California road trip advice please!

[kvdv_imp]

Hey there fellow CB1100 friends! I had a wild notion to tour Death Valley on my DLX this year. I'll be leaving from Seattle about May 11, staying in DV a couple of nights, leaving myself about 10 days or so to get back home. I need some advice from you Cali folks out there...is it worth it trying to follow the Sierras back north via Sequoia NP, King's Canyon, etc, or will it be too early (aka too cold and snowy) for most of that route? It looks like roads and visitors centers are quite high in altitude, and maybe it won't have warmed enough by mid May...I mean, I have heated gear and all, but no snow tires for the bike I heard y'all have gotten record snowfall this year...
As an alternate, I could head straight to the coast from DV and follow the PCH all the way back to Washington. Might involve a lot less shivering... Any thoughts / alternatives / opinions are most welcome.