Sequoia and Kings Canyon
Trip Start
Nov 22, 2007
1
28
55
Trip End
Dec 01, 2008
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park,
California,
United States
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
We finally left Laughlin and decided to bypass Las Vegas altogether and head straight for the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Three Rivers, CA, which is just outside the south entrance to the Sequoia National Park-home to the largest living tree in the United States. The drive brought with it a realization of how long it had been since we were in a place with trees and more greens than browns. We had been in the desert for so long, returning to a land where water runs abundant and trees reach high to grab the sunshine of spring was almost over-stimulating. The colors, man! Birds and flowers and water and hills and cows and horses and so much to look at. It was nice to be back in the land of patently living things. Not that the desert doesn't have beauty to offer, but for us east-coasters, the familiarity of green lends a certain serenity to the psyche
001 On the drive to Sequoia
. Sequoia is the second oldest of our nation's national parks, originally explored and documented by John Muir. It offers beautiful landscapes of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mountains-the Great Western Divide. When thinking of the high mountains of the west, the Rockies came to mind, but we didn't realize that the highest peak in the contiguous 48, Mount Whitney, actually finds its home in the Sierra Nevadas. The park is surrounded by the dry foothills of the San Joaquin Valley. You enter the park at about 2500 - 3000 feet and the roads climb over 5000 feet up with significant temperature drops. The range occupied by the Giant Forest of sequoias starts at about 5000 feet, and they disappear around 7000 feet in elevation. Opportunities for backcountry hiking can take you further up-if you are ambitious, Mount Whitney is just under 14,500 feet.
The park road offers a technical on-road adventure. On a motorcycle, the road is a workout with constant braking and clutching. But the pay off is a different breathtaking view of the mountains, rivers, and valleys around each switchback as you climb into the high country. Then there are the trees themselves. The sequoia trunks are huge, and their color is quite rich. In the sunlight, they glow with the color of deep copper
002 Entranced :)
. The leaves provide a verdant green contrast to the copper poles and the crisp spring-sky blue smeared here and there by gauzy white clouds. Although the temperatures were in the 80s and 90s in Three Rivers, by the time we were in sequoia country, I was thankful for having worn my leather chaps and jacket. The higher roads in the park had only just opened the week before, when enough thaw had occurred to make them passable. Along the roadside, snow 3-4 feet high still remained and the temperatures were in the high 40s to low 50s. We spent an entire day to get through the park entering from the south entrance traveling up and north, then west out to the King's Canyon entrance and down Route 143 through the foothills of the San Joaquin valley farmlands. It was a beautiful ride.
On the way through the park on the south side we saw a family of bears-a momma and her two cubs-eating on a hill at the side of the park road! We stopped and got some pictures and video of the three bears. Further along the road, as we climbed toward the Giant Sequoias, we also stopped to climb Moro Rock, which offers panoramic views of the mountains. A steep climb up, but a must-see for any park visitor. Further up the snow starts and the road leads past various sequoia groves, eventually leading to the short hiking path to see General Sherman-the largest living tree in the world
003 View of peaks and river from lower road
. This is a monster and is estimated to be over 1300 tons with a circumference of 103 feet. It is over 2200 years old! It boggles the mind to think that one can today see the exact same tree that naturalist John Muir and many other unnamed peoples who lived centuries ago looked upon with awe. General Sherman's estimated life span gives it another 1000 years to go. Past the sequoias and climbing higher, the snow deepens and the road straightens out somewhat. Another 30 miles or so and you finally reach the western entrance to the park. The roads through Kings Canyon were still closed due to snow, so we headed south along the outer boundary of the park through the Sierra National forest. Headed back toward Three Rivers, the forest ends and the foothills open up to farmlands with rolling golden hills spotted with the black and brown of cattle and horses. The 40 miles is slow going as this country road has as many twists and turns as the ride up the mountain side-but beautiful country and a great place to ride motorcycles. We stopped to make friends with some horses whose pasture bounded the road's edge. They posed for a few pictures before we got back on the bike and headed back to Three Rivers.
We camped at an RV park the first couple days and then moved over to camp lakeside at Kaweah. This campground is only open for part of the spring because the water of the lake rises to cover the entire campground as the snow thaws. We stayed for a few days there and hiked the surrounding area. During that time, the lake claimed most of the campsites as well as a number of trees growing along the shoreline.
