Sequoia-Kings Canyon & Mineral King

     When Debbie and I had originally developed our plans for a visit to Sequoia, we penciled in 4 days to see everything.  It has been our experience, since by now, we are seasoned travelers, to allow 2 days to visit any NP.  And that practice seems to have held pretty steady.  Since this trip would include both Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, 4 days seemed like a good idea.
     Each day we remained up here in the Sierra foothills, the weather seemed to improve, and each visit to Sequoia seemed to open vistas we didn't notice the first time through.  Each evening we would return to the campground to be greeted by the bears and usually new neighbors, and each visit pushed us further into the parks. The General's Highway connects the 2 parks, and the drive between the respective Visitor Centers takes about 2 hours.  We were reminded as we poked along the highway, of the fire crews and Rogue Fire, still working in Kings Canyon National Park.  We did not see any active fires or even encounter any smoke, but many side roads were closed indicating there were crews in the area.

We did come upon an overlook that really gave us our first glance to the east, and the magnificent vistas of the Sierra Nevada range.          There are no roads which travel east/west through the park.  Only the General's Highway that travels north/south along the western edge of the parks.  These incredible ranges, varying in height from 1500 feet to include 6 peaks over 14,000 feet in height, are over 400 miles long and 60-80 miles wide.  In Kings Canyon, you can venture a short distance into this wilderness by driving along the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, but unfortunately the road was closed due to fire damage.  It will not be re-opening until the Spring.  At the end of the Byway, the only option is to venture out on foot, in order to experience the meadows, alpine lakes and Sierra peaks.  The Sierra Nevada range is larger than the French, Swiss, and Italian Alps combined.

 After a short pause at the visitor center of Kings Canyon, which is something we always highly recommend, we made the short drive over to view another highlight of the parks, the General Grant Tree.

 In 1867 this tree was named after General Grant and in 1890, Congress moved to protect the entire Grants Grove, by designating it as a National Park. In September 1890, just a week earlier, Congress had created the Sequoia NP.  In 1940, General Grant merged with Kings Canyon, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon have been managed jointly since 1943.  The General Grants towers 268 feet tall and 40 feet wide, and is estimated to be 1700 years old.  All the giants are truly impressive, and these photos really don't do them justice.  So I would urge all my readers, to take the time and get out and visit these magnificent parks.

     One of the most spectacular vistas we found in the Parks, was the one we experienced by venturing out on Moro Rock.   The trail climbs 300 vertical feet from the parking lot out to an elevation of 6725 feet, and it's straight down from there on all sides.  There is a tiny trail and steps that lead from the parking lot out to the top of Moro Rock.

 A small handrail keeps you from falling over the edge, and where there's no handrail, a series of rocks are set up to mark the way.  The trick is to look down at your feet and not to the sides, and you'll be just fine.  The vista awaiting at the top is well worth the temporary wrenching going on in your stomach.  From the top of Moro Rock, you'll understand why this area is our nation's second oldest National Park.  You'll also get the finest view of the General's Highway as it makes it way skyward from the valley below up to the Giant Forest at 7000 feet where the Sequoias live.

Across the valley to the East, is an incredible view of the Sierra Nevada Range.  Now those vistas sure make great selfies, but you always seem to find yourself holding on to the handrail.  Unless you are young and stupid, like to 2 guys who actually jumped the railing, and climbed out about 10 more feet, and really impressed to girlfriends!  You can't fix stupid!

From Moro Rock we again ventured into the Park to meander through the Giant Sequoia's.  We soon ventured onto a small grouping of trees named the Parker Brothers.  I took of photo of them, but it didn't capture the true picture.

Then Debbie wandered out from behind them, and now you can see just how impressive they truly are.  

And of course everyone who visits the Sequoia NP, has to take a drive through a tree.  I think we saw this on a Disney show back when we were kids!  It's still there and getting lots of photo opportunities.

A little further down the road we encountered  the Bridge Tree which was used as a bridge back in the day.  It certainly is wide enough to support vehicle traffic across it.  It looks like it has been retired a few years now, but again, is an example of their size.  

This guy just fell over one day.  It was a beautiful clear day with no wind, but gravity seemed to be the culprit.  As you can see they don't have a very deep root system.  Amazingly they do develop a wider base if they are growing too close to a water source.  I bet they do make some noise when they come tumbling down!  

Our last day will be a trip up to Mineral King which sounds like a very unique area.  Hope everyone enjoys the photos, and perhaps someday you'll get to see some video.