In The Land of Giant Sequoias

We headed out of San Luis Obispo on Tuesday, May 9th and headed east and north. Our first stop: Sequoia National Monument.

We spent two days at this free little spot, and didn’t see another person. (Apparently the road that lead to it had only been open for a few days.) We did see two fighter jets –  our campsite was actually buzzed by two planes on Wednesday morning. They passed right above us, right over the treetops, and it was so cool. We heard more around us during our stay but never saw them again. I found out later that the aircraft were based out of China Lake Naval Air Station.

The weather was super pleasant, although Elvis tended to need a little help staying warm.

We found that blanket at the San Luis Obispo Goodwill for $5. The heavy polyester actually sticks to Elvis, so when he gets up to change positions or drink water, the thing hangs off him like a cape. The old guy needs all the help he can get, as he recently stopped eating dog food of any kind. Even the kind with bacon grease added. Based on the advice of our vets (Jacques and Allison), we tried out ground turkey and rice, which Elvis has been inhaling. I thought it was only cats that would starve themselves out of spite…

The next day we took a little walk down the hill (we meant me, Michael, and Bailey. Elvis stayed in the truck with his blanket) to find the source of the roaring water we’d been hearing.

Bailey was more than up for the adventure. He’s been a real trooper, snuggling with Elvis sometimes, and being an all-around great helper dog. He was very ready to run around.

California’s snowpack reached 170% of normal this year in the Sierra Nevadas, so there is water everywhere. It sure was pretty, though.

We followed this creek back up to the road, where the flow was a lot more gentle, before returning to camp. 

While we didn’t see any giant sequoias during our stay, we did see some damn tall trees.

After restocking in the town of Porterville, we headed northwest to the north entrance of Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks. We camped for the night at a free site along Ten Mile Road, which is just outside the National Park border.

I’ve really been missing our Revel Gear lights. I don’t know what I did but they stopped working a little while ago. Luckily Revel Gear is an awesome company and they’re sending us a new set, yay!

Man oh man was I excited to get to see giant sequoia trees. The weather up in the Park was strange for me, although I was assured by Park staff that the afternoon fog was totally normal for this time of year.

We drove to the Giant Forest to see General Sherman, the world’s largest tree.

For the record, it is actually really hard to photograph giant sequoias. General Sherman is the tree in the center and is approximately 2,200 years old. The dark part at the base is an old burn scar – sequoias evolved with fire, and the giant trees generally survive them quite well. All the large trees we saw had multiple burn scars.

This fog rolled in while we were hiking around what’s called the Congress Trail, and while it made things chillier, it was like hiking through a cloud. I loved taking these pictures.

Remember how I said it was actually difficult to photograph these trees? It’s because they’re so tall. Even with my 18mm lens I could either get the base or the top. Not both.

I tended to go for the base. And sometimes even the base wouldn’t fit in the frame. These trees really are giants.

So did Michael. I have to tell you, walking into this stand of huge trees… it was magical. Everyone should try it – if only to remind you of how small you really are.

Remember how I said water is everywhere here?

Yeah. It was everywhere.

Next post: our adventures in Sequoia National Park continue!