Official Camping Dates and Location

[Raiden]

Location: Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park - Cedar Grove Area

Dates: July 6th-8th


Important Details:

The camping trip for AvatarMeet 2014 will be from Sunday July 6th - Tuesday July 8th. This includes everyone that is interested in camping this year, no matter what kind of camping you are interested in (or indicated on your AvatarMeet.com profile). Sunday is designed to be a flexible arrival day to accommodate different flight times and carpools. It is a 4-5 hour drive to the campground from Los Angeles International Airport so we advise people to carpool if possible.

We have reserved a group campsite at the Canyon View Campground. We will be at Group Campsite D.* As an alternative, there is a lodge on site with rooms, and a store/restaurant. If you are planning to stay at the lodge we strongly recommend that you book a room as soon as possible as it is close to July 4th weekend and the rooms will fill up fast. If you are planning on camping with everyone at the group campsite you will be responsible for bringing your own sleeping gear tent/sleeping bag...ect More information on camp food plans and other logistical information will be announced soon.

Lodge Reservations: Cedar Grove Lodge

Campground:


Map with the campground and lodge location:



More information about specific activities and other logistical details will be announced in the next month or two. Although most likely the activities will include day hikes, night hikes, ecological/environmental learning activities, carpool trips to see the famous trees/caves/museums of the national park, and much more. Suggestions/Discussion is welcome!

(If you are interested in backpacking, before the main camping trip there will be an informal one night backpacking trip on Friday night. Please PM Aketuan if you are interested in joining.)

If you have any suggestions or questions just ask here in this thread. AvatarMeet.com will be updated so that everyone can officially indicate if they will be camping or not, so please check your profile so we can have an accurate count of the number of people attending.


Sunday July 6th:* * * * Arrival Day
Monday July 7th:* * * * Activities TBD*
Tuesday July 8th:* * * *Activities TBD
Wednesday July 9th:* *Check-out is at noon, everyone departs for Los Angeles

[Moco Loco]

One year I will go backpacking, it will happen! Great itinerary.

[Empty Glass]

Right on!! Man, I'm so happy for/jealous of you guys!

Suggestions:
-Bring a swimsuit! Right next to the parking lot at the Road's End permit station there's a very good "beach" where you can wade into the river and cool off on a hot day.
-Definitely visit the Grant Grove of sequoias. You'll actually drive by it on the way to Cedar Grove when you enter the park. There's a pretty nice visitor center in the Grant Grove area too, good for everyone who wants to learn more about the biology of the park. I'd almost recommend everyone meeting in Grant Grove on the first day and then driving together to Cedar Grove, just because the drive between the two groves chews up at least an hour of meetup time. IIRC Grant Grove is also the last place where you can buy gasoline.
-If you have time you can take a drive to the grove in Giant Forest, where the General Sherman tree (the largest living thing on Earth by volume) is located. Now that's not something everyone can say they've seen in their lives.

(BTW sorry if you guys already know all this...)

Any ideas on where the backpacking trip will be going to? I did a solo trek last year from Road's End to Granite Basin (the lakes underneath Granite Pass, visible at the top of the map). It was a pretty nice hike and wasn't crowded, although it was a little long and strenuous and only had water sources towards the end. I haven't done other treks from that area, although I have been on the other side of the Rae Lakes Loop trail that's east of Road's End (the Bubbs Creek and Paradise Valley trails). That's supposed to be a pretty popular area, though I don't know where you could spend a night. In any case, the rangers will have some helpful suggestions.

Hope you guys have tons of fun!!

[Aketuan]

Originally Posted by Empty Glass

Right on!! Man, I'm so happy for/jealous of you guys!

Suggestions:
-Bring a swimsuit! Right next to the parking lot at the Road's End permit station there's a very good "beach" where you can wade into the river and cool off on a hot day.
-Definitely visit the Grant Grove of sequoias. You'll actually drive by it on the way to Cedar Grove when you enter the park. There's a pretty nice visitor center in the Grant Grove area too, good for everyone who wants to learn more about the biology of the park. I'd almost recommend everyone meeting in Grant Grove on the first day and then driving together to Cedar Grove, just because the drive between the two groves chews up at least an hour of meetup time. IIRC Grant Grove is also the last place where you can buy gasoline.
-If you have time you can take a drive to the grove in Giant Forest, where the General Sherman tree (the largest living thing on Earth by volume) is located. Now that's not something everyone can say they've seen in their lives.

(BTW sorry if you guys already know all this...)

Any ideas on where the backpacking trip will be going to? I did a solo trek last year from Road's End to Granite Basin (the lakes underneath Granite Pass, visible at the top of the map). It was a pretty nice hike and wasn't crowded, although it was a little long and strenuous and only had water sources towards the end. I haven't done other treks from that area, although I have been on the other side of the Rae Lakes Loop trail that's east of Road's End (the Bubbs Creek and Paradise Valley trails). That's supposed to be a pretty popular area, though I don't know where you could spend a night. In any case, the rangers will have some helpful suggestions.

Hope you guys have tons of fun!!

Wow, thanks for the info. It seems like you know the area very well. You should be joining us this year...

[Empty Glass]

I do know the area pretty well, I suppose. I've gone camping there more times than I can count, extending all the way back to my earliest childhood memories. And yet, I've never gotten bored of the place. Those mountains and forests still possess a special thrill for me.

There is actually a very slight chance that I could go, but a lot of other dominoes have to be in place first before I can commit to going. In the meantime, I'm happy to offer any advice that might be needed, although I still don't know everything about this wonderful place.

[Aketuan]

Originally Posted by Empty Glass

I do know the area pretty well, I suppose. I've gone camping there more times than I can count, extending all the way back to my earliest childhood memories. And yet, I've never gotten bored of the place. Those mountains and forests still possess a special thrill for me.

Sounds like the same way I feel about my wilderness areas here in CO. It seems we both made the same connection to this planet...just in different places.

There is actually a very slight chance that I could go, but a lot of other dominoes have to be in place first before I can commit to going. In the meantime, I'm happy to offer any advice that might be needed, although I still don't know everything about this wonderful place.

Well I hope it all works out for you, I know we were talking about meeting up in the California Mountains waay back when these meetups first started. Anyway I'll definitely come to you if we have any questions.

[CyanRachel]

I'm planning on staying in a Standard room (with 2 double beds) at the Sequoia camping lodge, and I'm looking for a roommate to share.

If anyone is interested in sharing the room with me, please post a message here or PM me ASAP so I can go ahead and book a room.

[CyanRachel]

Well, it turns out I won't be joining the camping group after all, since I waited too late to book a room at the lodge and there are no rooms available now.
Bummer!

So disregard my above message about needing a roommate.