9/24/2013
Off to the Sequoias for a week and a
half.
As we pass through Turlock on our way
south, I express a wish to look at the old orchard. So off the
highway we go. I tend to worry about the place as in just over a
year the current owners have a balloon payment due. Their plan as
far as we knew was to take out the elderly orchard and replant. The
last time sister Sharon drove past, the orchard had been removed and
some type of vegetable was growing.
The Garmin certainly has a mind of its
own. It likes to take us on back roads. We ignored its directions
until we get closer to the park. We think programming it for the
shortest way leads to lots of “short cuts” that probably take
longer.
We stop at the visitor center where I
look at books and gifts for 2 year olds, wondering if Lily would like
a book about a bear's house or an owl's house, but in my indecision
buy nothing.
We decide to stop in the first
campground, Potwisha. It has been a long drive. Then the quandary.
The parking spots look flat, but are just enough off that it is hard
to level the RV. We try about 3 different spots before settling on
one that we can get nearly level, if we drive in backwards so our
heads don't slope down in bed.
Rodents: This place is packed with
bold, fat ground squirrels. Where are the hawks? Where are the
rattlesnakes? William says hawks prefer flatter hunting territory
and snakes prefer not to be around people. So rodents thrive. Some
people must be feeding them, although they have plenty of acorns for
natural food. William scares them off by pelting them with small
rocks. But William is soon off on a hike. I am just sitting outside
reading the newspaper when I glance up and see two sitting on the
boulder next to me, so close I could have reached out and touched
them. I scream like someone is murdering me and they scatter, but I
am very unnerved. Now it is hard to read, so I just watch squirrels.
One is trying to get something off of the underside of the bench of
the picnic table.
Food: We started off with a full load
of vegetables. I picked up our huge box of vegetables from Mountain
Bounty Farm on Monday evening and I had William pick all the tomatoes
that were even slightly ripe. We will have a vegie rich holiday.
William found a suspension bridge and
pools for taking a dip, while I fought off the rodents.
9/25/2013
Another day at Potwisha
We are still tired from our long drive
yesterday, so we sleep in. The air is nice and fresh. It will be
cool and cloudy today, so we will stay at this low elevation, 2080
feet. William decides that there is a slightly flatter parking spot
that someone has just vacated, so we move. The spot is not flat, but
better. There are no rodents to be seen as we set up, but they soon
move in. Before William heads off to hike and visit with everyone,
he sets up our chairs overlooking the Marble River, a fork of the Kaweah.
Nice.
I am engrossed in my Kindle when I see
a furry head poke out from between my feet. Another rodent is soon
eying my foot from the side.
I have spotted the Oak Titmouse, the
Acorn Woodpecker, Western Scrub Jay and the Steller's Jay. All birds
you might commonly find in this oak woodland.
9/26/2013
Off to the Giant Trees
As we get ready to pull out, we look
around and our wood is missing. We had 4 nice oak chunks we had found
at the side of the road where some trees had been trimmed. William
had put them next to our bear box and they are gone. I wonder if the
people who had the smokey fire last night were the culprits. We
still have some more wood, but this was dense stuff.
Along the winding road we see more
healthy oaks. Many different varieties and no oak death like Lena
battles on the coast. Then there are the big trees. Big, orange
barked giants. We stop at the Giant Forest museum and take the Round
Meadow hike. Towering sequoias around a fragile meadow. Huge trees
with furry brown red-orange bark. The bases of the trees are lobed
like giant bear paws.
In the 50's this area was the site of a
restaurant, gas station, lodge and cabins. The park has since
lessened its footprint and decreased the stress on the trees. Now
there is just the museum, parking and foot trails here. We spot a
Dark-eyed Junco.
We drive on to the General Sherman
tree, the biggest tree in the world. The hike down to the tree is
fairly steep. On the way we and many other visitors spot a small
black bear digging in a log for bugs.
The General Sherman tree is big. Its top is dead so it grows no taller than its 275 feet, although it continues to grow in diameter.
We are at Lodgepole campground for the
night. We are at a higher elevation, 6720 feet and it is spitting
tiny snowballs as William lets me off to hold a spot. This is a huge
campground, so he drives back to the entrance station to pay. I find
that the rodents du jour of this campground are chipmunks.
A spit of snow after dark.
9/27/2013
Snow
We waken to a winter wonderland. A bit
of snow and a hard frost. I wish I had worn my hat on the way to the
bathroom as the trees are shedding a light rain of melting snow and
frost.
After breakfast we head back on the
Generals Highway to the Moro Rock/Crescent Meadow Road. After taking
the bypass around the Tunnel Log (carved out by the CCC in the 30's,
but only 8 feet high, we are 9feet+) we park at Crescent Meadow
parking lot. Many cars have been here overnight. Backpackers who are
hiking the High Sierra Trail from here to Mt. Whitney. This trail
was built from 1928-32.
We are just going on a short loop hike
from the bottom of Crescent Meadow to Tharp's Log,
Hale Tharp came here from Three Rivers
in 1858 and established a summer camp for cattle grazing. The tiny
cabin was made out of a fallen burned out sequoia. He grazed his
cows here every summer until the park was established in 1890.
The paved trail ends at the cabin. We
continue around the cabin to the Chimney Tree. The inside of this
giant is burnt out. We continue around Crescent Meadow finding a huge
goose pen (burnt out place) on a live tree and a burnt through arch
on another.
From Crescent Meadow we drive to Moro
Rock. There are stairs all the way to the top. 400 steps.
