Jenn & Colin (#FoleyBoyd): November 2012 Sequoia/Kings Canyon Nat'l Park

Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park: home of the Sierras and the Giant Forest. When Colin suggested this location as our second annual Thanksgiving getaway, I was extremely excited. We had been to Muir Woods, outside of San Francisco, CA, the year before to see (what we thought) were massive trees. After researching Sequoia National Forest with their land of the giants, I could not imagine how big these trees would feel standing at the base. We packed up and headed north around 6AM on Thanksgiving Thursday. We had a lovely Thanksgiving meal the night before at a friend’s house, so we didn’t have to go two years in a row without some turkey and stuffing. This drive was very different from our other adventures. I found that the landscape and views the entire way were very beautiful and I never got bored. We left a morning of thick fog and eventually emerged into the California sunshine.

Once we drove through fields and fields of nut farms, we began our climb up the mountains destined to arrive at the National Park. Colin took the wheel at this point because the roads were nothing but dangerous. We’ve driven through Big Sur where you’re driving on the edge of the U.S., but this drive left little room for error. The drops off the edge of the roads make you feel vertigo looking out the car window. There must have been a foot of space between your car and the open air. We eventually made it safe and sound to the park gate to be greeted with a giant right at the entrance. We arrived way ahead of schedule and our rustic cabin in Grant Grove was not available yet. We decided to visit the nearby General Grant tree in order to kill some time until our cabin was ready.

Walking through this trail was magical. Cliché I know, but I’m not sure how else to describe it. I don’t believe my brain could process the enormity of these trees and just felt like we were on a movie set and someone had made these trees for the next LOTR series. We moseyed along taking pictures, hugging the trees that weren’t blocked off, and just relaxing in the tranquil you feel among this forest. There were many people and children walking and running around, but it was strangely quiet. We finally went back to check into our little home for the weekend. We made some food, started a fire, and spent the night drinking some wine and went to bed early to start our adventure to the giant forest the next morning.

Yesterday’s trail walk was just a small preview of what we were about to see today. We got all bundled up to brave cooler weather, packed up our day pack, and just drove. We knew some attractions we wanted to see but we mainly just winged it. Our first stop was a small little trail around a meadow among some more Giants. This was a really peaceful hike and our eyes still couldn’t quite remember how big these trees were the day before. Our next stop was a hike up Moro Rock. I don’t think I need to explain this because it’s clear how beautiful this hike is from the pictures. Our last destination for the day was to see the famous General Sherman Tree. As we drove there, we wondered “how much bigger can this tree be compared to the one’s we’ve already seen?” We arrived expecting to be underwhelmed, but we could not have been more wrong. This tree was beyond huge. They have it blocked off so the pictures don’t really capture how much of a monster this tree was. I’m glad we didn’t listen to our assumptions and decided to give this tree a glance. Before we went to our cabin for the night, we stopped to see if we could get tickets to get a guided cave tour, unfortunately they were sold out. We went back to our cabins played some board games and had another quiet, cell phone-less night drinking some beers and listening to the fire crackle.

Our last day for exploration, we decided to try and venture up to Kings Canyon. We heard that most of the roads were closed this time of the year, but it didn’t stop us from trying. You do not even need to exit your car to be on an adventure in this national park, my eyes were going all over the place, stimulated constantly with the beauty of the trees, mountains, and amazing views. We eventually hit a blocked off road but we still decided to drive and explore. We stopped at Hume Lake, where the weather was a lot warmer than it was high in the forest/mountains. Our next stop was this place I couldn’t ever remember how we even got there. We would drive down random paths/roads, sometimes having to turn around until we eventually found this road that seemed to be declining into a hidden forest. The drive was beautiful again and we eventually got down where there were a few trails to explore. We went on a mini hike and decided to head back to our cabin. We actually ate dinner at the restaurant at Grant Grove that night, after eating nothing but sausages and eggs all weekend. We relaxed at our cabin until it got dark then we hopped in the car for a night drive. I really wanted to get some pictures of the stars and the mountains at night, so Colin was kind enough to take me. We eventually made our way back to the cabin for one last night in the Sequoias. Like all good trips, they come to an end! We hope to go back to Kings Canyon and Sequoia to hopefully explore more of Kings Canyon and even possibly hike Mount Whitney. I would recommend this national park to everyone! It is truly magical. I still look at the trees in my pictures and can’t believe I was standing next to these natural living 2,000 year old wonders. Thank you Giant Forest!