Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks

On the first weekend of June, Jane I headed away into the Sierra Nevada Mountains to visit two spectacular national parks. A long four hour drive to get there started with heading north from Monterey by following US Highway 101 north until Gilroy, the self proclaimed Garlic Capital of the world.

  Farm fields near Gilroy.

Onwards now heading east following California Highway 152, passing the large Sisk Dam and San Luis Reservoir.  This is a fairly interesting place as it is the largest off-stream reservoir in the US.  A massive earth dam, 300 feet tall and over 3.5 miles long holds an enormous amount of water, yet it receives barely any of it from one very small stream.  It gets the vast majority of its water from the Sacramento River Delta where to prevent the water being "wasted" by flowing into the ocean it is captured and then pumped hundreds of miles up-hill and inland to the San Luis Reservoir where it can be stored until being sent via the massive California Aqueduct to various cities and agricultural irrigation projects. 


We carried on before stopping for lunch at a roadside takeout restaurant in the amusing named Los Banos (Spanish word for bathrooms or toilets).

The Spanish monk and explorer Padre Felipe Arroyo de la Cuesta was stationed at Mission San Juan Bautista from 1808 to 1833. On his missionary visits to the Native Americans he discovered pools of water in a little creek bed that flowed down into the San Joaquin Valley. At these baths or pools he camped overnight with his band of friendly Indians from the Mission. Reports of these baths led to the local ranchers naming the creek "El Arroyo de Los Banos del Padre Arroyo"  (which translates as 'the creek where the pools or baths and camping place of Padre Arroyo').  In time that lengthy name was reduced to "Los Banos Crick." In 1873 a pioneer to the area named Gus Kreyenhagen ran a trading post near Los Banos Creek. The Post Office Department decided to establish a Post Office at the trading post and named it after the creek, hence the name "Los Banos."





On east following Highway 152 until it intersected with California Highway 99 which we followed south to Frenso which looked every bit as large as the reported 1 million metro population (making it the 5th largest city in the state). Here we swung east once more now following the very scenic California Highway 180 which we would eventually travel to its terminal deep inside Kings Canyon.

We followed the steeply climbing highway, entered into Kings Canyon National Park, and immediately paid a visit to the Visitors Center.  After a fairly quick look at the somewhat tired and dated displays we resumed our driving following the Scenic Byway road that heads deep into the park.

Heading into the South Fork of the Kings River - note the road far below.

The road into the heart of Kings Canyon - an impressive feat of engineering.

Finally we reached the South Fork of the Kings River which was very much in flood with the spring melt of snow from the highlands.

The raging South Fork of the Kings River - note the trees in the flooded steam bed.

The flooded river was threatening to force a closure of the road - something we were warned about at the visitors center. There is something frightening above a river in flood and standing on its banks you cannot help be impressed but by the enormous power.  But also fully aware of the awesome destructive force.  Several people are killed each year in this national park by the snow melt flooded rivers.

 

At the end of the road sheer granite cliffs rose up on both sides of the valley.

 

We did a short walk to Muir Rock – so named because environmentalist, John Muir used to deliver impassioned speeches about the need to protect the Sierra Mountain Range from this rock beside the river.  The approach must have worked - because in 1890 the first portion of the current park was established to protect the giant sequoia trees,  making this America's second oldest national park. 

 Tree shadow on Muir Rock.

We drove back to the Visitor Center enjoying the amazing colors of the late afternoon sunlight on the canyon walls and passing large patches of snow still lingering beneath the trees.  It was clear to see that the river was still rising.

Lone Pine tree growing on cliff ledge.

We now made our way to the Grant Grove. This section of Kings Canyon National Park was established to protect a grove giant sequoia trees. It includes the General Grant tree, the second largest tree in the world. Grant Grove covers a little over 154 acres.

This tree was named in 1867 after Ulysses S. Grant, Union Army general during the Civil War and the 18th President of the United States (1869-1877). President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed it the "Nation's Christmas Tree" on April 28, 1926. On March 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared the tree a "National Shrine", a memorial to those who died in war.  It is the only living object to be so declared.  The tree is the second largest tree in the world after the General Sherman tree as of 2005, when the Washington tree, which was previously in second place, lost half its trunk. Once thought to be well over 2,000 years old, recent estimates point to a much younger age closer to 1,650 years. 

