California, Round 2, Part 2

We arrived back to the mainland around 5:00 p.m. but did not want to camp in the Los Angeles area again. So we decided to try to make it to Sequoia National Park. We got lucky and they had camping just inside the park border.

Sequoia National Park
We woke up on Day 31 in Sequoia National Park. Our plan was to quickly move through it as well as Kings Canyon National Park and head to the western boundary of Yosemite National Park, where we had reservations for the following three nights.

Sequoia was fun, and it smelled amazing! It was great to be back in the forest again (the first time since Rocky Mountain NP). We completed a few short hikes and the drive through the park. Like canyons, forests are difficult to photograph during the day. I'll leave you with the largest tree in the world.

Kings Canyon National Park
We moved quickly onto Kings Canyon. The Kings Canyon Scenic Byway was one of the coolest drives I have done so far, except the cool part was outside the park boundary in Giant Sequoia National Monument. It didn't make any sense. The roads within the park itself with rather boring. Thus, I am going to consider Giant Sequoia National Monument to be part of the park when I consider it in lists at the end of the trip. Here's a photo of the canyon (although not in the park).

Unfortunately, I've downplayed these parks a bit. We went fast and I was anxious to get to Yosemite. They are both deserving of national park status (if you can reach the canyon through backcountry trails in Kings Canyon). They are certainly overshadowed by their monstrous neighbors: Yosemite and Death Valley.

Yosemite National Park
We made good time getting to the park, but we could not find our campsite (in Sierra National Forest just outside the park). We had to go into the park to get directions. It turns out there isn't a single sign for the campground. Couple this with its four primitive sites on the bank of the Merced River, and you get a really cool campsite. 

About Yosemite
Yosemite is a very large park with an array of landscapes. The Valley is by far the most popular, attracting 90% of all guests, or 14,000 people every day in the summer. But its alpine meadows and forests enable visitors to not be overwhelmed by crowds.

Day 32
With two full days to visit Yosemite (a rarity for me on this trip), we had trouble deciding what to do first. Because to experience Yosemite, you must be part of the mall-like atmosphere in the Valley, while also gettting out to remote locations. We landed upon going to the valley first.

To avoid finding parking spaces at every destination, we parked and hopped on the shuttle. We took a short, paved trail to Mirror Lake, which, in the summer months, dries out and loses its mirroring ability. We also took the popular and short stroll to Lower Yosemite Falls.

These two hikes ended up taking up most of the morning and early afternoon. We wanted to spend the next day in the alpine meadows, so we decided to do the overlooks before heading back to camp. The first overlook, the most popular Yosemite panorama, is Tunnel View. The other was Glacier Point.

I forgot to mention I have been to Yosemite and Death Valley before. I was 16 years old. What I remembered most about Yosemite was Tunnel View and Glacier Point. I've had a panoramic of Tunnel View hanging on my wall ever since. Are these views breathtaking the second time around? No doubt they are. We sat at Glacier Point, which many claim to be the best view in the Western Hemisphere, for quite awhile, knowing we had to get back to camp, but not wanting to (even with an Asian language being continually spoken loudly right behind us). Nothing I have ever seen (from a landscape perspective) has compared with Glacier Point. I'd built it up to an extreme in my head since my visit as a kid. Yet, it still lived up to my expectation.

On the way to these overlooks, we spotted a black bear.

Day 33
You may have noticed the tent at this campsite is different than the others. This is true. I purchased another, larger tent for when it was necessary (rainy days, long stays, etc.).

On Day 33, I was awoken by my partner, who said, "There's a hole in your tent." I went back to sleep. Fifteen minutes later, "[redacted], there's another hole in your tent!"

I got up and looked at the two holes. They weren't manufacturer's mistakes, they were chewed. It seemed as though we were camping with a tent-eating squirrel. Unfortunately, we did not eat squirrel for dinner that night.

We spent the morning in Tuolumne Meadows, just hanging out. The afternoon we did much the same, except we moved to Tenaya Lake. There isn't too much more to say about that day. We spent most of it out of the car, which was exceptionally nice. And it was very relaxing. Without a doubt, it was one of the best days of the trip so far (minus the tent-eating squirrel).

In the evening we sat on some rocks by the Merced River in our swim suits. The valley had actually reached 90+ degrees these two days, so we were going to take a dip. My companion made it all the way in; I got to my waist. But a small, water-filled divot in a rock did serve to keep my beer colder than my cooler was.

What Remains
We spent a lot of time in California. I still feel as though there is much to see in the gigantic and beautiful state. What is still missing is Bodie State Historic Park and Death Valley National Park. I may or may not complete these in the morning. If not, stay tuned; I'll finish them next week along with Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Feel free to make your way through the entire album until then.

California Album

Next Post: California, Round 2, Part 3