We had a lovely trip to California on the long weekend of July 4th,
2016 (July 1, 2016 to July 5, 2016).
We covered Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon
National Park , and drove on the famed
Highway 1 of California between Morro Bay and Monterey, visiting Hearst
Castle , San Simeon, Morro Rock, Morro Bay
Below is a map of the state of California... we can see San Francisco in the west coast (labeled in bold); Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon NP, Sequoia NP are green patches to the east. Morro Bay is on the west coast with hwy 1 marked and Monterey is a little to the north of Morro Bay...all marked by blue arrows. Our trip line if drawn will look like a quadrilateral...
Below is a map of the state of California... we can see San Francisco in the west coast (labeled in bold); Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon NP, Sequoia NP are green patches to the east. Morro Bay is on the west coast with hwy 1 marked and Monterey is a little to the north of Morro Bay...all marked by blue arrows. Our trip line if drawn will look like a quadrilateral...
We had initial doubts about how sane it is to attempt such a
trip in what is likely to be a supercrowded time of the year but it worked out
for us.
Our videos:
Here’s the link for our videos. As usual there is music
added and some frames are captioned.
covers Yosemite
covers Kings canyon and Sequoia national park,
covers Hearst castle
covers Hwy 1 Morro rock, Elephant seal rookery, Ragged Point
Here is a report.
July 1, 2016:
Frontier airlines:
We took the Frontier airlines 7.45 am flight from Houston to San
Francisco . Our plan was to hit Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon
Park , then drive the California Hwy 1
between Morro Bay
and Monterey and then fly back to Houston .
Yes, it would have been better to fly in to Oakland
or San Jose for less expensive car rental but for us
direct flight to SFO was reasonably priced. We bought one carryon bag allowance
(24''x 16''x 10'') to share for the both of us (not one each) and packed our free
personal item (18''x 14''x 8'') as per the airline rules. We knew the seats are hard
and they don’t recline. Also we’ll get only water free and have to pay for
other food items. With these realistic expectations, both our flights on the
frontier proved fine. The air craft was clean and they were on time, in fact a
little early both ways.
It was a 4 1/2 hour flight, but SF being 2 hours behind CST,
we reached at 9.45 am. The airport signage was clear and we took the skytrain to the
car rentals. After almost an hour at the Budget car rental line we were on our
way.
Drive: San Francisco International Airport to Yosemite
We consulted https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/driving.htm
Our plan on paper was
as follows:
Time:4-5 hours
Take I-580 east to I-205 east
Follow to Highway 132 east.
At Modesto
hwy 99south,
At Merced
hwy 140 east. .. enter town and hit Raley’s for groceries
Continue thru Mariposa on 140east
Cedar lodge on right.
Our GPS was totally useless and misguided us on this leg. We
took 101S and it took a while to hit 580.
We should have hit Manteca and then taken 99S. We wasted some
time on this section before hitting Modesto .
From then it was good. At Merced , we hit Raley’s
and stocked up and reached our hotel, Yosemite Cedar
lodge at El Portal.
Yosemite Cedar lodge at El Portal:
We would have loved to stay inside the Park but
accommodation had been booked up quite early. However we had no complaints with
Cedar lodge. It’s just 8 miles from Yosemite entrance.
After checkin, we drove on to Yosemite.
We reached the entrance a little before 8 PM. The Park is open 24x7; it never closes though certain roads may be closed due to snowy weather conditions
We bought our pass and went in to drive the loop. Needless to say we had the roads and the valley almost to ourselves. It was a great sight!
We bought our pass and went in to drive the loop. Needless to say we had the roads and the valley almost to ourselves. It was a great sight!
National
Park
Yosemite National Park:
https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/index.htm
is the official site and gives loads of info on all trails.
The name "Yosemite "
(meaning "killer" in Miwok) originally referred to the name of a
renegade tribe which was driven out of the area (and possibly annihilated).
Before then the area was called "Ahwahnee" ("big mouth") by
indigenous people.
