Kings Canyon & Sequoia

Kings Canyon was a welcome respite after Memorial Day weekend, which we spent bouncing around from place to place – everywhere being booked with the holiday crowds. We entered the park with some trepidation, assuming we would have the same bad luck of the last 3 days and the campground would be full. Fortunately, we struck gold and miraculously had the campground virtually to ourselves for 4 of the 10 days we stayed.

To orient those of you who are unfamiliar with Kings Canton, it is a sister park to Sequoia. The two are connected and share similar scenery with towering Giant Sequoias, steep granite cliffs, and lush mountain meadows. Between the two parks and the surrounding national forest land, there were an abundance of hikes which we barely put a dent in.

The hikes we did do were gorgeous and I hope to never forget the sight of those monoliths towering above us as we tramped through the quiet groves blanketed with ferns. To describe these trees as big would be an insult. They are gargantuan and majestic, they give the forest character standing as silent guardians over this special place. We stood in awe of both General Sherman and Grant the largest and 3^rd largest trees by volume, respectively, in the world. We hugged, walked inside, and across the many other nameless sequoias we passed along our hikes. Enjoying many a picnic on the fallen sentinels that spanned through emerald meadows. We even drove through the famous Tunnel Log – a tight squeeze with the canoe, but we made it.

In addition to marveling at the stately sequoias, we saw many other beautiful sights. Nightly sunsets from our campsite rivaled the painted skies of Big Bend. Driving to the northern part of the park Rick and I were like kids giddy with excitement and wonder over the south fork of the King River. Never having seen a river moving with such volume and force, every section was white water foaming and crashing over boulders. I can’t mention the meadows enough, the dark forest would randomly open up into these lush green, sun-drenched meadows with small streams flowing through them, often unseen only heard by the pleasant trickling of water moving past the rocks and grasses.

We became obsessed with finding bears and began seeking out every meadow we could find (a bear’s favorite stomping ground). Several times we roused the kids early in the morning to cook breakfast on the meadows edge. We came close three times, but never saw any bears. We did spy plenty of deer, marmots, and even a coyote.

An added treat to the trip was seeing our friends Ashli and John, and their son Jackson who are also full-timing. The kids enjoyed an evening of roaming around the campsite and playing games, and we had a chance to catch up with Ashli and John’s travels since we last saw them in Texas.

Of all the parks we’ve visited, Kings Canyon and Sequoia has been one of our happiest for its solitude, beauty and expanse.