winter brings gorgeous, clear days, and sparkling nights to Pinehurst and the mountains above. From our 4000' perch above California, we look down on an ocean: it's Tule fog. Blanketing the San Joaquin Valley in the late nights, mornings, and sometimes all day in the winter, the fog looks like a vast sea from fivespot. Amazingly, there are islands too - the higher peaks of the Coast Ranges, as far as 140 miles from here.

You can glimpse this phenomenon from fivespot (a sunset view):

 

Bachrun and I (and other friends) often walk from fivespot to the Hogback - an infrequently-traveled county road with wonderful views. Here's what we saw on a partly-cloudy New Year's Day.

View to the southwest: the San Joaquin Valley and the Coast Ranges, with virga (rain that doesn't reach the ground) coming down.

Here are two views to the south of the Tehachapi Range. In the first, I zoomed in on the Tehachapis 150 miles away. In the second, it is as you would see it - no zoom, just a huge expanse of land from Hogback practically to L.A.

 

It wasn't the best day to get a good shot of the Sierras to the east. I will post more blog-worthy pictures of the Mineral King peaks and nearby Big Baldy, as seen from Hogback, soon. And learn more about California geography and weather from links I've posted on the sidebar.

a walk in the snow

There's been a series of big storms in the Sierras this week. Here's proof: a snowy walk behind fivespot last Monday. Now it's raining in Pinehurst, but drive 15 minutes to Grant Grove for another-order-of-magnitude snowy day!

a wintry day in Pinehurst

 Six inches of snow isn't too much, but it's not nothing. Snowshoes or good boots will get you around in this weather; you'll need chains on the road. Bet there's a lot more up in the Park!

The back porch at fivespot is covered and weather-protected, so you can run out of the sauna and into the snow or the Adirondack chairs.