Planning the Great West Coast trip
We are in the planning stage of our west coast. We want to visit the following: Great Basin NP, Kings/Sequoia NP, Yosemite NP, Lassen Volcanic NP, Redwood NP, Crater NP, Olympic NP, Mt. Ranier NP, Cas...
Forum Discussion
GeoBoy, you can't go wrong. The real question is how much time you have for this big trip. You don't want to rush through it. We've been to almost every one of the national parks that you mentioned, except Teddy Roosevelt, and they've all been spectacular and unique. If you're interested in more details about each of them, just visit my blog (see link below in my signature) and then enter the name of the park in the search bar. Lots of pictures, lots of descriptions of hikes.
In answer to your specific question about the differences between the Sequoias and the Redwoods, they are very different places and very different trees. The sequoias are larger – more massive. There is less undergrowth than in the coastal redwoods. If you can get away from the crowds, which is very easy to do, you can just hang out amongst these amazing trees – it's like going to church, only a lot quieter. This is in Muir Grove (obviously in the wintertime) -- to get a sense of the scale, my wife is in the bottom center of the shot (kind of hard to see):
Click For Full-Size Image.
The coastal redwoods are also wonderful – they are in a much damper area, with lots of greenery. This is on the James Irvine Trail in Prairie Creek:
Click For Full-Size Image.
You mentioned Great Basin – we were there in late September 2016. I am a big fan of stargazing, and the stars in Great Basin were the best we've ever seen. This is (of course) the Milky Way, taken from the Mather Overlook – if you look closely, you can see that the stars are so bright that they are reflecting off of a dusting of snow on the north slope of the mountain:
Click For Full-Size Image.
Good luck with your trip planning, and be sure to ask lots of questions!
In answer to your specific question about the differences between the Sequoias and the Redwoods, they are very different places and very different trees. The sequoias are larger – more massive. There is less undergrowth than in the coastal redwoods. If you can get away from the crowds, which is very easy to do, you can just hang out amongst these amazing trees – it's like going to church, only a lot quieter. This is in Muir Grove (obviously in the wintertime) -- to get a sense of the scale, my wife is in the bottom center of the shot (kind of hard to see):
The coastal redwoods are also wonderful – they are in a much damper area, with lots of greenery. This is on the James Irvine Trail in Prairie Creek:
You mentioned Great Basin – we were there in late September 2016. I am a big fan of stargazing, and the stars in Great Basin were the best we've ever seen. This is (of course) the Milky Way, taken from the Mather Overlook – if you look closely, you can see that the stars are so bright that they are reflecting off of a dusting of snow on the north slope of the mountain:
Good luck with your trip planning, and be sure to ask lots of questions!
