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Published: March 10th 2008
Giant Sequoia
Anyone up for a climb? Even though the tops of many of these giants have succumbed to lightening and age, they are still impressively large.We snuck into California the back way, so we first realize we’re over the state line when the traffic starts to get worse. It’s not the sheer volume of cars on the road that make this drive so frustrating, it’s the fact that even though we’re driving a good five miles over the speed limit, we’re still getting passed and dodged around like we’re standing still. It doesn’t help that with trucks in the right lane and road-warriors in the left, our loaded down car doesn’t really belong to either. I don’t know who teaches drivers-ed around here, but they ought to be fired.
Death Valley
The plan is the head up north to Death Valley and then camp in one of the free campgrounds in the surrounding mountain ranges. We’ve stayed off the beaten-track for the majority of the summer but even when we were miles away from any other living soul, it always felt like we were close enough to something, if we needed it. Here—this area feels abandoned. Not even a tumbleweed crosses our path. For the first time it feels like we’re in a forsaken land of heat and salt with no hope of a saving
Barren Desert
If the car had died, this is where we would have been stranded. grace. We’re lucky to arrive on a day where clouds and bare sprinkles of rain keep the temperature at a cool 110F. Unable to use the AC without pulling the engine down, we roll our windows down and spray ourselves occasionally with the water bottle from the Grand Canyon. After a while it becomes hard to tell what salt on our body is from the salt flats and which is from sweat pouring down our faces.
Our first ‘must see’ is Badwater, the lowest place in Western Hemisphere at -282 feet below sea level. There are only a handful of places on earth below sea-level that are dry as it requires the perfect combination of heat and altitude. It’s definitely hot enough here, too hot just to wander off trail somewhere. It's not so bad right now, being that it's a little overcast and the most accessible areas off the boardwalk are sullied with dirt and grit from the tourist's boot, but I would imagine that the glare of the salt-flats, remnants of an ancient sea, would be blinding in the sunlight. A marker is affixed part-way up the canyon wall indicating sea-level. It's rather amazing to think about.
Joshua Trees
Not bad for a photo taken out the car window. There are no dams or levies holding the water back. It just evaporates naturally.
We didn't know that in order to get to the other main feature that draws us to the area—the mysterious sliding rocks on Racetrack Playa— 4-wheel drive is recommended and high-clearance and strong sturdy tires are a requirement. Our nearly bald tires immediately count this destination out of the running, nevermind the lack of the other necessities. With that out of the question, we ask the ranger at the visitor station for some alternate hikes and destinations. It goes something like this:
“Are they any other sites similar to the Racetrack?”
“No, but really don’t go out there without 4-wheel drive. We have a story in the newspaper about a family last year that got a flat tire and tried hiking out in the 118F without enough water to get help and it quickly turned fatal. This is
Death Valley in the
summer.”
“Okay, could you maybe recommend another hike then? If we woke up and hit the trailhead by 4am…maybe 3-6 miles round trip”
“This is
July and you’re in
Death Valley. If it were January I could tell you
Badwater Basin
Lowest point in the Western hemisphere. all sorts of hikes but this is
summer. It gets up to 120F. Over there on the wall we have a story about a young couple that went out hiking and …..”
“Well is there anything we could walk to?”
“You’re in
Death Valley! One of the hottest places in the world!”
After five minutes of learning nothing more than what season it was and where we were, two facts we were already pretty familiar with, we wandered over to look at the displays in the rest of the center since we weren’t going to get to experience much of it in person. On our way out, we overheard his exaggerated tone warning another individual that this was indeed Death Valley and it was, last he checked, the summer! I realize they can’t just close the park down in the peak of visitation and that with the average public being as they are, some of this drama is warranted, but there are still a few well prepared educated individuals out there that know you can’t take a 20oz Aquafina bottle out into the desert and try to hike 10 miles without dying. And, need I mention that
Badwater
The lower point in the northern hemisphere, appropriately named because of the salinity of the water. merely a week ago we hiked over 18-miles in temperatures reaching
over 120F and obviously are still alive to tell the tale. I really didn’t appreciate his condescending attitude.
With my mood shifted from optimistic to foul, we decided just to drive through the park and head south to stay the night in Sequoia National Forest instead. I mean really, if we have no trails to hike or areas to visit why subject ourselves to the ridiculous heat if all we're going to do is hunker down in the shade of the tent and wait it out until morning? Apparently, we've already experienced all the Death Valley that we were allowed though for a brief bit of time driving out, we worried we were going to have to see much more than we anticipated. Coming over the ridge on the east side of the park, the engine light comes on. We look left, we look right, we look at the map. If we break down out here, it's a good 15-miles to the nearest ghost town. Car trouble is the one thing that will stop us dead in our tracks, either because we physically can't travel anywhere (because the
Joshua Tree
Now entering eastern California... car's dead) or because we can't afford to travel anywhere (because we spent all the money to fix the car), so we pull off the road to figure out what to do. Not that we
needed to pull off the road, mind you, it's not like a single car has passed us.