The General Grant Tree was an absolutely impressive sight to see.  The eastern side has a huge burn scar from an ancient lightning strike.  The diameter at ground level is a staggering 40.3 feet (12.3 m) making it the largest diameter tree known in the world.  It would take 20 people holding out stretched hands to make a complete circle around the base. The Grant Tree has a volume of 46,608 cubic feet (1,320 cubic meters).

The walk through this grove of massive tress is incredible.  There are many other named trees in this grove including several named after US States.  The California Tree had an impressive diameter of 22 feet whereas, Minnesota was somewhat smaller at 10 feet.  But still, a tree with a diameter (meaninng if you cut it down the distance across the widest part of the stump) of 10 feet is still very large.

  In the Grant Grove.

After an over-priced but tasty dinner at the restaurant beside the visitors center we used the car headlights to pitch the tent in the dark and enjoyed a relaxing night’s sleep beneath the forest giants.

Our wonderful campsite beneath the towering trees.  The brown metal box is to keep all food inside over night to keep the bears from breaking into tents and cars.

Poster warning of what happens when you do not use the bear box to store food.

Next morning we headed for neighboring Sequoia National Park. Here is a little information from Wikipedia on these phenomenally massive trees.

Sequoiadendron giganteum (Giant Sequoia) is the sole living species in the genus Sequoiadendron, and one of three species of coniferous trees known as redwoods. Giant Sequoias are the world's largest trees in terms of total volume. They grow to an average height of 50–85 m (165–280 ft) and 6–8 m (18–24 ft) in diameter. Record trees have been measured to be 94.8 m (311 ft) in height and 17 m (57 ft) in diameter. The oldest known Giant Sequoia based on ring count is 3,500 years old.  Sequoia bark is thick and protects the tree – it can be almost a meter (3 feet) thick. The natural distribution of giant sequoia is restricted to a limited area of the western Sierra Nevada mountains in California.  It occurs in scattered groves, with a total of 68 groves recorded. Nowhere does it grow in pure stands with a mixture of other pine and conifer species. Groves range in size from 1,240 ha (3,100 acres) with 20,000 mature trees, to small groves with only six living trees. Giant sequoia is usually found in a humid climate characterized by dry summers and snowy winters. The elevation of the giant sequoia groves generally ranges from 1,400-2,150 m (4,600-7,000 ft). The wood from mature giant sequoias is highly resistant to decay, but is fibrous and brittle, making it generally unsuitable for construction. From the 1880s through the 1920s logging took place in many groves in spite of marginal commercial returns. Due to their weight and brittleness trees would often shatter when they hit the ground, wasting much of the wood. Loggers attempted to cushion the impact by digging trenches and filling them with branches. Still, it is estimated that as little as 50 percent of the timber made it from groves to the mill. The wood was used mainly for shingles and fence posts, or even for matchsticks. Pictures of the once majestic trees lying logged, broken, and abandoned in formerly pristine groves, added with knowledge that the wood would be put to such modest use, spurred the public outcry that caused most of the groves to be preserved as protected land.

Looking into the Redwood Mountain Grove - the worlds largest grove of the worlds largest tree.  Over five square miles containing over 2,100 sequoia with a diameter of 10 feet or greater.

We carried on driving through the forest on twisting narrow roads to visit Hume Lake.

This may look the very definition of the best of nature - but in fact the lake is man-made.  It was created to have a reservoir to float logs down a 62 mile flume, the worlds longest.  Believe it or not, adventurous people would even ride the flume in specially designed boats.  When the logging operations ceased the property was bought by a christian camp which runs all sorts of programs from this incrediblly beautiful spot.


Onwards further into the park where we found snow lingering at the higher elevations and the distant peaks still covered in snow.  Not surprising given that many years a 40 foot snow pack blankets the upper reaches of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

We now headed to the Giant Grove which is home to the worlds largest tree.
 

The General Sherman with a height of 275 feet (83.8 metres), and volume of its trunk of 1,487 cubic meters, is the world’s largest tree (and the largest living thing on the planet). The tree is believed to be between 2,300 and 2,700 years old. In 1879, it was named after American Civil War general, William Tecumseh Sherman, by naturalist James Wolverton, who had served as a lieutenant in the 9th Indiana Cavalry under Sherman. In 1931, following comparisons with the nearby General Grant tree, General Sherman was identified as the largest tree in the world. One upshot of this process was that wood-volume was widely accepted as the defining factor in establishing the world's largest tree.

The General Sherman Tree. Click on the photo above, then look really close on the right hand side and you will see people to give a sense of the size of this massive tree.
 

