Saturday, 14th October - Monday, 16th October
Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park is a relatively small location nestled behind the Sierra-Nevada mountain range. It provides a unique environment that is perfect for the giant Sequoia trees - neither too hot, nor too cold, with regular forest fires that help them grow.
They are the largest trees on earth, by volume and mass; though they aren't the tallest and do not have the broadest girth.
Kings Canyon is a glacially-formed valley and the drive to the end of the road is incredible. It is unfortunate that we didn't have time to do a substantial hike around the area, but the Zumwalt Meadow Loop Trail was stunning. The walk took us over a river, around the golden meadow, through the forest border, and then clambering over shattered granite boulders.
As I thought about the immense history and the forces that shaped this place, I couldn't help but worship the God of this creation.
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| A stump of the largest Sequoia tree ever known to have lived |
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| The Grants before the General Grant Tree |
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| The General Grant Tree |
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| The family in front of the General Grant Tree |
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| Beautiful autumnal Aspens among the Sequoia |
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| The Grant family standing in a giant fire scar on the Resurrection Tree |
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| Eliza sitting on a big sawed stump |
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| Measuring a big sawed stump using the family |
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| Sawed giant stump in a meadow |
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| Eliza 'in' the Mark Twain stump (the stump of a tree cut down by loggers to prove to East Coasters how big Sequoia trees were) |
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| Mule deer and fawn near the trail |
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| The summit of the Buena Vista trail |
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| Buena Vista - view of the valley |
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| Frilled lizard |
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| The family at Roaring River Falls |
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| Eliza at Zumwalt Meadow |
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| A view of the Kings River from the suspension bridge |
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| Zumwalt meadow in the setting sun - granite cliffs in the background |
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| Autumn colours sprouting from the collapsed granite boulders |
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| Zumwalt Meadow |
Love the pic of Eliza inside the cracks in the tree stump!
ReplyDeleteThanks Heather. It was pretty cool; though sad to think that the tree was cut down to prove something.
DeleteThe silver lining is that this sacrificial tree sparked a movement to preserve these giants
wow, I love the kids to compare the size.
ReplyDeleteThanks Barb. I also took photos of the largest Sequoia - the General Sherman, but it's difficult to get a photo that really shows its size.
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