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TC Tour of Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks

jefe_4x4
Explorer
Explorer
My Photobucket is jumping all over the place so I'll just do a standard TR here with pix and prose.

Half Dome from Camp Curry, Yosemite Valley, CA

We spent five days and nights between Yosemite and Sequoia.
Cabeza de Vaca, our rolling domicile in Yosemite's Upper Pines Campground.

What a difference a day makes. This is Friday morning:

All these campsites filled after sundown on Friday night resulting in a full camp on Saturday morning: Taken from about the same place, our rig is behind that long white trailer, center pic.

In the morning we did our annual climb up the mist trail to the Vernal and Nevada falls bridge:




The top of a side canyon on the mist trail, Yosemite:


Texture of the granite and flora on the face of half dome:


One of the granite domes in Yosemite from the valley floor.


The main road out on the north side of the Valley.

Cabeza de Vaca on the loose:


Yosemite Valley meadow at peak color:


This was an El Nino year and the Pineapple Express dumped a lot of warm precip on the Sierra Nevada which melted all the snow. The resulting flood washed out campgrounds in Yosemite, not to be rebuilt. For a perspective see next pic:

Just off the sidewalk is the normally placid Merced River, especially in a drought year.


El Capitan and sister granite monoliths surround Yosemite Valley. Merced River in foreground:


A closer view of El Cap:


More color on the way out of Yosemite heading toward Route 41 south to Sequoia:



The Iconic shot of Yosemite Valley. What a place. Unfortunately it is being loved to death:


Fast forward to our 'pad' at Azalea campground, Sequoia N.P., the second oldest of the National Parks:

A fellow TC-er across the lane at Azalea Campground, Sequoia N.P.: I never did get to talk to them.

Friends come down to the meadow to consume what's left of the last green grass before winter sets in:


In our camp, we were surrounded by Sequoias. I humbly studied this one while sipping a Margarita. It takes 3 pics to get it all in: The lower portion. Campers came around trying to scrounge any firewood handy and I had to tell them that wet, redwood will not burn but smoke them out.

The middle portion:

The top: The tree was full of chipmunk homes and every so often a tiny head would pop out and then to one of those short branches to survey the new food that just drove into camp.


In Grant Grove. Even with wide angle, I had to keep backing up all the way across the parking lot to get this shot.


It is difficult to convey the immensity of these trees.


Jeanie in the belly of a down Sequoia. The passage is 150 feet to the other end.


The base of the Grant Tree is 24 feet in diameter:Every single mature tree has seen many wild fires which takes out the competition, but cannot kill the mighty sequoiadendron giganteum.


The Grant Tree; as close as you can get.


The top of the Grant Tree:


The small trees in the foreground are Sequoiadendron gigantieum, in training. They have a few thousand years to go. The giant Sequoias really never die, they....just fall over. As long as they are upright they will continue to grow. The secret ingredient is tanin, fire and pest proof and thick bark. The tree starts with a seed about the size of an oat flake and can live over 3000 years.


Just out of the N.P. we followed a dirt road to the Chicago Stump:


The road got steeper and narrower down to the graveyard of Sequoias, felled in the 1890's. The greatest stump of all is the Chicago Stump, cut down in 1893. This is the largest tree ever felled on the planet. 32 feet across at the base, it was an estimated 3200 years old when felled. The piece just above what you see here was hollowed out; cut into vertical panels and the section reassembeld at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. It was called the California Hoax as no one in Chicago believed it was real.




Jeanie touching the stump that was growing 1200 years B.C. Yes, those are little Sequoias around the stump. It is humbling, to say the least. I don't think many folks get to see this magnificent stump as the road in is pretty rough.


jefe at the altar of Redwood;


We carried on along the Kings River in Kings Canyon N.P. on the last two days before the snow gate was locked.


The Kings River has seen many floods and droughts over the eons. In a drought time it looks like this:


Our last camp was at Azalea campground and our final supper was timed with the sunset. jefe
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33 REPLIES 33

MikeJinCO
Explorer
Explorer
We were a couple of days ahead of you. Camped in Kings Canyon on Nov 6. A total of 4 people in the campground. Kings and the Sequoias are wonderful places. For those who haven't been there, take the route in from Fresno, it is a 6000 ft climb but the road is reasonable, we went in from Exeter on the Badger road and it was tight and twisty enough to drive you crazy, made Red Mountain Pass in Colorado look like a walk in the park. The south route into Sequoia has a recommended length limit of 22' also. We went from Kernville over the top and thru the NF to Porterville and it was really tight and steep also.

jandjbaums
Explorer
Explorer
WOW thanks for the memories. These parks used to be my backyard (Three Rivers) Spent alot of time up there, beautful places.
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Raiders5
Explorer
Explorer
Great pics Jefe! I've got to plan a trip to Sequoia NP...only driven through once...but have summited Half Dome three times. Both parks are awesome and only a 4 hour drive for me.
Thanks for sharing your pics and report!
Raiders5
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K_Mac
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Explorer
Beautiful shots. Can't wait for the DW to retire. Thank's for sharing.

cewillis
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Explorer
Great pictures, Jefe. Wonderful places.
Cal

c_traveler2
Nomad
Nomad
I wonder where my friend was up to, you know how to get out there with your rig. Nice trip report and enjoyed many of your photos.
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turtletalk
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Explorer
Thanks---what a great way to start the morning for us by viewing your pics!

Nemo667
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Explorer
Jefe, thanks for taking us back to Yosemite and Sequoia. It has been too long since we have been there. Next time we go, I want to go back to Tuolumne Meadows as we I spent a lot of time there in my youth. Missed you at the Overland this year...

...good luck with Photo Bucket.
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ticki2
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks Jefe , brings me back to '75 when I was there last . I took a picture of a logging truck with one log on it . They chained one end to the tractor and a set of wheels to the back of the log and called it a truck . My logging friends back home couldn't believe it . If it was hollow you could drive a car through it lengthwise .
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sabconsulting
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Explorer
Wonderful place. I forgot about 1997. I was there later that year and somewhere I think I have a DVD or similar I bought that year with details of the flood.

Steve.
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spacedoutbob
Explorer
Explorer
Been there more times than I can count, I never tire of photos of Yosemite and Sequoia, Thanks for posting. One thing I wanted to mention, if anyone wants to see how big a Sequoia really is, walk next to one that has fallen.


Bob in Calif.
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Ski_Pro_3
Explorer
Explorer
We love going to Yosemite in October and November. Peaceful and quiet even though the skating rink is no longer in use.
Thanks for the TR!!

work2fish
Explorer
Explorer
Excellent post and pics, it has been added to my list as well! Thanks for sharing,
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Gripnriprod
Explorer
Explorer
Great TR. Some of my favorite parts of California.
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exhaustipated
Explorer
Explorer
Wonderful trip report and great photos you took Jeffrey. Someday I hope to get up there to see Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks myself. It sure looks like you and yours had a great time.
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