Day 47 - A Drive Into Sequoia National Park

Ken and I were both up by 7 and got ready to go to Sequoia NP.  We made a cooked breakfast, packed our lunches and the 4 of us were on our way in our CRV to Sequoia NP.  The entrance and visitor's center was about 7 miles from our CG.  

We stopped at the Visitor's Center and got our sticker for our passport book and the souvenir pin for our display in Waldo.  The gal there was extremely helpful about trails and interesting sites in the Park. 

A scenic view on our drive to the NP!

Sequoia National Park was created on Sept. 28, 1890 and is the
2nd oldest national park.  So, this year is its 125 Anniversary!
Ready for new adventures in another National Park!

We drove on the extremely curvy, switchback road that almost made me carsick and took some great photos on the way up.  We got to 7,000 feet of elevation.   We went to the Giant Forest and walked down to the largest tree in the world, General Sherman sequoia.  It is not the tallest or widest, but it has the most volume of wood, 52,500 cubic feet.  It was unbelievable. 

The way these rocks fall and land in these "balancing" position
is positively amazing!

In the distance the mountains are still snow covered!

Moro Rock, a granite dome, is a landmark here in
Sequoia National Park!

Some of the beautiful sequoias we saw along the road on our
way to the Giant Forest!

To me, their color is magnificent and "stands out" so much
in a forest of trees!

I wish someone was staying by this tree so you
could really appreciate its size!

The trailhead for the 1/2 mile walk "down" to the General
Sherman Sequoia!

These pavers show the size of the trunk of the
General Sherman Sequoia.  Pretty big!!!!!!!

As I said, it is the largest tree in the world based
on the volume of wood, not by height or width!
This tree is estimated to be 2,200 years old.  It's
largest branch is almost seven feet in diameter.  Every
year the General Sherman grows enough new wood
to produce a 60 foot tall tree of usual size!  It stands
275 feet and its trunk weights an estimated 1,385 tons.
Its circumference at the ground is nearly 103 feet.

.  From there we started hiking the 2 mile Congress Trail that looped back to General Sherman.  The number and size of the sequoias we saw on this walk was phenomenal.  Those trees are positively majestic both in size and color.  I found the hike a bit challenging due to the elevation.  After we completed the trail, we had to hike back up to the parking lot, about 1/2 mile.

Time to begin the trail through the Giant Forest and see all
the beautiful sequoias!

Aren't the trunks huge???  The bark is so "furry" feeling and
seems to be more like kindling than hard wood, but yet it
is so heat resistant!

So many of the sequoias have "carved out" sections
from fire damage.  Fires are necessary for the
survival of the sequoias.  Other trees and shrubs
are killed off by fires, allowing more light in the forest,
more water for the remaining trees, and  uncrowded
forest floor for the sprouting of new sequoias from
the seeds of their pinecones!

Pretty big, huh????  Amazing how they do
not die when burned.  This may have burned many,
many years ago!!!

The President Tree!

These trees are called the Senate!  There was a House tree,
but somehow I don't have a photo of that one!

These are the tiny pinecones that fall from the Sequoias.
How can such big trees have such little pinecones?????
Mature trees my produce 2,000 egg-sized cones per year bearing
400,000 seeds dispersed only as cones open.Cones hang on trees
 green and closed for up to 20 years.  Fire is the key to seed dispersal
 and seedbed fertility.  It makes the cones dry, open, and drop seeds.
It lets sunlight in and burns logs and branches on the forest floor
to ashes as fertilizer.  Thus, fire is important for the "reproduction"
of sequoia trees!

A fallen sequoia that you can walk through on the trail!

Give you some idea of the size of this tree from a piece of the trunk!

By then it was 2:00 and we were hungry.  So we drove to a picnic area to eat at one of the tables.  There were several warnings about bears being in the picnic area, so we watched each others backs!  No bears!!!

We stopped at the Giant Forest Museum to see displays and info regarding the native sequoias and we found it fascinating.  Then it was time for the drive back done the windy road.  We were back to the CG by 5 and we were ready for some relaxation.

In all the world, sequoias grow naturally only on the west slope of the
 Sierra Nevada, usually between 5,000 and 7,000 feet elevation.
There are some 75 groves in all!  Not too large of an area for these huge trees!

So massive!

We had Happy Hour sitting along the brook at the CG, enjoying the quiet.  At 6 we all went inside our motorhomes to get supper ready, planning to get back together around 7:30 to play games.  Ken made our salads for dinner so I could work on this blog.  What a guy!!!!!  Game night at the Gregorys and then to bed early for a trip to Kings Canyon tomorrow!