Hey guys,
Thought you all might enjoy a few of my vacation pics (Grant's Grove area in Kings Canyon National Park during Labor Day weekend). I have lots more, but figured you might not want to look at a hundred pictures of big trees :) Enjoy!
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This is the lower half of the General Grant Tree, the "Nation's Christmas Tree" and third largest living thing in the world (first largest is another giant sequoia, the General Sherman living farther south in Sequoia National Park). It's 267' tall (taller than a 27-story building) so the only way the entire tree will fit in a photo is if you stand pretty far away. Check out the tourists at the fence to get a feel for how huge it is. |
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Top part of another huge sequoia in the same grove.
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The "Centennial Stump" is all that remains of a 1800-year-old giant sequoia that was chopped down to be shown at the 1875 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. Part of the tree was cut into sections and hauled out to be reassembled at the exhibition. Unfortunately, the great size of the tree and the obvious reassembly led many people to call it the "California Hoax" and it was laughed out of the exhibition. |
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My friend, Ranger Christy, standing in front of the uprooted base of the "Fallen Monarch". The 124' long log was apparently hollowed out by fire a long time before it fell & died centuries ago. Adult sequoias are very tough trees and can easily survive some very nasty-looking burns, plus the wood is resistant to decay and insects. This is all due to the tannic acids in their sap. They have shallow root systems though (no long taproots like most trees) so the primary cause of death (after a couple thousand years or so) is falling over. The hollow trunk of the Fallen Monarch has been used in the past as a shelter, hotel, saloon, and stable.
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The "Twin Sisters" started out as 2 separate trees and eventually fused together as they grew. 22' in diameter. Notice the motorcycles parked in front; they're a very popular way to access the parks, especially with rising gas prices (the nearest place with halfway reasonable gas prices is Squaw Valley, 30 minutes away). |
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I stumbled onto this while wandering around the Azalea Campground near the visitor center. An entire large flat rock is pockmarked with these depressions, "Indian Mortars". During the summers women from nearby California tribes would gather here and grind acorns etc. into meal.
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Early one evening after work, Christy took me up to Panoramic Point to see it at sunset. This is looking east towards part of the Sierra Nevada crest and the northern end of the Great Western Divide. You can see Hume Lake on the left. We're only at 7700 feet, so Mt. Whitney (14,494 ft, highest point in the "Lower 48" states) is hidden by the peaks in the Great Western Divide. It's visible from the east by driving U.S 395 near Lone Pine, but if you want to see it from the west, you need to put on a backpack and hike a few days thru the backcountry. If you notice the air looks a little hazy, that's because of the fire burning near Cedar Grove in the main part of Kings Canyon NP. Lightning started it last July, and the park service plans to keep an eye on it but let it burn til it goes out, probably when it starts snowing. The giant sequoias and many other plants depend on fire to help them reproduce. |
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This is a view of Sequoia Lake, looking southwest from the overlook on the "Dead Giant" trail. It's about a mile away from the parking lot at the General Grant grove, so not too many people willing to hike up here. Unfortunately for them. There is a YMCA camp at Sequoia Lake, and beyond is the Sequoia National Forest. If you could fly SW straight over the ridge, it would be about 50 miles to the city of Visalia and the agriculture of the Central Valley.
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Some of this info I got from the park brochures, some from my friend Christy. If you're interested in visiting yourself some day, a good website for information is the National Park Service's site at http://www.nps.gov/seki . AAA members can get free maps of Sequoia & Kings Canyon NPs (also available at the parks, but for a fee). Deaf, blind, & HC people can get a "Golden Access Passport" free, good for a lifetime; it provides free entrance into the national parks and 50% off camping fees etc. Seniors over 62 can get a "Golden Age Passport" for $10; it also provides free entrance and 50% discounts.
Hope you liked the internet slide show!
Kendra