We’re not sure whose idea it was to celebrate Chelsea’s birthday with a family hike, but we rose early Saturday morning to make the 2-hour drive up to the Trail of 100 Giants, one of the southernmost groves of giant sequoias, near Johnsondale. We had first visited this little preserve several years ago with our nephew, Jacob, so we knew the loop trail, paved and gently graded, was perfect for the kids. We had been wanting to put the new child carrier we purchased a couple of months ago through its paces, and this seemed like a good enough opportunity to do that. As we drove up the road through California Hot Springs, we began to get a little worried about what looked to be heavy weather on the mountain – dark clouds hung all across the tops of the ridges, and it looked like at least rain if not snow was in store for the day. However, as we climbed up through the cloud layer, the fog suddenly dissipated as we crested the Great Western Divide – the skies would remain overcast for most of our visit, but it was comfortably cool and dry once past the west side of the divide (well, comfortable for most of us – Jane was cold throughout the trip). The first challenge of the day was to scrounge up $5 in change to pay the ranger at the parking area – we did not remember a charge from before, and none of the four of us in our car had any cash to speak of, but we managed to scrape together the full amount, having to resort to using pennies to produce the final total. There were a number of people there ahead of us, and we took our time wandering along the two loop trails – they total just under two miles in length. Chris carried Ollie in the backpack, which probably weighed about 40 lbs. in all (an experience from which Chris can attest to the value of ultralight gear), and we explored the area for about 90 minutes before returning to the cars. By this time, the skies had brightened considerably, and we decided to return home via the Kern River route past Lake Isabella, stopping for refreshments at the Kern River Brewing Company in Kernville (which is highly recommended, btw). Despite the cool weather, this is a great place for families and anyone, really, looking to see such magnificent trees without having to get far from one’s car.