Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park!

Kings Canyon

On Monday, we ventured out of the campground and headed to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park, a mercifully straighter and faster route than to Yosemite a few days earlier.

Kings Canyon

We entered the park at the Big Stump Entrance at the western edge of Kings Canyon. After a quick stop at the visitor center and the requisite park movie, we had a really tasty lunch at the Grant Grove Village restaurant.

General Grant Tree

Next we headed north toward the General Grant Tree, the second largest tree in the world. We walked the 1/2 mile or so to the tree, stopping along the way to admire all the other huge trees around it. The sequoias are related to the redwoods along the California coast, but are shorter, denser and significantly older as well as much larger in diameter. Sequoias can grow up to 311 feet tall and live to be 3,200 years old, with bark up to 31 inches thick. The trees are shaped like a club, very thick all the way to the top with branches up to 8 feet in diameter! These magnificent trees only grow on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains, mostly between 5,000 and 7,000 feet in elevation.

South Fork Kings River
at Boyden Cave

From there we continued our drive north on the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, with Ken graciously stopping every third or fourth foot so I could take more pictures of the sweeping scenery. All along the way we were treated to awe-inspiring views of Kings Canyon. After driving down almost 4,000 feet in elevation, we finally arrived at Boyden Cave, a spot along the byway where the South Fork Kings River rushes over huge rocks right next to the roadway.

South Fork Kings River

Next, we drove back toward Grant Grove Village and south on Generals Highway into Sequoia National Park. We were too late in the day to see the recommended movie at the Lodgepole Visitor Center about the bears in the park, and so hoped we wouldn't accidentally find any. We didn't. We drove on to the General Sherman Tree, where the parking lot is uphill from the tree about 1/2 mile. (The walk down to the tree is easy and light, the walk back up reminded us a little of climbing back out of the Grand Canyon, jus' sayin'.)

General Sherman Tree

The General Sherman Tree is impressive from every angle and we walked all around its 103 feet of circumference. The trees nearby are also huge, but they pale in comparison to the Sherman, the largest tree in the world. This tree is almost 275 feet tall, its largest branch is almost 7 feet in diameter, and the first branch on the tree is over 130 feet off the ground. It is estimated to be 2,200 years old, having survived fires that average 1 every 13 years or so.

Apparently, for giant sequoias to germinate they need fire to clear the forest floor and to encourage their egg-sized cones to open and spread the seeds. (A 100-year program of fire suppression in the forest, since discontinued, actually threatened the big trees it was aimed to protect.) According to the park brochure, the trees don't die of old age, typically they die by falling over. With a shallow root system and no taproot, they can be toppled with high winds and root rot.

We hiked back up the 1/2 mile trail to the car and headed out of the park. A speedy retreat thwarted at every turn by very slow-moving timid drivers, we finally managed to get out of the park and onto major roads. The views from the car as we drove west back to Millerton Lake were spectacular, especially with the setting sun.

Driving back toward Millerton Lake

We stopped for dinner in Clovis at a little restaurant called The Broilers, which served sharwarma and gyros. Very tasty food and friendly staff.

We arrived in fine time and fine shape back at the campground. What a fun day touring two awesome parks!