Dome Rock and Sequoia National Forest

On Sunday we decided to have a chill day and climb at Dome Rock from which we could get a great view of what we had climbed yesterday. We did the four pitch Tree Route with Olivia and I climbing at the same time on the same rope while Darren belayed us. It was the same fashion that Darren and I climbed at Red Rocks the first time we met. The route was easy and fun and a bit interesting because Darren had to navigate it without a guidebook (I guess there aren't really good guidebooks for the area). On the second pitch he decided the crack was a bit too mossy and chausy (he's on it in the picture below), so he down-climbed, traversed right to a tree growing in the middle of the wall, and continued up a different, cleaner, and indeed correct crack.

This was taken in the middle of the route, but one would never know it.

A view of us and the Needles from the Dome Rock summit

Less than 2 months until Darren and I are maweed!

This is my favorite photo from the weekend. There were dozens of cairns on the summit, and this was the coolest and coolest one I've ever seen anywhere (plus you get a great view of the Needles in the background). I stealthily added my own small stone to the pile.
It's a tiny jaunt from the car to the top of Dome Rock. We actually had to hike down to get to the base for our climb. Hence, people can easily amble to the top of it...and hopefully do not play target practice with the climbers.

Beginning to head our way out of the Sequoia National Forest, we saw a sign for the Trail of 100 Giants. We decided to make a pit stop to hike around and play on the trees. I wasn't sure if I'd ever seen sequoias before, so I was super stoked. It seemed like another Californian thing that one must experience...and we just stumbled into doing it. Yipee!

Olivia and I being Sequoia tree huggers (she is hidden in the shadow).

The triple tree version of Romeo and Juliet (Sequoias have shallow root systems that move out laterally as they grow. This means that sometimes the systems and trees end up growing together.)

Inside a tree in which people used to keep their ducks. Seriously.