We Camped at Sequoia National Park!

I left off the last post describing the Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park. I’m not done! I’ve loved all the National Parks we’ve visited, and Sequoia was no different.

Picking back up – we went out to see the General Sherman tree in the fog. That was cool and all, but we had even more fun walking along the 2-mile Congress Trail. I mean, we got to walk through a tree!

As well as get a look at what a giant sequoia’s root system looks like.

For such a huge tree, their roots are quite shallow, going down only about three feet. They are incredibly dense, though. We got an extra treat at this root system. A marmot!

While I have to admit they do look kind of cute, I consider them more pests than anything else. I remember once trying to summit Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain NP. Up at an area called the Boulder Field, at around 12,000 feet, the Park Service installed a couple of toilets. Michael went off to use one and left me with both our packs… which I had to hold and defend from several determined marmots. Still, it’s hard to pass up a good picture.

Near General Sherman we found this cross-section of a 2,000 year old sequoia. It was cut down in the 1950’s because it was too close to some cabin. Sad, right? The Park Service admits now that they were protecting the wrong thing.

 

 

After the Giant Forest we continued on towards the south entrance of the park. I was hoping that the clouds would have a ceiling, that we’d break through them into bright sunshine.

Nice try. We got all the way to Hospital Rock (which is pretty near the southern entrance and visitor’s center) before stopping to let the dogs out… in the rain. Seemed like there was no bottom to the clouds.

Even though it was around 4pm, we didn’t worry too much about finding a place to camp. See, earlier in the day, we decided to break one of our Cardinal Rules: never pay for camping. In general it’s a pretty good rule. We’ve camped at a lot of amazing sites that didn’t cost a thing.

But earlier that day we were standing there at the Lodgepole Visitor’s Center, and the guy said there were still lots of available sites at the Lodgepole Campground. It was $22/night, but the location put us at the center of the Park. We looked at the budget, as well as our supplies, and decided to go for it. Site #182 was ours! Until Sunday the 14^th at noon, anyway.

So we pretty much took our time getting back to camp. We stopped at a spot called Big Fern Springs before continuing on the road up.

Visibility got slightly better as we headed back up, but things were still pretty socked in.

Some day I’d like to come back and see what the views are supposed to be from the steep and windy switchbacks that take you from 3,000 feet to 7,000 feet in just a few miles.

Our view was still pretty cool, though. Somehow this is what I picture Colombia looking like. Or Peru. I almost expected to see an old bus lumbering through the frame.

The clouds were so low at the Lodgepole campground that at first I thought it was raining. It turned out to be mist, and it cleared off eventually. We found out that it’s actually acceptable to collect downed firewood here. We saw so many people gathering branches and sticks, we asked our neighbors in site #181 about it. They said there was a notice on the board outside the bathrooms, and that for right now it’s okay, so… Michael went to town collecting. We had a wonderful fire, and it was so nice to not have to get into the tent as soon as it got dark.

The forecasted overnight low temperature was 30^o. Elvis slept up in the tent with us, burrowed into his blanket. We still give him a Valium at night and I can tell you that it definitely helps him to sleep through the night. No more pacing or panic attacks. We all slept wonderfully. Bailey is younger and quite a bit fatter, but we keep a down blanket for him to sleep on/in. Sometimes we even wrap him up as a little “Bailey burrito.”

Saturday morning I had one tiny regret about site #182. It was in the shade until about 9:45. When I got up at 8:30 and walked Bailey around the campground, I looked enviously at the rigs parked in full sun. It wasn’t fun making coffee in 40 degree weather, but drinking it sure made the morning better.

Our goal for that day was a hike to a place called Morro Rock. We saw the view on a postcard and it looked spectacular. You can see some images here.

The weather foiled us again. By the time we got to the turnoff for the Morro Rock parking lot, the fog had set in. By the time we got to the actual parking lot, visibility was maybe 5 feet. I had on my headlights, fog lights, and my hazards, driving at 5mph and watching the edge of the road as we crept along. From what I could see, though, the Morro Rock trail parking lot was completely full.

No Morro Rock for us. Apparently the fog had rolled in at 10:30am that day. Time for plan B. We drove back to camp – which was, amazingly, somehow still in the sun. We had a little lunch and then set out to hike to Tokopah Falls. And while a waterfall hike always sounds awesome, the real reason I wanted to hike this trail was that the trailhead was right at the edge of the Lodgepole campground. Lucky us! Also, a Park Service employee told us the falls were “really boiling,” so I was pretty excited to go check it out.

This was a short hike (about 1.7 miles each way) along the Kaweah River, and the grade never got truly steep. The views were astounding. By the time we hit the talus slope, right before the falls, it was hard to remember that we were in a place known for its giant trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apparently you can hike beyond this point – it’s not recommended, though. If I’d brought more than just my camera I would definitely been up for it. This area was gorgeous.

 

The fog came rolling in during our hike up, although it stayed at a pretty high altitude. I’d have to live here a lot longer to even begin to understand the strange weather.

 

 

 

I just couldn’t stop taking photographs!

 

He’s my favorite subject, though.