Well gentle readers, as my summer break comes to a close, I took a few days to check off two more National Parks in my quest to hit all 63 National Parks. "Did you travel alone?" you might inquiry gentle reader. I did, as Rusty stayed home to nurse an ankle injury and to care for Evie who is experiencing health issues associated with old age (she is ten after all and 100lb. Stockton born street dogs age so much faster). Yosiell is busy prepping shows and does not share my passion for all things hiking and nature. To be honest, a few days alone with my thoughts to regroup after so much change was probably just what the doctor ordered.
Enough suspense gentle readers, the two parks I visited were King's Canyon, and Sequoia...sister parks very close together. These parks are a mere four hours from our doorstep. I have visited each of these parks as a wee young'un, but only remember the picutres and not the actual visit. I'm sure there was lots of surly teen drama my parents had to deal with as we were not the easy happy go lucky Brady Bunch siblings.
I arrived at noon at King's Canyon, usually my first stop in every National Park is the visitor center to talk with a Ranger about recommendations of hikes, cool activties, or just ways to avoid hoards of people. I've never been disappointed by suggestions and recommendations from the Park Rangers, a group of people appreciative of a pinch of friendliness and charm (something I've been told I have in abundance...or was it agressiveness and an unnatural disregard for personal space...who can say?),
Every park has what I call the Disneyesque Attractions (i.e the world's largest tree, the highest waterfall, the most beautiful field of flowers...etc.) These attractions are usually less than half a mile on a paved path leading from the pretty large parking lot. To be honest, I'm not really knocking these things as they tend to be amazing sites regardless of struggling through the masses of tourists both foreign and domestic.
Arriving so late on my first day, my first stop was the General Grant Tree. Defintely a Disney like attraction but amazing none the less. This is considered the second largest tree by volume on Earth. (Not the tallest nor the oldest but the second greatest trunk volume). Which is the largest, you may be wondering, gentle reader, have no fear your intrepid explorer and author did visit the largest tree by volume this trip and it is listed later in this missive.
The General Grant using an iphone pano sweep from top to bottom of the tree for the picture. (This is also considered our National Christmas tree...I'm sure there is an adorable story to go with this designation but it escapes me at the moment).
Pretty frickin' awesome to be in the presence of this 1,800 old tree. This tree was a sapling in about 200AD. This tree is 7 times older than our fledgling democratic experiment of a country. Humbling to be sure gentle reader.
Very close to this impressive massive tree is a short hike called North Grove Loop (1.2 miles). I needed to stretch my legs ater the long drive so I took this trail. Walking the trail, I saw a total of one other person. This short hike reminded me that the forest has a distinctive smell that is as intoxicating as ambrosia. The hike also passes several spots recovering from fires in the recent past providing a dfferent smell. One can still smell the charred trunks of trees, reminding hikers that all is temporary so enjoy while it lasts.
My finally adventure of the day was a hike suggested by the Ranger, starting at Panoramic Point and following the Park Ridge Trail. Although I only did a short amount of the trail the vistas were incredible and managed to instill a sense of wonder and awe.
Panoramic Point View
A view from the Park Ridge Trail. This four mile out and back hike was a little more than I wanted to do for an afternoon but will one day return to see the Park Ridge Lookout, I'm sure it is incredible.
Another view from the trail. A small enticing lake in the distant.
After a restless night's sleep in a very rundown over priced motel in Three Rivers (mere minutes from Sequia's entrance but 75 minutes from King's Canyon entrance), I left early to hit the Mist Falls trail. This trail is 9.2 miles round trip with only 800 feet of elevation but all the elevation is in the last two miles before the falls.
A very warm day to hike to the falls, Two miles are comletely flat and sandy before the elevation begins.
Wonderful canyon views on the way to the falls,
After two hours of hiking, I arrived at the aptly named mist falls!
Standing on this rock in the warm summer sun, the generously spraying mist was a welcome relief sending this intrepid adventurer into nirvana for a brief few seconds.
