We awoke with the sun risen and warming up the day, giving us incredible views of last nights sleeping quarters.
We had decided to head northwest to our destination of San Francisco, through the mountains and land on the other side of Yosemite. We could take a few days to explore on our way, so we hit the road.
It takes us longer than it should to get anywhere because we’re constantly stopping to take in the new surroundings!
As we left the deserts edge and ventured into new climates, the mountains were starting to crop up in the distance.
We stopped for lunch in a lovely little town where autumn had really started to take its hold.
After a brief respite in civilisation it was time to head up some mountains!
We arrived at Twin Lakes Campground on Mammoth Mountain with sun still to spare, so we picked a site, pitched up, then immediately went back out to get supplies for the fire later on. With California being so dry there are strong restrictions on having fires so we’re keen to take an opportunity when we can.
We came back to camp and put all of our supplies in the “Bear Proof Locker” (read: sleepy Hatti who knows there’s snacks and wants a midnight bite proof locker) before heading out for a walk. The campground had suggested there were quite a few loops in the area and we were keen to stretch our legs.
The Mammoth Lakes area is actually home to a network of a few different lakes right next to each other. All at a fairly high altitude, and all incredibly beautiful.
As we continued on our walk and continued to climb, we came across Horseshoe Lake, which appeared to be another beautiful serene area but were confused by the surrounding area, and warning signs not to dig or picnic on the sands.
As it turns out a series of earthquakes in 1989 and 1990 have released carbon dioxide into the soil which kills the trees. About 170acres have been affected so far and all because – plot twist – Mammoth Mountain is actually a Volcano!
After over 2 hours of walking the track and with the sun just beginning to dip lower in the sky, we were mightily pleased to see this sign.
And before we knew it, just as the sun was fading we got back to our camp spot for the evening. With enough light left to make a cuppa and get started on dinner.
We had even given ourselves a special treat for all the walking!
We stayed by the fire for the evening, staying cosy and eating too much. When it finally died down we really noticed how much the temperature had dropped and so opted to sleep in the car.
As it turned out the next morning, this was a good idea!
We wrapped up in most of the clothes we had and immediately hopped out to “test the snow”
It’s easy to see how the area is a ski resort in the winter months, when winter descends in a night.
It was still snowing as we packed up and played about so we decided to try and find a slightly warmer spot for breakfast.
After thawing the car (and ourselves) out, we continued on our journey through the mountains to the other side of the national park and on further west.
This would mean climbing back up through the mountain ranges, and with our first and second choice of passes already closed for the winter it meant a bit of a detour.
Not that we really minded, we continued our tradition of stopping every so often to take in yet another gorgeous view as we climbed back up to about 8500ft and back down again.
After emerging from the other side of the mountains, and back closer to sea level we found a lovely spot to camp, this time by chance, Camanche Lake Reservoir campground is another state run campground next to (you guessed it) a reservoir. We were told it was now their off-season and so we were given free run of the place with only a couple of other campers doing their own thing in the distance. We’ve been fairly lucky with campsites so far, the only particularly busy site had, unsurprisingly, been at the Grand Canyon.
We were still just as excited to be in another beautiful spot for the night though, and so we set up and ate dinner before watched the sun set over the reservoir.
The next morning gave us more opportunity to explore the area and so we leisurely packed up before continuing our journey west.
Our destination for the evening was Silicon Valley, we were now so close to civilisation that camping was no longer an option (people do it for fun on the weekends and take up space! How rude!) we opted to explore some of the city and enjoy the comfort of a motel for the night.
Silicon Valley is home to some of the biggest and leading tech brands in the world so we thought it only polite that we stop in and see if the tech company campuses really are like we thought!
Spoiler alert: They are.
Also featured was a beach volleyball court in the quad and lots of outdoor seating and chill areas, all with Google’s signature colour scheme.
Fully overstimulated with experiencing everything from quiet hills, to bustling cities, to tech empires in one day. We retired to our humble motel abode, and hit they hay, resting up for another day!
Our next stop would be San Francisco and we were excited to get there and explore The Golden City.
Hatti x
Bear Grylls would have had a swim in the lake not just washed his face! The snow must have been fun.
Wow! What an Autumn spectacle 😍 It must be such a buzz to be playing in snow then basking in the sunshine, all in the same country and within 48 hours 😀 XX
Jolly snow ! Also a great time to see the autumn colours:)