From a post nine years ago today:

Later today, I’m making a return visit to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. Sequoia is a special park for meโ€”it was my first visit there back in 1998 that sparked my excitement about visiting the big name western national parks.

I returned the following summer with Kim, eager to show her the amazing place I had experienced. That trip, captured in the photo below, really launched what would become my lifelong national parks quest and my passion for road trips. I’d return againโ€”several timesโ€”each visit bringing someone else who really needed to experience it, too. This trip follows that same tradition, as I’m introducing six of my closest backpacking friends to one of the places I treasure the most in this world.

photo caption: Scott at General Sherman Tree, Sequoia National Park (Aug 1999)

Scott at General Sherman Tree, Sequoia National Park (Aug 1999)