Late Arrivals
We leave Las Vegas in our new machine, a large but comfortable Jeep Wrangler. There are none of the fancy features or gizmos of the modern BMW but we are well equipped with camping, cooking and sleeping supplies (or so we think). There is a roof nest fixed to the top of the roof-racks where we shall sleep for the next eleven nights.
It’s a seven hour, 645km journey from Vegas to our campground in the Sequoia national park. We share the driving and I take the reins for the first half. It’s a challenging drive having to choose between a 55mph slow lane full of articulated lorries or a 90mph fast lane with pickups aggressively driving up behind you even when you’re 25mph over the speed limit. After some time I notice the miles per gallon on our new vehicle is a devastating 18mpg and wonder how much gas this beast is going to guzzle over the next twelve days. Luckily after we escape Nevada (and the 115°F/46°C Death Valley area) things calm down a bit and I hand the driving over to Alex.
We stop for some dinner at Denny’s and even though we left Indie Campers two hours earlier than anticipated, we are driving up hairpin bends, at 20mph, under the pitch black nightsky. Eventually we arrive at the campsite just before midnight, long after all of the other campers have gone to sleep. We have to figure out how a bear box (a large metal cube designed to protect food/toiletries from bears) works in the dark and very tired. We also raise our roof nest for the first time, luckily it rises up in a few seconds and we do not have to faff around with tent poles in the dark.
The Bigger They Are…
After a much needed lie-in, it’s time to go and see some huge trees called sequoias. These magnificent pillars of nature may not be as tall as their redwood cousins but they are wider. In fact they are the widest trees in the world.
Sequoia national park is the only place on earth where these trees grow naturally. Why is that? Well they require very specific conditions to grow, a certain altitude, a low but not dry water table and most strangely of all, fire. Yes these lumbering giants rely on natural wildfires to clear the ground of rival trees so their acorns can sprout and then they can thrive. Their bark is fire resistant so once they are established they have a natural shield to protect against the frequent wildfires in the area. On occasion the most sacred trees will have their bases wrapped in aluminum foil to add further protection from extreme fires.
We start with a walk around the pathway of giants and guess how many Alex’s (with her arms stretched wide) it would take to fit around these massive trees. We actually measure it out at one point and it takes fourteen Alex’s to hug one average sized sequoia!
The next stop on the tour is Moro Rock with brilliant views across the park. In the distance we can even spot some snow that is still resisting the heat of the summer sun.
We follow the path back down Moro Rock and board the shuttle bus to the pleasantly named Crescent Meadow. Here we pose with some more giant trees, spot a marmot posing on a fallen log and enjoy the peace and quiet of being immersed in nature. The trees obviously look massive from any angle but once they fall it’s astounding how indescribably huge they are.
Returning back towards the shuttle bus we make a visit to General Sherman, one of the biggest sequoia trees in the world. There are taller and wider trees, but the General Sherman Tree contains more volume in its trunk than any other tree on Earth. It is estimated to be around 2200 years old! A handy sign informs us how many people (or Alex’s) it would take to fit holding hands around this tree… 23!
Amusingly it was originally named the Karl Marx tree by a local socialist community living in the area. After they were *ahem* removed, the tree was renamed Sherman after the American Generals who fought in the Civil War. How predictable.
Back at Camp Lodgepole we take advantage of the natural facilities and bathe in the freezing cold stream flowing through the campsite. We rinse some clothes and our dusty limbs, immersing ourselves in this off-grid lifestyle. At our camp spot, we gather firewood and cook our first meal on a campside fire pit. We rush our beers and race across camp to make it to the ranger talk at 8.30pm. He talks about the wildlife in the park and the number of resident bears in the SEKI area… 800 black bears!
Happy Fourth!
The next morning we set off on yet another hike to some nearby falls. There’s not much to report on the hike except looking out for bear activity (we see none) and being wished a “Happy Fourth” by Americans. They clearly didn’t notice my Ha Giang Loop t-shirt from Vietnam 😂
Afterwards it’s time for a short drive along the Generals Highway towards our next camp site, Stony Creek. It’s a nice location but we are immediately set upon by dozens of flies buzzing around us as we try to enjoy some lunch…
After exploring the campsite, cooling our feet in the nearby creek and collecting far too much firewood, we celebrate the fourth of July! Indulging in some strong beers and a bottle of Apothic Red I bought from the store. With the promise of a day off tomorrow, I indulge a bit too much and struggle to remember how the night ended or how I managed to make it up the ladder to bed in such a forlorn state. Don’t drink kids.
Kings Canyon (hungover)
Waking up in a somewhat groggy state I’m… instructed that we will not be having a day off at camp but instead there is a hike that Alex has picked out over in Kings Canyon. In fairness, it would have been quite an unpleasant stay in camp with all of the annoying bugs and the rising heat, but I’m certainly in no fit state to drive so Alex takes the wheel and I feel very sorry for myself.
What better cure is there for a hangover than a four hour hike in the midday sun? Well, if there is one, it’s not available here, on a hiking we must go.
On the return to camp we make a stop at General Grant, another General standing out in this army of sequoia trees. Some facts stolen from Wikipedia as I was too hungover to write any notes: President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed it the “Nation’s Christmas Tree” on April 28, 1926. Due in large part to its huge base, the General Grant tree was thought to be the largest tree in the world prior to 1931, when the first precise measurements indicated that the General Sherman was slightly larger. On March 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared the tree a “National Shrine”, a memorial to those who died in war. It is the only living object to be so declared. Back when these giants were first found, some of them were chopped down to prove to the world they existed, but people thought it was a hoax with parts of trees put together to make the giants. Essentially the trees were killed to prove they lived… and even then they didn’t believe them.
Back at Camp Flyville we cool off in the creek running parallel to the campsite and make an evening meal praying that the flies, gnats and mosquitos might leave us in peace (they don’t).
California Cruisin
Our journey must continue on, we will travel Northbound to Yosemite. We depart the relative cool air of the mountains to the hazy heat of the Californian desert. We make a stop in Fresno to use a laundromat and make an important stop at Chili’s to refuel and recharge our electronic devices. It’s a brief return to civilization as we then venture back into the wilderness. We drive through bone-dry lands where the grass has turned to a soft yellow colour, completely deprived of water. We setup camp in Codorniz where the evening temperature is still in the 40 degrees which according to the Park Ranger here is “too damn hot, even the rattlesnakes don’t come out in this heat”. We get some reprieve from the dreaded bearboxes, instead warned of raccoons. We’ll take that. After evening meal we call our friends Alex and Clive and arrange to meet them in Canada in a couple of weeks time. But before that we must visit Yosemite National Park, over to Alex for that one…
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Adventure – Wandering in the shadows of giants. Sleeping on top of a car. Epic long drives in the sunshine and some night-time slaloms. Trying to wash my hair in a camp chair using a 5L bottle of freezing water
Excitement – Seeing some spectacular waterfalls and being sprayed with mist to cool us off. Watching out for bears 🐻 Cooking meals by campfire.
Trauma – Sleepless night in Codorniz thanks to the heat and a loud family nearby. The army of bugs in Camp Stony Creek. The hassle of bear boxes.
1 Comment
Ah lovely blog, great pics. Wow could you really drive a car under a tree trunk. Hope the hangover wasn’t too bad 😉. Did you actually see any bears cooking meals by the campsite 🤣. Entertaining blog, lovely to read Look forward to the next one 😁 Xx