Family Adventure Tours
1164 Alvira Street
Los Angeles, CA 90035
323 377-7565
davewyman@imountainman.com
Dates: Friday-Sunday, July 4-6 2008 (With an option for arrival July 3, see below)
Transportation: via private auto
Departure For Sequoia: Friday, anytime
Trip Ends: Sunday, after breakfast
Accommodations: beautiful campground at Quaking Aspen Campground (judged one of the top 100 best campgrounds in the west by Sunset Magazine)
Weather: warm days, cool evenings (we are camping at about 7,000 feet) are the norm. The trip will run, rain or shine!
Cost: $110 for adults, $70 for kids; kids under 2 are free
The Trip: Swing into the heart of summer with the California Science Center, on a trip to the Sierra Nevada mountains to see those benign monsters of the forest, the giant sequoia trees, and enjoy a special time with your family, and other families, in a beautiful mountain setting. We'll spend a very relaxed, leisurely weekend, with easy paced hikes and activities.
Our secluded, spacious group campsite is located in Sequoia National Forest, part of the recently designated Sequoia National Monument. Guided include walking through groves of giant sequoias, a a short jaunt to our "secret" waterfall, great meals, campfire sessions, a hike to a fire lookout, and more. Optional activities include wading in nearby Peppermint Creek, enjoying the view from the top of Dome Rock, and soaking in the waters at the California Hot Springs, a 1930s resort in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Of course, you can just relax in camp and do nothing at all. And the trip leaders will do the cooking! It's a wonderful way to pass an entertaining, educational weekend with your family.
Leaders: Dave Wyman has conducted innumerable family camping trips, and he will ensure that you have a good time. Dave originated family camping trips for many natural history groups, including the Los Angeles Zoo and the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. Reid Bogert, who has co-led family trips for a decade with Dave, will also join us, and so will Carlos Gamez, another veteran of family trips. Additional leaders will be added depending on the group size.
 First Fish! |
What You Need To Bring: - Warm sleeping bags & foam pads - we are camping at
approximately 7,000 ft. (bring an extra blanket to spread
over everyone if you don't have warm sleeping bags) |
What will be provided:
- Trip leaders
- Two breakfasts (Saturday and Sunday)
- One lunch (Saturday)
- Two dinners (Friday and Saturday)
- Guided hikes and activities
- Beautiful group campground site
Registration: Space is limited and is first come first served, by mail. When you send payment, we'll send a confirmation letter and any additional information. Cancellations: If you cannot participate in the trip, please notify us as soon as possible. If you cancel up to two weeks prior to the trip departure date, we will cheerfullly refund your money, minus a $25 cancellation fee. If you are canceling two weeks or less before the departure date, you will not receive a refund, unless your slots can be filled, in which case we will still cheerfully refun your money, minus the $25 cancellation fee.
To Register: Send a check to Family Adventure Tours, 1164 Alvira Street, Los Angeles, CA 90035. You can also register with your credit card, through paypal.com. If you've used the services of paypal before, you know what to do: log on and use Dave's e-mail address to make a payment. If you would like more information about paypal, contact Dave.
Basic Itinerary: On Friday drive up to the campground at your leisure. Trip leaders will arrive by early afternoon. We'll have dinner, followed by a friendly campfire session, complete with marshmallows and hot chocolate. On Saturday after a good breakfast, we'll make a five minute drive to the trail head leading to a beautiful grove of giant sequoias, rarely visited by more than a few people at a time. After lunch, we'll have a chance to visit a spectacular fire lookout, which has been constructed atop a massive granite spire, offering wonderful views of the Sierras in all directions, and visit with the woman who lives in this glass house. We can also choose an easier walk around our campground meadow and visit our "secret waterfall," or play in the water at nearby Peppermint Creek. We'll have dinner, and another campfire session, with hot chocolate and s'mores. On Sunday after another big breakfast, we'll pack up camp, and drive south, with chances to stop first at Dome Rock, which is a hunk of rounded granite with a top the size of a few footballs fields and an impressive view of the Kern River Canyon. We can also visit the Redwood Grove with its short Walk of One Hundred Giants. A final stop, and one trip leaders recommend, is California Hot Springs, an old resort in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Then it will be time to head for home in earnest.
Directions: Take I-5 north through the San Fernando Valley, and continue to the Highway 99 junction. Take 99 to Bakersfield. Take Highway 65 north to Porterville. Take 190 east to Quaking Apsen. Look for gas along this stretch and fill your tank! Gas is expensive where we are staying.
Once you're on 190, you will continue about 15 miles to the little town of Springville. Now drive the final 25 miles, which twist up into the mountains. About 9 miles past the little community of Camp Nelson, watch on your right for the Quaking Aspen campground. Drive downhill about 20 yards and turn left into the group site parking loop. (If you pull straight ahead, you will end up in the family camping sites.) Park in the loop; we are on the loop's far end. We are in sites A and B.
Optional, but slightly more complicated route: Fom Highway 65, turn right at the little community of Ducor (Ave. 56 - about 40 miles from Bakersfield). Follow signs to California Hot Springs. Continue past the hot springs about 2 miles, and turn left at the junction (if you turn right, you'll soon hit a dirt road) - Mountain Road 50. Continue up to the next junction, the Great Western Divide Highway, and turn left. Continue about 14 miles to the campground, on your left. You will know you are close when you pass the Ponderosa Lodge, on your right - you will have about 2 miles to go. The campground is not well signed, so take it slow and watch carefull on your left for the turn into the campground.
Note: This is old fashioned camping. The campground does have running water, and picnic tables and there's an ampitheater where Dave will put on a slide show. There are no showers at the campground, and restrooms are of the basic outhouse design &endash; no flushing. The nearest phone is at the Ponderosa lodge, about 1.5 miles past the campground; cellular phones can usually pick up a signal from our campground.
Showers after all: We'll only have to go one full day without a shower, because we can visit the California Hot Springs on the way back home, which provides a great way to end the trip; bring $6 per person (the one hour rate, but no one's keeping time). Showers, a pool, and jacuzzis are also on hand. And we can buy a hamburger or an ice cream cone to help us make the drive back down to Highway 99.
Early Arrival Option: We have the campground reserved the day before, Thursday, and will be on site that afternoon. You are invited to come early, but you'll be responsible for your own food (meals are available at the Ponderosa).
If you have more questions, call Dave Wyman, at (323) 377-7565, or e-mail him at davewyman@imountainman.com.
We hope to see you on the trip.
