Sequoia National Park - Big Trees, Big Caves, Big Rocks, Big Turns

Sequoia National Park borders Kings Canyon National Park and the two are the same and very different all at the same time. The two parks are connected by Generals Highway, an ode to the giant trees named after many formidable Generals in US history. The trees were named after prominent figures to try and convince them to have the area protected and preserve these natural wonders. It worked!

Me at the top of Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park, CA

Sequoia National Park seems to be more heavily visited than it's neighbor to the near north and it took a bit of time to find a campsite. Some of you many be wondering why we're bothering with campsites when we have our awesome home away from home. Well, you may only stay overnight in designated campsites within any National Park. Some parks enforce this more strictly than others. It can be quite a drive to get outside the park and then we wouldn't have access to restrooms or be able to have a campfire. And I, personally, really enjoy having a fire while camping... restrooms are just an added bonus. National Parks do offer free wilderness permits allowing visitors to camp anywhere as long as it's at least 1 mile off a road. That's not how we roll, so campsites it is!

Sun setting on our time in the Sierra Nevada, Sequoia National Park, CA

Before the sun started to set we headed down to the Giant Forest to see the biggest tree on earth, the General Sherman Tree. This is easily the most visited site in the park so they have the parking located  at the top of a hill a little over a half mile away. They have a shuttle running from the parking lot to the tree area but it stops running at 6pm as we found out... the walk down to the tree is lovely. The walk back up sucks. The General Sherman Tree is still growing so each year it gets bigger and bigger. It's currently around 275 feet high and is well over 52,500 cu ft in volume. The estimated age of the tree is somewhere between 2,300 and 2,700 years old and with it's protection status the General Sherman could grow to well over 3,000 providing the US and the rest of the world act to keep these places pristine and intact.

Geoff standing in the middle of what is the outline of the base of the General Sherman Tree.
General Sherman Trail, Sequoia National Park, CA

General Sherman Tree standing tall, Sequoia National Park, CA

Here is a great shot of the General Sherman Tree. See how thick the trunk stays all the way to the top?
It doesn't taper like most species of tree.

The following morning we got up early. Like 7:00am early. Hush. That's early for us. We had to make it to Lodgepole Visitors Center before 8:30 to stand in line to get tickets to tour Crystal Cave. As luck would have it there were still available spots for the 10:00am Adults Only Early bird tour. No kids? Done and done. The drive out to the cave takes about 45 mins to an hour depending on traffic and how slow you feel the need to take those insane curves. Before starting the trek we were asked to walk through a disinfecting solution to rid our shoes of any potential White Nose Syndrome fungus spores that have a 100% mortality rate in bats. The fungus has killed over 7 million bats in North America since 2012. The fungus has not yet shown up in California so lets keep it that way. The hike down to the caves is a half mile of STEEP, mostly paved trail. There is poison oak and potential rock slides along the way so don't stop and don't touch anything.

Geoff chillin in a tunnel cut into a Giant Sequoia, see how it splintered and shattered up the hill when it fell?
Sequoia National Park, CA

Hanging out inside a Giant Sequoia. Sequoia National Park, CA

The cave entrance is locked by an impressive cage resembling a spiders web with a big old black spider at it's center, guarding the cave. The cave stays at a comfortable 50 degrees year round and the trail through the cave is paved. The guide we had, Bryan, was very knowledgeable about it's history with the tribes that used to use the cave and how it was rediscovered by two park rangers looking for a fishing hole in 1918. The cave is over 3.4 miles long and has many off shoots and tunnels that have been explored. The cave is carved from marble by water and offers some amazing tubes, arches, and calcite formations. Once the tour was over we had to trek back up the steep hill in the heat of the day. My legs were not a fan.

You can see the gate to the cave guarded by the Spider. Crystal Cave, Sequoia National Park, CA

Inside Crystal Cave, Sequoia National Park, CA

Inside Crystal Cave, Sequoia National Park, CA

Squeezing through some tight spots in Crystal Cave, Sequoia National Park, CA

There were three impressive "rooms" in the cave.  Crystal Cave, Sequoia National Park, CA

Geoff hanging out inside a nice cool cave. Crystal Cave, Sequoia National Park, CA

This picture gives some scale to the cave as you can see the shillouettes of a few people.
It was huge! Crystal Cave, Sequoia National Park, CA

From here we headed to the Giant Forest Museum which was pretty informative and taught us even more about the Giant Sequoias in the area. We hopped on the free shuttle up to Moro Rock and decided to make the trip out to this incredible view.

Moro Rock sits at 6,725 ft in elevation and an insane staircase to get you to the top. The current staircase was installed in 1931, is almost 800 feet long and has 400 stairs and includes another dozen or so ramps to the top. Both the stairs and the view were breathtaking. Moro Rock itself is a granite dome much like those found in Yosemite National Park. The view from the top encompasses much of the surrounding park, the forests, Sierra Nevada, Three Rivers (and the road of insanity we'd be driving down soon to get there) and the Joaquin River Valley. We hopped back on the shuttle and drove past the Tunnel Log, which is a fallen Giant Sequoia that you can drive through. Unfortunately our van is a bit too tall for that and we've driven through trees before so the novelty has worn off.

Taking my time getting up Moro Rock. Sequoia National Park, CA

We made it!!! Top of Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park, CA

Look at all the majesticness!! Geoff at the top of Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park, CA

Careful on those steps!! 400 of them! Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park, CA

Watch those steps! 400 of them! Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park, CA

After returning to our van we ate some snacks and made sure everything was lashed down for the long drive back down to normal elevation. Hairpin turns and steep grades greeted us on our descent and once again our vehicle handled it like a champ. Slow and steady is the key on these roads and the one place you may actually want to pay attention to the recommended speed limits posted going around turns. Before we got to the bottom we stopped to look up at Moro Rock, where we had just hiked to, and at Tunnel Rock. It's not actually a tunnel, but a large rock propped up by a bank on one side and a pile of rocks on the other. You used to be able to drive through it but due to safety concerns and the height and width of newer vehicles thats just not going to happen anymore. That didn't stop us from climbing it and waving to cars driving by.

Geoff scrambled to the top of Tunnel Rock, Sequoia National Park, CA

Me a top Tunnel Rock with Moro Rock in the distance. You can see where the new road is and where the old road used to go under the rock. Sequoia National Park, CA

We made it out of the National Park and into civilization in time to gas up at Costco. Our plan was to get as close to the next National Park as we could and stop for the night. Lake Isabella Recreational Area was our goal. It was dark when we arrived so we just found a flat spot and stopped for the night. A little rest before the one of the weirdest and definitely the hottest places we've ever been. Death Valley.

Thanks for the times Kings and Sequoia! We won't soon forget you!!

Our van driving between two Giant Sequoias on Generals Highways, Sequoia National Park, CA

Till next time - Fair winds my friends!

Marsha (and Geoff too)