Yosemite is famous for its spectacular granite cliffs
especially El Capitan (The Captain) and the Half Dome, waterfalls
(Bridalveil and Yosemite falls among others), clear streams, giant
sequoia groves (not accessible right now as Mariposa grove is closed till
2017 for renovation), beautiful lakes, spectacular mountains, glaciers, and biological
diversity. It is a World Heritage Site. It is indeed spectacular!
Here's the American Robin...
Plunging 620 feet (189 meters), Bridalveil Fall is the first
waterfall we see when entering Yosemite Valley .
In spring, it thunders; during the rest of the year, it has a characteristic
light, swaying flow.
The best time to see waterfalls is during spring, when most
of the snowmelt occurs. Peak runoff typically occurs in May or June, with some
waterfalls (including Yosemite
Falls
The day light started
fading. We reached the gate at 9 PM as per plan and drove back to our lodge.
July 2, 2016:
In the morning the original plan was to pack up, check out
and leave by 6 am. After enjoying the Yosemite
Park for a while we wanted to get to
the Wawona entrance and exit via that to Hwy 41 S (to Fresno ),
180 East Kings Canyon Park
Yosemite National Park Again:
We were at the entrance at 6.30 am. The counter was closed
with instructions to pass on; anyways we had our pass valid for a year and we
drove on. Again awesome sight with just a handful of people, here and there.
The valley is about 8 miles (13 km) long and up to a
mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half
Dome and El Capitan , and densely forested
with pines.
More than half a dozen creeks tumble from hanging valleys at
the top of granite cliffs that rise 3000–4000 feet (900–1200 m)
above the valley floor, which itself is 4000 ft (1200 m) above sea
level. These streams combine into the Merced River, which flows out from
the western end of the valley, down the rest of its canyon to
the San Joaquin
Valley
The flat floor of
Yosemite Valley holds both forest and large
open meadows, which provide breathtaking views of the surrounding crests
and waterfalls.
We stopped at the Lower
Yosemite Falls
Lower Yosemite Falls
This is a commemorative plaque to John Muir (1838-1914) who was an early advocate of preservation of wilderness...
The Ahwahneechee people called the waterfall
"Cholock" ("the fall") and believed that the plunge
pool at its base was inhabited by the spirits of several witches, called
the Poloti. An Ahwaneechee folktale describes a woman going to fetch a
pail of water from the pool, and drawing it out full of snakes. Later that night,
after the woman had trespassed into their territory, the spirits caused the
woman's house to be sucked into the pool by a powerful wind, taking the woman
and her newborn baby with it.
Had some serene moments alone with the tumbling waterfall
and then retraced our way.
Here's John Muir again...
Went round the loop once again and were out of the gate at
9.30 am. There was a long line of cars waiting to get in… earlier when we were
inside we had seen a packed shuttle. We could understand the level of crowds
inside the park during the day.
We went to the lodge, packed up, checked out, surrendering
our keys. We had planned to take the road via Mariposa but the receptionist
told us we’ll be better off going through the Yosemite Park
Tunnel View:
So again we were at the Yosemite
entrance at 11 am, of course with a long line of cars ahead. It took us exactly
1 hour to enter, we took the fork to Wawona… got to the tunnel view. Lots of
cars and people here and we joined them for a look.
Tunnel View is called the Inspiration Point: This spot gives
the world-famous overview of the whole valley, including El
Capitan , Bridalveil Fall and Half Dome.
It was the spot where the
first non-native Americans "discovered" the valley and we loved it.
Then we drove into the tunnel, reversed when we were out and
drove back in for the famed tunnel view. It was LOVELY!
We did it once more
driving the tunnel again and then regretfully exited the park.
We hit 41 S and then 180 East. Here we met with confusion
when there was a sign saying 180 East hwy ends. We saw signs for Sanger Kings Canyon
on hwy 41 running up and parallel, then took that and it ultimately took us to
180 East again, though it was not a hwy anymore. This confusion did cost us some
time. Quite scenic as we neared Kings canyon park.
