Day 21, August 8: More Big Trees

Day 21, August 8: More Big Trees

 I headed out of Cedar Grove this morning, making the near-hour drive to the main part of Kings Canyon Park. I made it a leisurely morning, stopping in at the store to grab a cup of coffee, and met a wonderful couple from the East Coast. They were taking pictures of all the post offices they come across as they travel from L.A. to San Francisco, and I offered to be their photographer. 

Stopped here on the way in to eat my breakfast

The drive to the trailhead

One of the smaller trees on the drive

After a short chat with them, I headed for the trailhead of the hike I had planned. The area is called Redwood Canyon and it’s the largest area of unlogged sequoia forest on earth. I reached the trailhead at 10:30, ready to hike. I wasn’t sure if I’d take the single loop of Hart’s Tree or combine it with the Sugar Bowl Loop, making the hike 10 miles. I decided to wait and see how I felt when I came to the junction. Since I was getting a late start, I wasn’t sure if I’d want to do the longer one.

As soon as I began the hike, it was clear this is a place the likes of which I’ve never encountered. The trees, right away, were astonishing. I had been to the redwoods on the California coast last year, but I hadn’t hiked among them. And while those trees get taller than sequoias, the ones here have more girth and mass. They also have a lovely, unique shape – the bunches of needles are rounded rather than elongated and pointed.

Tunnel Tree - the trail goes through it

Large pine cones for large trees

Hart's Tree - the largest in this grove

Water so clear - see the fish?

I don’t know if I could even describe this forest. It is thick in some places, and sparse in others. And always, these big trees, massive trees, shoot up from the floor. I took pictures of myself standing near the trees, and the impact of their size is still baffling. I walked through a hollowed out, felled tree, I walked between cut pieces of trunk that reached over my head. I forded streams and climbed steep grades. This was one of the most memorable hikes I’ve taken.

Lunch at the junction

One of the best features of the hike was the lack of other humans. In the 10 miles, about five hours, I saw four groups of hikers. I encountered a couple coming out from camping, a single hiker going in to camp, a young couple venturing in just a little way, and a group of three hikers who had gotten lost and I had to redirect them. Other than that, it was just these massive trees, the birds, the wildlife, and me. I’ve never had such solitude in such a place, and it gave me a feeling of being somewhere that demands reverence.

At the junction where the initial trail I was hiking met up with the second trail, the Sugar Bowl Loop, I had hiked about five miles. The terrain had been a little varied, but nothing severe. And the energy from the trees – I felt as if I’d just begun the hike. So I decided to venture on for the full distance. And as I began the second loop, I began to climb.

There is a payoff for climbing

I could see the tops of the trees in Sugar Bowl Grove

Now I had read the description of this second loop, and I understood I would be ascending. I had no idea how steep the ascent would be, but I soon found out. I climbed about 2000 feet from the bottom of the canyon to the top of a mountain in about two and a half miles. I thought it would never end, and I started to wonder if it was worth it. And there was little shade for much of the climb as I’d left most of the trees behind.

Sacred place

But then, when I thought I could stand it no more, I came to this place, this Sugar Bowl Grove of “young” sequoias. These trees were massive, but had a feeling of youth to them. And there were so many. They shot up out of the top of the mountain. I immediately felt, again, that peace and calm that comes from standing among these trees. I have no idea why this happens, but the effect is inescapable. As the solitary hiker I encountered on his way to camp up there said, “The place is sacred.” And it is.

Burnt Grove-these trees survive fire

I could barely force myself to continue on the hike; I longed to linger longer. I can’t imagine how wonderful it would be to sleep there. Maybe someday I’ll get that wilderness permit and do just that. But I continued on, and only had about two more miles to the trailhead. The trail raced downhill, and in parts that is as uncomfortable and difficult as climbing. But before long I was at the car, headed back to civilization, a shower, and my campsite.

At my campground

It’s been a good evening. I’m relaxed and have enjoyed cooking a burger over a fire I had to struggle to light (I was out of kindling, had to find what I could and supplement it with cardboard) and posting pictures from the last two days’ blogs. The feeling of peace has stayed with me since leaving the forest. Of course, there are sequoias here, in the campground too. What a gift.

I plan tomorrow to shoot down to the actual Sequoia National Park, see the General Sherman, the largest tree in the world, take in a few other parts of that park, and then head out to cross the Sierras. I love these mountains, and I’ll be sorry to leave them. But I’m eager to see what’s next as I wind down this last week of adventure.