Camping, Giant Trees & Satellite Counting

Camping Under the Stars

• 📍 Three Rivers, CA

• 🚙 259 miles

• 📈 Elevation Change: 3,007 feet

Favorite moment: Laying back viewing the massive amount of stars!

Sometimes the best adventures aren't the ones you spend months planning.

This trip started with a simple invitation from a friend asking if I wanted to join her for camping in Three Rivers, California. It didn't take much convincing. A few days later, my camping gear was packed, the truck was loaded, and I were headed toward the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

There's something about arriving at camp that instantly slows life down. The emails stop mattering. Cell service becomes optional. The only real schedule is figuring out what's for dinner and deciding who gets to claim the best camp chair.

One of my favorite things about camping is the food. Somehow meals that would feel ordinary at home become unforgettable when they're cooked outside. Maybe it's the fresh air, maybe it's the smell of a campfire, or maybe everything just tastes better after spending the day exploring. Whatever the reason, camping meals have a way of bringing everyone together.

One day we drove into Sequoia National Park to wander among the giant sequoias. Pictures never prepare you for standing beside one of these incredible trees. They're impossible to describe until you're there, craning your neck upward and realizing just how tiny you really are. Walking through those groves has a way of making the world feel both enormous and peaceful at the same time.

Another day we stayed closer to Three Rivers and spent time exploring the surrounding area. We stumbled across a couple of campgrounds we'd never seen before—those unexpected finds that immediately get added to the "we need to come back here someday" list. We eventually found ourselves sitting beside the river with a simple snack, listening to the water and enjoying the kind of quiet that seems harder and harder to find these days.

As much as I love heading out on solo adventures, trips like this remind me that sharing an experience with someone else adds something fun. Solo trips give me space to think, photograph, and explore at my own pace. But camping with a friend means sharing stories, laughing over meals, and having someone nearby when you discover a place worth remembering. There's room for both kinds of adventures, and these few days was a perfect reminder of that.

The evenings may have been my favorite part of the trip.

Far from city lights, the sky came alive with stars. We leaned back in our camp chairs, looking up, trying to count how many satellites crossed overhead. Just when we'd finish counting one, another would silently appear, gliding from one horizon to the other. It became a game that neither of us wanted to stop playing. Those dark skies are becoming harder to find, which makes nights like that feel even more special.

Of course, every camping trip eventually comes to an end.

The drive home included the less glamorous part of California adventures: fighting traffic through Los Angeles. After a few days of quiet rivers, giant trees, and peaceful nights under the stars, the sea of brake lights was a bit of a shock to the system. Still, even hours of traffic couldn't take away from a weekend well spent.

Some trips are memorable because they're packed with adventure. Others are memorable because they remind you to slow down. This one managed to be both.

Thanks for journeying with me!
~ Bridget