As many of my New Zealand family and friends are reading this I tought I would provide a point of contrast with the General Grant Tree to Tāne Mahuta, the giant Kauri which is the largest tree in New Zealand.

Battle of the Big Trees: USA versus New Zealand

General Grant Tree – Giant Sequoia  versus Tāne Mahuta – Giant Kauri
Height:  275 feet (84 meters) versus 168 feet (51 meters)
Circumference of trunk: 103 feet (31.3 meters) versus 45.2 feet (13.7 meters
Age (estimated): 2,300- 2,700 years versus 1,250, 2,500
Estimated volume : 52,508 cubic feet (1,486.6 cubic meters) versus 18,247 cubic feet (516.7 cubic meters)

So, put another way, almost three Tāne Mahuta kauri trees would fit inside the General Grant.

The trunk of the General Sherman (people of left for scale).

 

I needed to back up a long way to get the whole tree in a single photo.  If you have really good eyes you can see people around the base - they look like ants.

Trail on the way out from the Giant Grove passes through the log of a fallen sequoia.

 

It was now quite a warm day so we took the cheaters approach rather than walking the mile back uphill to the car we caught a convenient free shuttle bus back to the car park.

Back on the road I caught something out the corner of my eye and pulled over for a closer look.  It proved to be a black bear and her cub feeding on the spring grasses.  This is the closest I've been to a bear in all my years in the US.  A fabulous experience to watch this powerful animal and her super cute little cub mostly hidden behind the trees.

The next stopping place was Moro Rock - a huge granite dome standing on the southern rim of the Giant Forest plateau. It somewhat resembles Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, except that this is a whole dome. Common in the Sierra Nevada, these domes form by exfoliation, the casting off rock layers on otherwise smooth unjointed granite. This occurs as a result of the slow expansion of the granite rock and ultimately results in rounded dome-like forms.

 

The summit elevation of Moro Rock is 6,715 feet. The eastern, southern, and western faces of the rock are precipitous cliffs over a thousand feet in height that attract the world’s top rock climbers. The northern side of the rock is connected to the Giant Forest plateau by a granite ridge. The Moro Rock Stairway has 400 steps that follow this ridge and lead to the summit of the peak.

 Setting off to climb Moro Rock.

The 797-foot-long stair was designed by National Park Service landscape architect Merel Sager and engineer Frank Diehl, and was built in 1931, following natural ledges and crevices using labor from the Civilian Conservation Corps. It replaced a wooden stairway built in the 1920s that had deteriorated dangerously. Unlike the earlier stairway, the new stairway adopted a design policy of blending with the natural surfaces to the greatest extent possible. For this reason it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Use of this trail is discouraged during thunderstorms as several deaths have occurred from lightening strikes.



The views from the top were simply stunning - made more so by the day without a single cloud in the sky.

The view from the top of Moro Rock also provided a preview of the road we would traverse as we dropped off the plateau down to the follhills and into the Kaweah River Valley.

 The view from Moro Rock looking at the road down to the Kaweah Valley.

We ended our traverse of the National Parks by making a visit to the FootHills Visitor Center located next to the Park Headquarters.  It was a long, hot, dry journey home but it still provided several interesting sites to see.  Firstly, the citrus groves surrounding the very aptly name town of Lemon Cove, the flooded Lake Kaweah with water up to the roof of picnic shelters and bathroom blocks.  Then on through Visalia, Hanford, then Lemoore which is home to a massive US Navy Air Station.  We ate dinner at a 1950s themed diner in Coalinga that I'm not sure was decorated, but rather showing the last time any updating on the propety was done.  Up and over the very scenic California Highway 198 into Priest Valley which had it grass covered hills bathed golden in the evening light. Out to meet US 101 at San Lucas and then another hour and we were home.

 Evening light on the hills near Priest Valley.

 This was a fabulous weekend.  I've been in forests of all types but nothing compares to the majesty of standing in awe beneath the giants of Sequoia National Park.  To camp a night under these trees was an unexpected highlight.  So too Kings Canyon with its rock, raging river, and scenic byway cutting through to the heart of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  John Muir was right when he said: "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." - John Muir
 

Summer residence in Pacific Grove

I thought I should write a blog posting to explain where I am this summer. I am spending three months in Pacific Grove which is a small coastal town in Monterey County, California, USA. The population is just over 15,000. The town has an interesting history.

