Part Two - Weekend trip to Sequoia National Park

The Sierra Nevada mountain ranges in California offer expansive views of steep gorges, cliffs and waterfalls at bird's eye view. The sheer vastness of the range can be intimidating but to make every big goal a reality, you need to achieve ten smaller goals working towards it. In this pursuit, we set out to explore Sequoia National Park in California. 

After getting our living situation sorted in Part One, we ventured to delve deep into the national park. Driving from Three Rivers town, the park entrance took us about an hour or so. There is a common entry fee of $20 per vehicle to get into Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, valid for seven days. The focus of this trip was solely Sequoia and there was no hiding from the fact that you have arrived at the park! The mammoth trees greet you every step of the way, towering above you, making you realize how small you are and in comparison any stress/troubles you may have seem miniature and melt away and no I'm not exaggerating! 

Here is what Wiki says about these trees -- "Giant sequoias are the world's largest single trees and largest living thing by volume. Giant sequoias grow to an average height of 50–85 m (164–279 ft) and 6–8 m (20–26 ft) in diameter. Record trees have been measured to be 94.8 m (311 ft) in height. The oldest known giant sequoia based on ring count is 3,500 years old. Giant Sequoias are among the oldest living things on Earth."

Maneuvering the park was relatively simple. Once you park your vehicle at any of the many huge parking lots that get crowded in peak season, a free shuttle service takes you to all the popular spots in the park. Sometimes the line to take the shuttle can be serpentine but it is still the best way to get around the park. 

MORO ROCK

We hiked to Moro Rock, a huge granite dome, that is a mile long 400-steps trail to get to the top at an altitude of 6725 feet. My then three year old could do with a bit of encouragement and a lot of breaks ;)  

The view from the top of Moro Rock encompasses most of the park and the giant trees look miniature from that height, its all about perspective! The air is crisper and fresher, the clouds seeming so close yet so far.

CRESCENT MEADOW

John Muir, the famous Scottish-American naturalist also know as "Father of the National Parks" calls Crescent Meadow "Gem of the Sierra". 

Crescent Meadow is lined with giant sequoia trees, about a 2 mile loop wooded area with rare sighting of fallen trees and ample bears! The bears were so comfortable with human proximity that they seemed to be devoid of fight-or-flight response, just chilling. Kiran, the official photographer on every trip, got up-close and clicked this beautiful shot of one such bear!! Oh, did I mention the kids and I always kept our distance, for our safety, the bear and us that is ;)

Do you get an idea of the scale yet?

We made sure we did not cram our day with too many activities. After Crescent meadow, I remember waiting a long time for a shuttle to arrive, as it was the end of the day. A couple of shuttles that did come were already brimming with people. We decided to wait longer and took a later shuttle to the parking lot. 

We got back to our vacation rental and as night fell we got to see the most breathtaking sight of the stars. With not much civilization in the vicinity, stars had literally aligned for a clear sky and this stunning view.

Day 3

CRYSTAL CAVES

Sunday was our final day at the park and to make the most of the day we started bright and early. Once we got to Crystal caves, we got tickets for the 45-minute guided family tour and waited for the earlier group to come back, so that we could make the very easy breezy trek down the steep path to get to the cave. The cave entrance looked like a place where Spiderman regularly meets caveman but nothing had prepared us for what was inside! 

Our tour guide was a young college student who came back every summer to volunteer as a guide at the cave. To experience the caves through her eyes was what made the caves that much more special. She seemed to be encapsulated by it and the highlight of the tour was when she took us into a completely closed and dark dome, so dark that the only light source was her flashlight. She asked us to find seating there and switched off her flashlight. To experience the darkness, the sounds of the subterranean streams carving out the most stunning stalactites and stalagmites on the marble, the coolness of the air, we were blissed out!

Just outside the caves were waterfalls. After some customary selfies we headed back on the steep trek up, a hike the kids clearly did not enjoy..

Once we got back to the top, we were starving and made proper use of the picnic tables to eat lunch that I had packed. We had tamarind rice, pita chips, spinach and artichoke dip and slices of peaches and plums! It was the most satisfying meal after an intensive trip to the caves.

GENERAL SHERMAN

The last on the list of attractions at the park for us was the General Sherman tree. It is the largest by volume, single stem tree in the world. The calculated volume is just over 52,500 cubic feet. We did not need any metrics to believe it was indeed the largest tree! 

We thought we came to the end of sightseeing at the park and were on our way out when we spotted signs for a waterfall. On the spur of the moment we steered the car into the parking lot and took a short hike down to get to a secretly tucked away, cascading waterfall surrounded by huge boulders. The kids sat on the rocks while we took a quick dip in the very cold pool of water. It was refreshing, rejuvenating and the perfect way to end our adventures at the park!

On our way down to Three Rivers town, it got super hot and we had to make a pit stop for ice cream. Like we ever needed any reasons to have ice cream, duh!

The quirkiness of this ice cream place is all that I remember now haha..

We finally went back to our place, packed our belongings, checked out by way of handing over to the cleaner lady who arrived at our scheduled check-out time. As I was leaving I saw the left over fresh produce and couldn't leave them to rot. So I packed whatever remained, there was plenty and took it back home. Best decision ever!! I owe this trip for making me a farm fresh produce convert! But where was this mythical farm? It was fenced off but we could still see chicken and pigs, just enough to get the kids excited!

Have you read Part One of this trip yet?

Other posts for your reading pleasure:

Part One: The Airbnb we stayed in Maui, Hawaii

Costa Rica, Part Two: El Silencio in Bajos Del Toro