Day 90, 91 & 92 - Sequoia National Park & Kings Canyon National Park, CA

We left Pinnacles National Park and headed back along the quiet country roads towards our next stop, Sequoia National Park.

It was odd on the drive to see very dry and hay coloured land mixed with lush green fields growing all sorts of fruit and vegetables.

We went through a number of small towns with fruit and veg stands selling produce that was probably grown in the fields we were passing by. We already had dinner for the night otherwise it might have been nice to stop off and buy some fresh produce straight from the field.

As we approached Sequoia National Park, the towns started to get busier and we saw more and more people.

We entered the park and drove along Generals Highway, named because it links General Sherman with General Grant. More on these later! The park was packed with tourists, we headed to the visitors center where we were told that the best time to visit is early in the morning before the tourists flooded in.

The Generals Highway began at a very low elevation and was very free of trees, we started to get worried that maybe there wasn’t a lot to see in this park. Then the road climbed until it reached the top of the canyon and the Giant Forest appeared with the huge Sequoia trees!

Our campsite was called Stony Creek and it was situated between Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park in the Sequoia National Forest, Giant Sequoia National Monument. We were perfectly situated for visiting both parks!

Due to the fires in Yosemite, our night in Wowoma was cancelled. Lee quickly got on the computer and was able to book a second night in Stony Creek Campground but we had to move sites at midday.  In the end, this worked out perfect for us as we had a terrible nights sleep the first night camping. Firstly we had a very loud family who had booked out most of the campsite and it was party night with very loud talking until 4am but that wasn’t the only issue. It was a lovely hot day, reaching about 85F but at night, the temperature dropped so cold, you could see your breath! We were not prepared! Getting up at 6am was an easy option as it meant we could put the heated seats on, enjoy some warmth and miss all the tourists!

We decided to visit Sequoia National Park first and it was a good decision to make! At 7am, they close a number of roads to cars forcing visitors to get the park buses. We were able to visit these roads before they closed which meant we could hike up to Moro Rock with very few other people around, be the only ones to stand on Auto Log (a log that people used to drive on but it’s too unstable now and cars are too heavy!) and drive under Tunnel Log, something which is impossible to do when they shut the road to cars.

We then parked up in one of the car parks and headed to Giant Forest. We did a couple of hikes to see the huge trees and visited the largest tree (from a volume perspective) General Sherman.

The Sequoia trees are awesome! Whilst they’re not the oldest trees, they are still pretty old with some being 3,200 years old! It is also so impressive how they protect themselves from fire with an almost fur like bark and can even survive with most of their trunk burnt away. You can’t stop looking at and picturing the huge size of their trunks and the really cool knooks and crannies (usually from fire damage). Even the fallen trees are impressive and don’t seem to ever rot.

After our morning activities, we headed back to the campsite for a sleep and to move to our new pitch. Moving meant taking everything out of the tent, removing the pegs and carrying the tent 30 meters, not as easy as it sounds!!

During the afternoon, we drove down Kings Canyon Scenic Byway which takes you from the top of the canyon, right down to the canyon floor and the river that runs through it.

The next night we were prepared for the cold! We put the fly on so we had some cover from the outside, we wrapped up in extra layers, blankets and socks and had a slightly warmer night. I think we’re going to need arctic sleeping bags before the end of the trip!!

Despite the cold and the noisy campers the night before, we enjoyed camping at Stoney Creek. It was a great location with big sites under the trees, we even managed to find an easy way to empty the car of all smelly stuff (food, toiletries, etc) and place it in the bear locker to avoid a visit from any fury friends but again we were at a campsite with not enough toilets or sinks for all the campers and whilst we knew there weren’t going to be any showers, we were both covered in black dust and dirt from the campsite, the hikes and from paddling in the river. A shower would have been very welcoming! It was also really nice to meet a lovely young couple called Neil and SP who were the camp hosts and doing a really good job interacting with the guests ensuring rules were followed but also that everyone was having fun!

The next day, we finished our trip of Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks by visiting the 3rd biggest tree by volume in the World, General Grant. He also has the title of the largest Sequoia by width. General Grant is located in Grant Grove which we then walked around  and looked at some of the other big trees.

We then headed to our next destination which is a mystery as it was supposed to be Yosemite but due to the fires, our reservation was cancelled. Hopefully we’ll decide what to do en route otherwise we might be sleeping in the car!