Kings Canyon
Park:
We got in through the Big Stump entrance, drove on following
signs and reached our John Muir Lodge.
John Muir Lodge:
Beautiful setting amid tall coniferous
trees. We got a room in the 3rd floor, carried our bags up and
settled for the night. With the driving delays we could not sneak in a drive
into the Grant Grove as we had planned for that day.
Humans have inhabited the area for thousands of years. Kings Canyon Yosemite
Valley ; both valleys were carved by massive glaciers during the
last Ice Age.
The remainder of Kings
Canyon National
Park , which comprises over 90% of the total area of the park,
is located to the east of General Grant Grove and forms the headwaters of the
South and Middle Forks of the Kings River and the South Fork of
the San Joaquin
River Kings
Canyon United States Kings Canyon
July 3, 2016:
General Grant tree:
We were at Grant Grove at 6.30 am and were the first at the car
park. The trail to General Grant tree starts from here and has signboards
explaining facts.
The General Grant tree is the largest giant
sequoia in the General Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon
National Park United
States (1869–1877). President
Coolidge proclaimed it the "Nation's Christmas Tree" on
April 28, 1926.
President Eisenhower declared the tree a
"National Shrine", a memorial to those who died in war. General
Grant tree is 1,700 years old.
Fallen Monarch:
We walked through the Fallen Monarch. The sequoia trees
don’t rot fast even after dying and last for hundreds and even thousands of
years on the forest floor; this fallen tree has been lying for more than 100
years without decay.
We loved the sight of
General Grant tree towering amidst coniferous trees.
We came out, did the short drive back to our lodge and
checked out. We had originally planned to get out on 180 West, the same Big
Stump entrance we had entered the park. But after seeing General Grant tree we
wanted to see General Sherman tree also. There was a young ranger there and he
told us we can take the General’s hwy and see General Sherman tree and then
exit the park via 198 West. He said it has lots of switchbacks but is really
scenic. We should try and include Moro rock and the tunnel before we exit.
General Sherman tree:
We followed his advice and reached General Sherman tree car
park by 9.30 am. The shuttle was there and we took it to the tree. Great trail
and great signboards as before.
The Tree is of course awesome: height of 83.8
meters (275 ft), a diameter of 7.7 m (25 ft), and age of 2,300–2,700 years, it is among the tallest, widest and
longest-lived of all trees on the planet.
We saw the Tough Twins
also.
This is a cross section piece of a 2210 year old giant sequoia, which had to be cut as it leaned over a rental cottage in the grove. They've stopped having any cottages in the grove now, of course!
There were just a handful of
people; we could enjoy peaceful moments with the towering trees all around us
and take our pics with General Sherman tree without any queue.
Fire and sequoia trees:
We see fire damage and a charred triangle in many sequoia
trees including the great trees.
Here’s an interesting analysis:
Sequoias rely on fire to release most seeds from their
cones, to expose bare mineral soil in which seedlings can take root, to recycle
nutrients into the soil, and to open holes in the forest canopy through which
sunlight can reach young seedlings.
Sequoias also need fire to reduce competition from species
such as white fir (Abies concolor) and Incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens),
which are shade-tolerant and able to recruit seedlings in heavy litter and
duff. Fire suppression has resulted in
heavy accumulation of forest litter and the encroachment of thick stands of
white fir and incense cedar, both of which compete with sequoias for water and
nutrients. A natural fire cycle thins these competing species, and provides
suitable conditions for sequoia growth.
Amazing!!
Now one more fact… when
we mention these trees are the largest, we would like to draw attention to the
criteria governing the parameter. Here only the trunk is taken into account,
not the branches of the tree and the volume of the trunk is the criteria. We
have seen huge banyan trees in India
occupying up to 150000 sq ft area with
their branches and the entire canopy. We understood why these sequoia trees are
called the largest when we got to know the criteria.
http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2016/07/ca-road-trip-ii-morro-rock-elephant.html
covers the next concluding part of this road trip: Morro rock, Elephant seal rookery, Ragged point and Hearst castle
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