Blogs from Sequoia National Park, California, United States, North America - page 7

The last entry was saved but not published so is a little outdated. Sorry for any confusion. We are actually in California, the Americans allowed us back in and were seemingly more concerned with fruit smuggling than our intentions to commit espionage. We have already covered quite a lot of ground. Coming down from Seattle, through Washington and onto Idaho. We spent several days in the beautifully scenic Hells canyon recreation area. Staying in a little backwater town called Riggins, where we managed to get very drunk in a bar for under fifteen pounds whilst watching the ultimate fighting championship. We then went onto Oregon driving through the most scenic hills and valleys for days. We stayed Near Bend in Oregon which is part of yet another national park, here we camped for a few days. ... read more

Our next stop the "Sequoia National Park". This one is on our list of "to do's". We just have to see "General Sherman!" For those that don't know, this a giant Sequoia tree, "the biggest tree on the whole planet!!!" So with camera in hand, we went in search of this giant of the forest..... But first we had to travel though the park. The views as ever were great, but they were marred by smoke polution from the forest fires around this area. (Sequoia and Kings Canyon suffer from one of the worst air-pollution problems of any national park! Pollution, particularly ozone from the Central Valley and the Bay Area is carried up into these mountains by warm winds. When we eventually found the General, we weren't disappointed, This tree is believed to be, ... read more

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are located 4 hours South East of the Bay Area and 4 hours North East of Los Angeles area. They are two neighboring national parks. Amongst these two, Sequoia National Park is more accessible and visited. Whereas, 80% of Kings Canyon is not accessible by road, and requires wilderness permits. These two national parks were on our "to-visit" list for quite a while. Mainly, because of Sequoia National Park's biggest and oldest trees in the world, and secondly due to it's close location from San Jose. We had a spontaneous plan of visiting these two national parks while going home from work. We decided to leave as soon as possible, spend a night in a motel near Sequoia, and spend the next whole day visiting these two places. We hurried ... read more

Sequoia NP was about an hour from the campsite where we stayed. We passed orange and lemon groves as we made our way toward the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We entered the park from the south entrance, which is at a low elevation. Wildflowers were blooming on the roadsides. As we gained altitude the road twisted and turned. Based on our experience on the coastal highway and here, California’s mountain roads are right up there with West Va and North Carolina. We took our time and enjoyed the view as we climbed. When we reached the first grove of Sequoia trees our reaction was WOW and WOW again. They are tremendous trees and really speak of the majesty of the Creator. After lunch we walked up Morro Rock; a granite rock at 6725 feet with 400 steps ... read more

Two hikes, two different parks, two different experiences. One provided an opportunity to connect with nature, one not so much. They shared some things: traffic, road construction, lots of people. But they differed in important ways. The difference is due mostly to my perception, yet it is real enough to me. Perhaps in the future I will find a way to make them the same. I hope so. Hike 1: Yosemite. The trail is busy from the start: families with small children, an old woman being led by her daughter, voices from all over the world. This is the trail for Vernal and Nevada Falls, and we are doing a loop of 5 miles with a 2000' elevation gain. The first 1/2 mile is uphill and fairly steep, yet the bridge looks like a city park ... read more