RVentures with Doug and Chris: In the Shadow of Giants: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Giant Sequoias

Or Giant Canyons ...

Which would you choose??

Luckily, we didn't have to choose between the two during our next national park visit. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are two national parks with very different ''personalities'' that are located right next to each other in central California. I admit that we really didn't know much about these national parks before we visited. We quickly found a special place where the great diversity of nature made each hike, each overlook, each day of our week-long visit a unique experience as we hung out in the Shadow of Giants.

After finishing our visit at Yosemite, we drove down 5000 feet in elevation to Fresno in the heart of California's agricultural valley. After stocking up on necessary provisions, we passed many orchards and started our upward ascent once again into the Sierra Nevada mountains.

We quickly lost internet connection, so I figured that this would be a quick visit since we had just spent the few days ''unconnected'' in Yosemite. It can get difficult to plan our future travels without internet ... not to mention one or both of us may start experiencing computer withdrawal symptoms. But when we realized all the unique sight-seeing and hiking opportunities that awaited us, it was a joy to be disconnected and truly enjoy all the beauty that surrounded us.

We came in during the middle of the week to the Kings Canyon Visitor Center and found a primo spot at Azalea Campground, a ''first come'' campground. Even though it was technically located in Kings Canyon National Park, we were near Grant Grove, where climate and altitude combine to make the perfect growing environment for Giant Sequoias. We were feeling pretty special to have our own giant sequoia on our site that seemed big enough to be used as a bedroom for our ''deer'' guests who frequently visited our campsite.

Giant Sequoias are the most massive trees on earth. Classified as a redwood, they grow to be over 200 feet tall with truck diameters of 28+ feet. Unlike the coast redwoods, the giant sequoias maintain their wide truck circumference almost all the way to their top branches. With its thick bark and tannic acid sap, the giant sequoia is, thankfully, fairly resistant to fire. Many of these giants are estimated to be over 1500 years old. An easy hike through the forest from our campsite led us to the second largest tree in the world, the General Grant Tree. It proudly stands at 267 feet tall, has a truck diameter of almost 29 feet, and is believed to be about 1650 years old.

The next day we drove an hour down the Generals Highway into Sequoia National Park, where Giant Forest is home to majority of these massive beauties including the largest Sequoia on earth, the General Sherman Tree. Standing at 275 feet tall with a truck diameter of 36 feet, it is believed to be around 2500 years old.

While it is mandatory to pay a visit to this popular ''hero'' of Sequoia National Park, we enjoyed hiking under the quiet shadows of sequoias of all sizes along trails in Grant Grove and Giant Forest. Among our favorites:

Crescent Meadow

Sequoias meet wetland in this hikers' paradise. The trails led us pass sequoias of all ages and sizes that grow alongside other smaller forest trees. Scars from past forest fires reminded us of the sequoia's resiliency, and at the same time, its continued need to be protected.

Big Trees Trail

Educational displays along this one mile loop gave us our ''sequoia lesson''. Among the fun facts:

1. Sequoias only grow at altitudes between 5000 and 7000 feet.

2. While they are very hardy, they need precise amounts of sun and water to flourish.

3. Sequoias start out small ... and they also need forest fires to open up their cones in order to reproduce.

4. Despite being a massively large organism, their root system is quite shallow with no deep tap root to anchor them ... kinda makes you want make sure that the sequoia that you are standing under is not leaning to one side or the other :-)

High Sierra Trail

This was a picturesque trail that ran along the mountain ridge overlooking the canyons below. Do you really feel like hiking?? Then this trail is for you as it continues for miles deep into the national park. We were passed by a couple of very serious backpackers determined to scale a few mountains and canyons on their way to a back country campsite twenty miles away.

Moro Rock

This iconic granite rock adorns the mountainside and provides amazing views of the canyons below for those who venture up its 350+ stairs. Unfortunately, wildfire smoke made the views less than optimal ... something that this area has been dealing with for the last month.

Sunset Rock Trail

A 1.4 mile trail that provides the ''two park'' experience. We walked through sequoia forests, over a mountain stream, and emerged out on a huge granite slab that overlooked the canyon. As the name suggests, it is a perfect place to watch a ''pseudo'' sunset ... when the sun disappears over the distance mountain tops but doesn't truly disappear over the horizon.

Just like they amazed us, the Giant Sequoias of the Sierras have fascinated humanity since their discovery by hunters in 1833. Sadly, some of these massive beauties were intentionally cut down and shipped to the eastern United States in order to prove their existence, entertain people, and make money. Fortunately, their wood proved to be too soft for construction uses, so many were spared from becoming lumber in the late 1800s. Thanks to the efforts of conservationists like John Muir, the giant sequoias became protected starting in the 1920s, and the logging of sequoias of any size was prohibited by law beginning in 1980.

Still, while hiking through this area, we found sequoias that had succumbed to fire, winds, or logging through the years. We also saw some of the interesting ways humans have made use of these felled giants whose wood is very resistant to wood rot.

Like a true ''log'' cabin,

... or a playhouse for the kids,

... or a car tunnel (if your vehicle's clearance is eight feet or less),

... or just bridges over a trail,

... I was happy that I didn't have to try to scramble over them!

Kings Canyon National Park lies adjacent Sequoia and has been often referred to as a ''mini Yosemite'' by some visitors. A trip to the ''heart'' of this canyon is all about the journey down. While it is a steep and twisty drive with a 5000 feet elevation drop down into Kings Canyon, the spectacular scenery along the way is well worth the white-knuckle ride. At the canyon base, giant walls of granite rise up on either side of mountain streams making this another hiking and rock climbing paradise. But since it took us the better part of the morning to drive down to the canyon floor, we settled for a scenic lunch spot and short waterfall hike.

With so much area to cover and hiking trails to explore, what started out as a two day trip turned into an enjoyable week-long stay in these two national parks.