Sequoia & Kings Canyon

Di Yin and I visited Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks from Friday, July 29, 2011, to Sunday, July 31.

Before this year, I hadn't heard of Kings Canyon. When planning this trip, I thought of Kings Canyon as that park next to Sequoia that we're not going to bother visiting. However, we ended up in Kings Canyon because all the campgrounds in Sequoia were full. I'm glad we did.

Indeed, my memory of this trip is dominated by two sights: the impressive Kings Canyon gorge and the astonishingly massive sequoia trees. I'm even tempted to say the former was a more awesome experience. There's an incredible number of mountains surrounding Kings Canyon. I did not expect these, let alone expect them to be a highlight of the trip. Kings Canyon should not be as under-rated / under-considered as it is.

Advertisements for Sequoia and Kings Canyon mention their wide expanse, from warm/hot foothills to cool forest to cold high mountains (the Sierra range), its astonishingly massive trees (Sequoia), its geological features, especially the wide glacial valleys / gigantic glacial canyon and spectacular tall cliff (all in Kings Canyon) but also a lovely meandering river and alpine lakes. This park system is the second oldest national park (after Yosemite). Like Yosemite, its history is dotted with controversies and changes to land management. Some of these changes were recent. For instance, in 1996 the center of Sequoia--its so-named Giant Forest--contained many buildings (~300), roads, parking lots, and even overhead electricity lines. Now many buildings have been demolished, leaving approximately 10.

On this trip I learned a lot about sequoias. Although some of what I learned is in pictures or picture captions, I consolidated the rest into this blog entry. Sequoias, though related to redwoods, grow in different climates: redwoods mainly grow near a coast whereas sequoias grow on mountain slopes between 5,000 and 7,500 feet above sea level. They both can live a long time, though sequoias live longer. Some are more than three thousand years old, meaning they predate the establishment of Rome! Most languages and writing systems we know of didn't exist when they started growing. It's mind-boggling.

And here's your botany lesson for the day, courtesy of the National Park Service: sequoias are resistant to fire as well as many insects and tree diseases. Indeed, they need fire because fire is when they reproduce--it causes them to open their cones and release their seeds. The seeds grow well in the burnt ground. Also, due to surviving many fires, sequoia tree rings are often a mess of curves and scars.

On this trip, we missed a few sightseeing areas I heard good things about: Moro Rock / Tunnel Log (drive-through) / Crescent Meadow (all near each other in the center of Sequoia); Tokopah Falls (elsewhere in the center); General Grant's Grove (in Kings Canyon) (we only got to walk a small section of it); Panoramic Point / Panorama Trail / Buena Vista Trail Peak (all also near Grant Grove Village in Kings Canyon). Finally, we missed a whole distant swath of Sequoia known as Mineral Kings, nor did we do anything in the foothills aside from driving through them.