We decide to get it checked out at the next place we see, reasoning that even if it means our travels are over, at least the car will still be running once we get where we're going, and that's the whole point of this trip right? To move to Seattle? I suppose. Then, in a moment of impulsiveness (stupidity?), we decide to drive out to the ghost town to see what it's like. Andras was frustrated, I was still irritated from our encounter earlier, so I'm relying on these emotions to somehow justify our thought-process. We suspect we have car trouble so we drive 20 miles out of the way on a gravel road to a ghost town? Well regardless of how impractical the decision was, the "ghost town" turns out to be nothing more than a shack selling soda and a couple of picnic tables. In
A "House"
Five trees joining together at the base. all the "excitement" (disappointment), we managed to forget about the engine light which apparently went off on its own somewhere between dodging the big holes in the road and avoiding the ruts cut in the dirt during thunderstorms. Crisis averted (or forgotten, take your pick).
Tree Hugging
Having spent the last several weeks in the desert, it was a relief to once again be making our way up the winding roads of the Sierra Nevada, watching as the dust gives way to grasses and finally to magnificent forests stretching skyward. At one point Andras mentions he's going to be so relieved to finally see a tree again, he's going to "run up and give it a huge hug." Ha! I'm going to hold him to it.
Our maps aren't very clear and we don't really know where we're going, so when we see a sign stating we've entered Giant Sequoia National Monument I was getting eager to pick up a trail map and campground guide. However, since the monument was only established in 2000, I guess they haven't built any facilities. Alas, we drive blindly through the narrow passes looking for something resembling a place to camp.
The
Giant Sequoia
See that ant climbing up the tree? Oh, right, that's me! These trees are huge. first time we pull off onto a side road, Andras hears bees and being that he's allergic, we press on. The second time we pull over, and by this time it's getting dark, we're greeted by a "Lost Person" poster tacked up about someone who suspiciously disappeared in this area. Okay.....not staying there....
Finally we pull off onto a side road and drive towards a place called Thompson Camp which I'm not sure we ever found, although we did find a quiet open grove with another trailer parked off the way, a piece of plywood thrown over some stumps in a makeshift table sort of way and figured "good enough". It was actually quite peaceful, though I admit to being a little uneasy for the first time this summer. Here we are, exposed, with only a thin sheet of polyurethane to protect us. What if something happens? What if foul play is afoot? What if that man in that trailer is up to no good? I mean, he looks old and frail and all but what
if? I fall asleep with these crazy thoughts swirling through my brain and awaken to a unsettling howl reverberating through the night. It
almost sounded like a woman's scream, blood-curdling in a way that lingers after the sound had dissapeared. We say it's probably something hunting, the hunted finally caught. There are mountain lions in these woods, we say, was that one? Would they come around us? When we wake in the morning, still tired, we make no delay in leaving. Maybe it's something in this California air that makes us uneasy.
We broke camp quickly. No longer do we set up camp with all the temporary luxuries of home--now we find a place to sleep right before the sun goes down, throw a couple blankets on the ground of the tent and pack up first thing in the morning, so within minutes of waking up we were on the road again and looking for a place to stretch our legs.
The nearby Trail of 100 Giants looked promising, plus there was a road sign directing us right to it and since we didn't know what else was around, gave it a shot. Turns out, this trail is the location that former President Bill Clinton chose to officially sign this area into National Monument status, so pretty neat! What wasn't neat
Young and Old
A seedling taking root underneath its parent. Keep in mind the younger tree is still a bit larger than us. was the parking lot attendant asking for $5 just to park the car. Even though the trail and all the surrounding land is free, this parking lot and all blacktop is owned and operated by a park concessionaire and our park passes are no good.
I give in. The trail is an easy stroll through one of the larger groves of trees in the area. Paved and level. The trees are enourmous, not so much in height (although they are very tall) but moreso in girth. Some would take 20 men to link arms just to go around the base. Giant Sequoias (
Sequoiadendron giganteum) are a cousin of the coastal redwood, the worlds tallest tree, but when it comes to actual biomass, these sierrean beauties take the prize. The tops of most have rotted away; they grow so tall and wide that water is unable to be transported to the tips and eventually they die off. In other places we see damage done by lightening and tree toppled completely as the short roots gave way to the winds above.
We explore the various "houses" where several trees grow together at the base and have a little fun in
Andras and the Sequoia
This tree has been hollowed out by fire. a "goose-pen", a tree whose base has a hollow area from fire that pioneers used to use as animal pens. Overall, we came out feeling refreshed and rejuvenated--this is what we needed after such a rough couple days and served its purpose in the next few hours as we tediously made our way over the Sierra Nevadas on narrow windy roads that would turn 180 degrees at random. As our stomachs turned, either from nausea or hunger or both, we kept reminding ourself "Hold onto that feeling you had just a little while ago." We tried, and we made it out, although we stopped at the first place we saw to eat (a convenience store) and bought what can only be described as "gas-station mexican" food. I had a guava popsicle with hard, tooth-breaking seeds peppered throughout (good flavor though) and Andras had some sort of fried, reheated chimichanga. Mmm mmm! Is this what they mean at all those upscale restaurants that tout "California Cuisine"? I doubt it.
So we drove in search of more food, better food. California--the breadbasket of the US! I think we'll find something better. We didn't take a whole lot of photos on this
leg of the trip. I think after taking nearly 1000 in one week while at Grand Canyon we kinda got photo'd out and are starting to feel a little travel weary. Hopefully all that will change. Afterall, we're heading to the coast...
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Jonah
non-member comment
Awesome
Hey, nice blog! Your making me want to go for a road trip. Your detail and sub stories are awesome.