Kings Canyon - Seeking the Sequoias

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Hi Blog!

We continue to work our way south through California. Yesterday we drove across the San Joaquin Valley from Los Banos to Dunlap in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We are camped at the Sequoia RV Park, the closest full service RV park to the Kings Canyon National Park. While we had visited Kings Canyon back in 2013, we didn't have enough time to do more than drive through the canyon. To see pretty pictures from that drive, click the link to our 2013 blog. 

On this visit, we were really hoping to spend more time in the canyon and get out and do some hiking. Unfortunately, we are a week too late. CalTran closed Highway 180 into the park just after Veterans Day in preparation for snow season. Never mind that it was sunny and 77 degrees today. We'll know better next time. In the meantime, there are still plenty of areas in the park that are still open.

Our day of exploration started with a hearty breakfast at Twin Valley Restaurant, here in Dunlap. The food was scrumptious and the staff friendly.  We were not the only ones looking for a good meal.

After breakfast we began our ascent into the mountains. Fresno is out there somewhere, but the haze in the valley made it difficult to see past our little valley.

Our first stop was the Kings Canyon National Park Visitor Center in Grant Grove Village. While we had been here in 2013, the whole complex has been updated. We enjoyed the new park video. After seeking the advice of several park rangers, we set out to explore areas of the park we missed last time.

Just next to the parking area for the famous General Grant Tree is the trailhead for the North Grove Trails.

Because the loop trail is over two miles long, most of the tourists just skip it. However, in this part of the park, none of the trees are surrounded by fences. You can walk right up and give them a hug.

During our hike, we saw only four other people. We had dozens of Sequoias all to ourselves. The only problem was how to photograph them.

Just a few weeks ago, we were strolling through the coastal redwood forests. Now, those redwoods were some tall trees, but the Sequoias are massive. The redwoods are like basketball players, tall and lean. Sequoias are like football linebackers. You just can't get your arms around them (note how small Kathy looks in the photo below).

This area was hard hit by the 2015 Rough Fire. Many of the trees showed evidence of burns, and whole swaths of hillsides were decimated. However, there has been lots of new growth underneath. This little Sequoia, shown in the photo below with Mama in the background, will be "Vader someday Later."

Giant sequoia specimens are the most massive individual trees in the world. They grow to an average height of 164 to 279 feet with trunk diameters ranging from 20 to 26 feet. Record trees have been measured at 311 feet tall. The oldest known giant sequoia is 3,500 years old. Giant sequoias are among the oldest living organisms on Earth.

After finishing the loop trail, we continued along Highway 180 into the Sequoia National Forest. The park ranger suggested we visit the Chicago Stump. A three mile graded dirt road leads to the trailhead for a short quarter mile hike.

We passed through areas devestated by the 2015 fire.

We almost missed the trailhead sign set back in the trees.

While the North Grove had never been logged, this area had many old stumps, but the forest itself has grown back.

Before long, we reached the remains of the once mighty General Noble Tree. In 1897,  the tree was cut into sections and reassembled at the Chicago World's Fair. This magnificent display was referred to as the "California Hoax," because of widespread skepticism that a tree species as big as the giant sequoia ever existed. With a ground perimeter of 95 feet, it was the largest tree ever cut down.

It was sad to think how many of these big beauties were cut down before folks began to protect them. However, it was heartening to see so many young trees reaching up to take their place.

After lunch, we continued our drive through Sequoia National Forest. The park ranger suggested we make it a loop drive by taking Ten Mile Road toward Hume Lake. We stopped at several different lookouts before finding just the right one to share with you.

We finally did get the best view of Kings Canyon available below the closure of Highway 180.  Click the following link to see this view of Kings Canyon from Ten Mile Road.

From high above Kings Canyon, we wound our way down to the shores of Hume Lake. While these were not official Parks Canada Red Chairs, how could we resist red chairs with views of a pretty lake and granite peaks!

Tomorrow, we hope to continue exploring the area with a longer hike to Weaver Lake. Stay tuned.