July 17
The temperature in Tulare was 81 F when I hit the road at 5:15 AM. Hard to get rid of so much heat, from the previous day’s 113 F temp. The drive to the south entrance of Sequoia NP is easy and quick. But once inside the boundary, things got real slow. Plenty of switchbacks and elevation gain. The first attraction is Tunnel Rock. When the road was first built, it was cut through an opening which had a large bounder on top. Today’s road skirts the landmark, but it is still willing to participate in a photo-op. The Giant Forest section is next up. This is where most of the big trees reside. The south end of the area has a climbing opportunity, going up granite steps on Moro Rock, to take in a view of the entire valley. Things would have looked better if there had not been so much haze and smog floating in from the west. Being 6:30 AM the bugs were out in full force. I pulled a mesh over my head and kept walking around the grove of Sequoias by Moro. A right turn at the next intersection and I was driving through the famous Tunnel Log. The CCC helped make this roadside attraction. The tree fell in 1937, after achieving a height of 275 feet. For vehicles taller than 8 feet, a by-pass has been built so RVing folks can reach the next hiking area.
The main focus of the park is the Giant Forest. This is where most of the massive trees call home. General Sherman was getting plenty of attention. A line had formed, for people to take turns in getting their photos in front of the tree’s base. I took the Congress Trail after viewing the General. Later in the day a park ranger said the Congress Trail is the best option for seeing the most trees. When I was walking down to Sherman, a man behind me asked how my day was going. Peter, and his son Ben, were sitting on a bench by one of the wood railings. Peter said they had seen me the day before in Pinnacles NP. My tee-shirt was a dead give-away. They will be going to Kings Canyon NP tomorrow, then on to Yosemite. Who knows, we may cross paths again.
There were many Golden-mantled ground squirrels hurrying across the ground, paths, and fallen trees. Most stopped to check out more of these tall creatures which seem to keep coming in daylight to their home range. A few more minutes on the Generals Highway (this is the main road in the park) going north and I was at the Lodgepole VC. A general store is on the backside, providing anything a camper would need for a week’s stay. I parked the car in the camping area and headed out on the Tokopah Falls Trail. This is a 3.4-mile roundtrip hike through a sub-alpine canyon. A colony of marmots live near the end of the trail, which is the falls itself, but we could only hear them yelping… none seemed to want to come out into the open. The falls was spewing enough water that you could have taken a shower if you were to get close enough. But one slip on the wet rocks and you would never get the chance to have another shower. Sometimes you just need to let your camera do its job in bringing scenery closer. There was still snow on the north facing cliffs next to the falls. Well, all of that snow still has Devils Postpile NMon closed as well as the Tioga Road across the northern section of Yosemite. And all of the snowmobile operations in Mammoth Lakes are closed for the summer. This is going to cause me havoc in my scheduling. Will keep tabs on Devils. But, back to Sequoia. While enjoying the falls I met a group from Texas. Man, there must be something wrong down in the Lone Star State, for all these Texans coming north to visit national parks (remember my Upper Midwest blogs?). Oh yeah, those triple-digit temperatures for the past month. Well, it was only in the high 70’s in Sequoia, mainly due to the 7,500 foot elevation. Well, Peter and Ben were heading upstream as I was heading back. I hope they have a great time on the rest of their journey.
I learned something new about a non-NPS activity. A lady told me about 29029Everesting. Do any of you know this sport? The company reserves ski lifts around the country for groups of three days, and people register to climb the associated hills as many times as it takes to match Mount Everest’s height, of 29,029 feet. You hike up, then the ski gondola brings you down, and you repeat. I checked the website and most of the 2023 events are already sold out. These folks go to Sun Valley, Jackson Hole, and other famous ski resorts. Yes, this is done in the summer. Anyway, thanks for the tidbit. I climbed my last Colorado 14er a couple years ago, so I think I will sit out any Mt. Everest level effort.
On the way out of the park I drove through the area of the KNP Complex fire from 2021 which destroyed thousands of the giant trees. The fire covered 88,000 acres. The NPS website says the fire was near the main road and public areas, so visitors will see the scars for years to come. Some areas of the park are still closed due to that tragedy.