Back to Lodgepole Campground. We have
neighbors. The spots are close together and their tents are right in
back of the RV. We plan music and a campfire tonight.
William hikes to the top of a sloping
granite outcrop for some sun and finds a couple of large bear scat.
No one screams in the night so people must put their scattered food
items away in the bear boxes at dark.
William builds us a nice campfire.
Lovely with the music of Dr. John and a glass of wine. We decide to eat later and enjoy the fire. William
asked about marshmallows, but I only remember those when
grandchildren are about.
We probably bothered the tenters more
than they bothered us as we needed to run the generator until off
time at 8PM to recharge the batteries.
9/28/2013
A Narrow Twisting Drive
We head north on the Generals Highway
into Sequoia National Forest/Monument. Lots of hunters as we enter the
National Forest. It is hunting season. Successful hunters stop here.
No animals to be seen. Maybe they know.
Our impression is that there are way
too many small trees growing too close to the road, especially
incense cedar. Too bad the forests hardly have the budget these days
for clearing fuel breaks. Lots of dusky blue elderberries bent over
in ripe bunches. Lots of nice animal food.
The land gets drier and drier. Creeks
are dry. But Hume Lake has water and lots of development. Summer
cabins along the edge and a huge super fancy Christian Camp. Nothing
like the barracks, tables and camping spots under the trees that I
remember from church camp. Huge soaring wooden structures. A
multistory glass fronted building. A fancy stone block structure
with a cross inlaid that has a sign that it is a deli. The neon sign
says OPEN. A Christian church with a lot of money supports this
place.
More up and down mountain roads, dry
scrub and oak until we get to the Kings River. William says the road
was built in '39. There is a lot of fancy 30's style stonework
marking the road edge. Now you have to hire a specialized stone mason
to get work like this. Places where the road has had to be repaired
have the road edge work replaced with steel and cement guard rails.
Tonight we are here at Sheep Creek
Campground in Kings Canyon National Park near Cedar Grove Village.
We are at a lower elevation here and the campground has few visitors
even though it is the only one open. We are in the host spot. The
host left right after Labor Day.
9/29/2013
A Couple Short Hikes
After breakfast we drive along to the
parking lot for the Roaring River Falls. The hike is quite short and
paved. The river has cut far down the side of the canyon wall, so the
falls, while impressive, is not the height of the falls in Yosemite.
Our next hike is a loop around Zumwalt
Meadow. The nature guides are sold out, so we have to think of what
the numbered posts might be illustrating. We see many logs torn up
by bears searching for bugs. I wonder if black bears occasionally
dig for ground squirrels, like grizzlies do in Alaska.
The suspension bridge is large and
sturdy, not the swaying kind I don't like.
After this hike we head to the showers
at Cedar Grove Village. Buy a token. Three dollars for a ten minute
token. The showers are clean, but no hook or bench for your clothes.
We bring our toiletries in a bag that fits over the token box and
provides a place for towel and clothes. A shower feels nice after a
few days of camping.
Back to Sheep Creek campground for
another night.
9/30/2013
General Grant Park
We head out on highway 180 retracing
part of our track toward the Kings Canyon Visitor Center. Pretty red
bushes by the highway signal the change of seasons. Poison Oak!
We check in at Azalea campground and
only purchase one night. Just in case the park has to shut down on
October first.
Our hike today is the short hike around
the General Grant tree. This tree is now the second largest after
the General Sherman tree, since the top broke out of the former
number two, the Washington tree.
This area is now part of Kings Canyon
National Park, but you go through Sequoia National Forest to get to
this bit. The Grant Grove was settled by the Gamlin brothers in
1872. They lived in the fallen Monarch, a fire hollowed tree, prior
to building the cabin that has been restored along the trail.
They
ran stock on their 160 acre place. In 1891 General Grant Park was
established and the cabin was used for the storage of hay and grain
for the horses of the cavalry who were the first park protectors. It
was also the home of the first civilian park ranger.
A large battered stump is most of the
remains of the Centennial tree.
In a nearby grove the Mark Twain tree
was cut down for the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. This time people did
take the trees seriously.
We stayed for a ranger talk at the
General Grant tree with a few other tourists; We talked about the
trees and how groves were cut down for little use. Although the wood
is long lasting, it was not good building wood and was mostly used
for fence posts, grape stakes and shakes.
Back to Azalea Campground. We are
higher here than at Sheep Camp, so it will be a bit colder.
About 10 eleven year olds came racing
through our camp accompanied by a couple of adults. They were
attracted by the rocks where William is probably climbing. I should
have thought to tell them that there were rattlesnakes there, which
there probably are.
William saw them scampering over the
rocks. He was up on top.
10/1/2013
Government/Park Shutdown
Because we have had no cell coverage in the park, we didn't know if the park would have to shut down. But a ranger comes by to give us the news. We pack up and head for home. The park
workers have 48 hours to get everyone out, including out of the back
country. Roads into parking lots and campgrounds are blocked. I am
sorry about the workers who are working without pay. None of them are
rich and they are going without pay now, though many have to work to
close the park. I doubt that Congress will allow them the back pay.
Of course Republicans would argue that
National Parks and Forests are an unnecessary expense. Remember
Glasnost in the Former Soviet Union, when wealthy friends of the
government were allowed to buy up the resources of the country at
fire sale prices. That is what the Republicans would like.
“Privatize” all federal lands. And when some hedge fund
billionaire buys Yosemite and makes it into a private playground for
his friends. Oh well. Free market rules.