After a long, hot, challenging hike, it was time to rest these weary bones by going back to the motel and hopping in the pool. An early night for yours truly for sure. It has been awhile since I've pushed my limits. Although I've had longer and more difficult hikes, this hike was challenging because I've not been on long hikes in quite sometime. This was certainly a signal to get my ass in gear and step up my hiking game. Tomorrow? Sequoia.
When I get to a park early I like to ask the ranger at the entrnnce what things I should do before the attractions get too crowded. the ranger without hesitation said, "General Sherman Tree and Moro Rock..." Well, these certainly are the Disneyesque attractions promised on every website and every brochure, but I'm game!
First stop, General Sherman Tree...parking is a bit confusing but once there it is a half mile walk down a fairly steep paved path to quite frankly see a tree that looks so similar to the General Grant I felt almost cheated.
The General Sherman is the largest by volume tree in the world. It is also 2,200 years old. The oldest Sequia is 3,266 years old, and is in this same park. Over a thousand years older...what?!?! These time frames are unfathomable and very humbling.
Beautiful, majestic, and stately...the tree's not so bad either (Waka, waka).
A short drive from the big ol' timber giant, Moro Rock. This large granite dome can be summited with the aid of 350 granite steps starting right in the parking lot. Disney couldn't have planned it any better. Pretty cool attraction, although parts are a little precarious as the railing present on most of the way up gives way to granite rocks arranged as a sort of half walls coming up to the knee as one ascends toward the top. These are less like railings and more like tripping hazards. As most of my hiking friends know, I am not a lithe graceful hiker rather a lumbering slowly moving graceless plodder. Tripping hazards aside, no problem getting to the top, and surprisingly I did not tumble over the edge.
Yes, this is where I will be climbing to...the scale is a little off as it is more impressive in size than it seems.
Me at the top enjoying the view.
Amazing view!
After 350 steps, time for a stop at the visitors center. While waiting for the ranger for some recommendations, I saw two kids get sworn in as part of the parks Junior Rangers program. Super cute, this almost makes me miss being back at school.
Instead of going on another hike, I opted to plop down the $26 for the Crystal Cave tour. The promise of a chilly 50 degrees in the cave was too much to pass up on this warm day.
Getting to the cave was a bit of an adventure in itself. The road to the parking lot is long and filled with potholes and bumps creating an incredibly bumpy ride. My chiropractor is not going to be pleased.
After checking in, another half mile walk down a steep paved pathway...I'm starting to sense a pattern to the Disneyfication process. When one approaches the entrance to the cave the temperature drops fairly quikly....ah sweet cool relief.
Essentially this cave is formed because the marbe is surrounded by a shist shell. Shist does not erode in water but marble does. Wow, I was actually paying attention! That's not a usual trait for principals.
After the cave was rediscovered (evidence suggest native Americans of the area used the cave for thousands of years), this became a tourist attraction in the 1930's. The paths through were dirt and the sparkly formsations were covered in dust as people walked through. These can't be cleaned but there is evidence the cave will recover and will be Crystal once again, now that the path is cement and the amount of visitors is limited.
Another selfie. After the cave, once again I was ready for a cool dip at the motel, so no long hikes on this day.
Looking through the photos, there are tons of selfies, sorry about that gentle readers. When travelling alone, one is the subject of EVERY photo. Other notes about travelling alone, you become everyone else's photographer - a quick note to all those people that asked me to take their photo, sorry but I warned you I'm a crappy photographer. Also, when alone lots of people tlak to you...it was nice to interact with so many strangers if only for a few seconds.
This concludes my solo summer adventure to King's Canyon and Sequia Natonal Park. Although not my favorite National parks, these parks offered wonderful attractions and a welcoming atmosphere. Would I go back? Yes, but at a different time of year to see a different side of the park.
Well gentle readers thanks for sticking out this longpost about my short trip. School starts soon and I look forward to a quick final year as a principal. All I can think about right now is getting through the beginning of the year but I know this year will go fast. Keep checking in firends to keep up dated on all the news that's fit to print.
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