Sequoia National Park (Sequoia National Park, California)

Explorer and naturalist John Muir worked tirelessly to preserve the wonders of the Sierra for future generations. The Sequoia are but one magnificent example of the rewards of his life’s work. Driving up highway 180 from Fresno, my wife and I began seeing a large forest fire on the slopes we believed to be part of the park, and we feared that some of the mighty Sequoia might be lost as a result. As we checked in, I asked the ranger about it and he put our minds at easy by explaining that it was a prescribed burn, one of many that are done annually by the Park Service in an effort to clean up dry brush on the forest floor and prevent truly damaging fires from threatening the forest. The Park Service has learned that forest fires, while destructive are part of the natural ecosystem and cannot be fully suppressed without terrible consequences to the ecosystem. We learn more every day about how better to live in harmony with the world around us.

Sequoia, the word itself, sounds mighty and rightly so. Some of the trees in this very forest are the largest living things on the face of the Earth, by volume. I have visited other groves of these behemoths. The Mariposa and Calaveras groves to the north are both wonderful islands of Sequoias unto themselves, but don’t even begin to compare to the sheer number of big trees in this park, including the largest tree in the world, General Sherman.

As we arrive late in the afternoon, we content ourselves to get our camp set up and relax through the evening over a warm campfire. What a peaceful night’s rest it is possible to get here in the wilds.

Waking early, but not too early, we head out for our daily adventure, which begins with a trip to the ranger station and then on to the Giant Forest Museum, which is dedicated to educating park visitors on the majesty and fragility of mighty sequoia. The museum is well worth the stop, not only for the Sentinel Tree, which guards the entrance, but to learn about the nature and environment these trees thrive in.
 

Moving on, we drive down the mountain to Hospital Rock, which contains a number of beautiful Native American pictographs, careful preserved by an awning of limestone. Nearby, we find another example of Miwok presence as there is a small grinding rock overlooking the creek below.  While this small sub-section of the park has no obvious connection to the giant trees for which the park is named, it was still a worthwhile stop. Seeing the markers of these little settlements all over California gives one some idea of what life must have been like in the past.

Driving back up the mountain, we arrive at the General Sherman area with just enough time to catch a ranger-led lecture in front of the mighty tree. As Cass's leg has been bothering her, I let her out at the site and drive around the to the backside of the area to park the jeep. I didn’t expect it to be such a hike from the parking lot to the tree, but after a double-timed hike, I made it just in time. The ranger was knowledgeable and gave a wonderful presentation on the history of the park, the General Sherman tree, and the efforts to preserve the sequoia.

After an adventure filled day, we returned to our campsite and began preparing some dinner. Shortly after we began our meal, we were visited by a curious mule deer buck. He seemed to want to say hello to each of the campers in our area as he strolled from one site to the next, making friends all along the way. We turned in pretty early and prepared for the next day in the adjacent Kings Canyon.