We got up at 6:30 AM to reach the park early before any crowds, and look who stopped by for coffee and hot chocolate as we were packing the truck!
As we headed to Fresno for breakfast, since we would pass that way, for the first time in our 6 week stay here, we saw wild turkey and prairie dogs. I love the little prairie dogs! We were also hoping the temperature at higher elevations would be much cooler than the 100+ degrees in the valley. It was almost 30 degrees cooler and felt so good!
The drive through Sequoia takes you down winding roads through beautiful scenic forest with various species of tall trees and the Giant Sequoias. I love these types of drives! They are always so peaceful and serene. Our first stop brought us to the parking lot for a short hike to General Grant, an icon of a Giant Sequoia in the park. Unfortunately, it appeared that at some time, lightening had taken off part of the top, plus the tree had suffered fire damage at the base. But it still lives on and towers over the forest. It is just how amazing the width is and how large even the branches are. The branches are as big around as normal sized trees. The color of the tree trunks is such a distinctive shade of burnt rust. The Sequoia trees are the oldest living things on earth and were here even before Christ was born!
The hike to General Grant winds along a paved path through more Sequioas. Note the size of some of the trunks, even on the fallen trees. Some pictures were a little hard to take in the shade of the forest.
We then headed out to King’s Canyon and would drive the rest of the Sequoia Drive later in the afternoon. The King’s Canyon Scenic Byway is quite impressive with great views, and winding cliff hanging roads. Because I am afraid of heights, parts of those roads made me very nervous and uncomfortable! I just tried my best not to look down! But you know, I just buckle up (literally!) and do it because I love the outdoors and don’t want to miss anything. You can see the road just hugging the side of the mountain in the pictures. Can you spot the white truck in the 3rd picture? It shows the scale of the mountain to the road.
Near the end of the canyon drive, are some pretty meadows, and waterfalls. Also, the road follows the King’s River, flowing over the rocks and along the the tree line in a beautiful setting. The first picture is Roaring River Falls. The 2nd picture is Grizzly Falls.
We returned up the canyon and headed down a less tourist filled road to Lake Hume. This is where we decided to have our picnic lunch. Homemade tuna fish salad, potato salad, deviled eggs, brownies, CA Bing cherries, picnic table in the shade by a lake, and mountain view in the background, what an unbeatable combination! Lake Hume is home to a large church camp. Being the middle of summer, the whole camp was packed with well over a couple hundred young people that appeared to be in the young teen age group! They were everywhere! The lake also is used for boating and there is a small grassy area set aside for the public use for swimming. The place sure was busy and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Such a nice spot for a picnic.
We headed the rest of the way on the less travelled road to pick up the rest of the scenic drive through Sequoia National Park. This took us to the parking lot and hike to see General Sherman. Another icon of the park and the largest tree in the world as far as volume. You have to hike down to the base of the tree. The path was paved but very steep. We knew the hike up would be very strenuous, so we didn’t go all the way to the bottom but were able to get a great view of the tree from higher up on the trail. Everyone we saw heading back up seemed to have to take many breaks to catch their breath! After the long drive to get to the tree, it was a bit disappointing because it, like General Grant, appeared to have lost part of the top to lightening.
Our last stop took us to Moro Rock, located along the southern perimeter of the Giant Forest, and offers a panoramic view of parts of the Sierra, including Mt. Harrington at 11,000 feet. Well, I really wanted to see that. The postcard shows just a portion of the railing at the top of the trail. I had no idea what the rest of the climb was like! It was narrow steps going almost straight up with railing on both sides. Doug and I started up the steps. Then that old fear of heights yellow streak down my back popped up big time! I reached the point where I just could not force myself to go further. I Had reached my limit. The railing was far too low for me and the rock dropped off on both sides in parts long before you reached the top. A few areas were just supported by rock. However, I did see a partial view of Mt. Harrington and it really was pretty up there. That was good enough for me!
We had to take the same road out that we took in, so the drive really was long. We left the park around 6:30 PM. It was 75 degrees as we left the forest and was still 99 degrees in the valley at 8:00 PM! We grabbed some fast food for dinner and made a quick stop for a couple of items at Wal-Mart. So we did not get home until 9:00 PM. I also got to add another magnet and “The Story Behind the Scenery” book from the national park series to our collection. We collect those 2 items from every national park we visit. So far, we have lots and lots! I’ll create something special with the magnets when we come off the road. It will be like a mini log of all the places we have been. Yes, it was a very long day and we were tired, but I am so glad we made the trip to see that pretty country. It is always worth the trip to explore and be out in nature.
I think you did a great job of conquering that fear with that drive you took. It is just incredible. With the pups we can't be gone that long so we plan all our sight seeing around them. Sure love the pictures you took.
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