Blogs from Sequoia National Park, California, United States, North America - page 10

Sara - Oh we spent about 5 days in these national parks. I love camping! Especially without enough blankets at 4,000 feet. We started out in Sequoia national forest which lead into Sequoia National Park (The difference is about $10). We went in search of the giant trees, some of the largest 'organisms' in the world - by volume not height. Our first hike lasted about 30 minutes (most of which I spent waiting for Nick to find 'the stick' for bear and mountain lion defence) and we saw many fat trees but no bears. If approached by a bear act big and clever - shout rude things at it and call it names confidently. If approached by a Mountain Lion - shout and act big. DON'T BEND OVER AND ACT COY! It will jump you. ... read more

Patrice and I took another one of our spontaneous one day road trips. This morning we headed out on the road to Sequoia National Park. We loaded up on Starbucks and were on the road by 6am. About 4 hours later we were on the twisting road heading into the park. As we climbed in elevation, snow started to appear on the ground and the Giant Sequoias started sprouting up. We started driving into the Giant Forest where the largest of the Sequoias were to be found. Many of the Sequoias here grow to a height of over 200 feet tall and up to 100 feet in circumference. After stopping at the Giant Forest Museum to check out the information and exhibits on display, we drove to the area where the largest trees were. We ... read more

May backpacking trips to above 9000 feet are always epic. Trouble is, there are only a few spots in the Sierra Nevada accesible to this altitude. You can go to the Desolation wilderness above Tahoe, but the elevation there is significantly lower that in the Southern Sierra's near Sequoia and Kings Canyon. After much thought, we decided on Panther Gap, a forested ridge on the rim of the 8000 foot deep Kaweah River Canyon. The trailhead is from Wolverton, just south of Lodgepole. According the rangers the trail was snow free, but this was hardly the case. 4 miles of soggy feet and hard hiking through the snow later, we arrived at the ridge. We were surrounded in mist and fog, and light snow. We made camp. The next morning though, the majestic splendor of the ... read more