After Labor Day and the beginning of school we decided it was the perfect time to visit Sequoia National Park. We got setup alongside the creek in
Lodgepole Campground and one of our first ventures was to climb to the top of Moro Rock. It was still a little hazy as it was early in the day.
What a climb and what a view!
Then we were off to find Tharp's Log. This is a "summer home" built in a fallen Sequoia log where a rancher lived in the summers from 1861-1890 when Sequoia was developed.
Tharp would bring his cattle from Three Rivers to the mountains to graze in the meadows at the higher elevation.
After passing Tharp's Log we came to Crescent Meadow. When John Muir visited Tharp he proclaimed this meadow as the "Gem of the Sierras."
We then drove the crooked road thru the Giant Forest and on to the Grant Grove Area which took about an hour. We located a nice campsite in Azalea Campground, which was a little more spacious camping due to the lack of crowds in this area . Then we took a winding and most scenic road down the mountain to Hume Lake, a beautiful little lake surrounded by a Christian Campground. The lake had been built to send logs down the river as they cut the giant sequoias in the area. We got some propane and returned to the campground where we enjoyed grilling burgers on the logs procured from vacated campsites while watching the squirrels attack our food. The next morning all the chipmunks were busy knocking pine cones out of the trees and then running downhill with pinecones three times their size to bury them beside a fallen log. We went down to the Grant Cove area, which is located in Kings Canyon National Park, and hiked to Grant's Tree, the 3rd largest Sequoia.
We then returned to the Lodgepole Campground stopping at the many vistas and taking small hikes along the way.
One special hike was to the Panoramic Point overlook. A narrow winding 2 mile road led us up the hill. Thank goodness we were traveling small. The view of Hume Lake below with the mountains beyond was breathtaking (or was it the hike?).
We also stopped to take a look at the General Sherman tree. It is the largest living thing in the world by volume. Other trees may be taller or wider but none contains the mass of this giant.
We then took the 1 1/2 mile Big Trees Trail that circles Round Meadow. Many cabins had been built in this area and the last one was removed in 1999. Optimum conditions exist around this meadow for the giant Sequoias to thrive and thrive they do. We then scurried back to the campground for hot dogs and potatoes cooked over the open fire with s'mores for desert.
On Friday we vacated our campsite and set out on the 3 1/2 mile hike to see Tokopah Falls and hopefully a bear. We heard the bear in the woods but never saw one but we did make it to the falls. It was our favorite hike as it was more of a natural setting and not so crowded as the other small hikes. The trail followed along the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River at a 500 foot elevation gain until it ended at the giant granite cliffs and the waterfall of Tokopah Canyon. The hike back to the truck was downhill and most pleasant. We saw many signs of bear feeding on logs in the area. I am not sure if I was glad or disappointed to not see a bear.
It was a pleasant 2 hour drive back to Tehachapi after a great 4 days of hiking, sightseeing and camping.
We took a day excursion out to Boron, about 40 miles east of Tehachapi to visit the Borax Museum. We first stopped by the Saxon Aerospace Museum which is small but has some very nice displays. Then we stopped in town at another small museum, the Twenty Mule Team Museum, which was most informative. Here we learned that the movie Erin Brockovich starring Julia Roberts had been filmed here. Also the tv show Death Valley Days starring Ronald Reagan had made many people aware of this area.