Pink ice plant in flower on the ocean front of Pacific Grove.

 
Pacific Grove is located adjacent to the much larger city of Monterey and is located between Carmel-by-the-Sea and Monterey on the Monterey Peninsula about 100 miles south of San Francisco.

 Photo taken as I flew over Monterey Peninsula: Pacific Grove in foreground, 

City of Monterey top left and Pebble Beach top right.

Car license plate spotted outside the Pacific Grove Post Office.

Pacific Grove (called PG by the locals) is well known for its Victorian homes, having more Victorian houses (built between 1837 and 1901) per capita than anywhere else in America. Pacific Grove is equally well-known for Asilomar (where Jane works), its artistic legacy, and the annual migration of the Monarch butterflies.

In prehistoric times the Native America Rumsen people lived around Monterey Bay including the area now known as Pacific Grove. They lived a subsistence life of hunting, fishing and gathering. The most prominent archaeological remainders are shell middens, the garbage dumps of these early inhabitants. Scientist can infer from the contents that mussels and abalone were consumed by the Rumsen as their chief food source. The Rumsen were one of one of eight language divisions of the Ohlone (Costanoan) Native American people of Northern California.

  Map showing the sub-tribes of the Ohlone Native America peoples, 
including the Rumsen of Monterey Bay.

In 1542 the Spanish arrived with Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo discovering Monterey Bay and landing at what is now called Cabrillo Point in Pacific Grove. In 1770 a joint religious and military expedition headed by Father Junípero Serra and Gaspar de Portolà (Army Officer and Governor of Baja and Alta California Territories) established a permanent settlement in Monterey. Together they are known as the founders of both San Diego and Monterey. Monterey served as the capital of California from 1777 to 1849 as a province of firstly Spain and then Mexico before the admittance of California to the United States.


Neighboring Pacific Grove was founded in 1875 by a group of Methodists from San Francisco who modeled the town after Ocean Grove, New Jersey. The location was deemed the perfect location for city people to rest, relax, and meditate. The ocean front land was divided into small plots with tents erected for people to spend a portion or the entire summer engaged in religious education and restoration of the spirit. The initial meeting of the Pacific Coast branch of the Chautauqua Movement was held in Pacific Grove in June 1879. Modeled after the Methodist Sunday school teachers' training camp established in 1874 at Lake Chautauqua, N.Y., this location became part of a nationwide educational network. The city grew with the tents were replaced (often on the very same tiny plot of land) by charming cottages and soon stately Victorian homes.

The Stevenson House in Monterey - Robert Louis Stevenson lived here.

In November 1879, after the summer campers returned home, Robert Louis Stevenson wandered into the deserted campgrounds: "I have never been in any place so dreamlike. Indeed, it was not so much like a deserted town as like a scene upon the stage by daylight, and with no one on the boards." Some suggest that the idea for Treasure Island were based on his experiences in Pacific Grove and Monterey.

Pacific Grove, like Carmel-by-the-Sea and Monterey, became an artists' haven in the 1890s and has remained so since. Artists of the En plein air school in both Europe and the United States were seeking an outdoor venue which had natural beauty, so that Pacific Grove was a magnet for this movement. William Adam was an English painter who first moved to Monterey and then decided on Pacific Grove for his home in 1906. At about the same time Eugen Neuhaus, a German painter, arrived in Pacific Grove . Charles B. Judson was an artist of aristocratic lineage who painted in Pacific Grove over a long period of time beginning in 1907. For a number of years, author John Steinbeck lived in a cottage in Pacific Grove owned by his father, Ernest, who was Monterey County Treasurer. The cottage still stands on a quiet side street, without any plaque or special sign, virtually overlooked by most Steinbeck fans. On October 12, 1997, John Denver died when he crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Pacific Grove in his personal plane.

Pacific Grove is a famous wintering location for tens of thousands of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus). Pacific Grove is nicknamed "Butterfly Town, U.S.A." In 1937 citizens of Pacific Grove voted to create an additional tax to create the Monarch Grove Sanctuary. The Pacific Grove Police Department continues to enforce strict regulations that prohibit the "molestation of butterflies' and City Ordinance No. 352 makes it a misdemeanor to kill or threaten a butterfly, punishable by a $1,000 fine.

The following is from the Pacific Grove Natural History Museum website:  
The Monarch Butterfly is a widespread tropical insect that ranges as far north as Canada. It cannot withstand freezing winter temperatures. To survive, the Monarch migrates to safe overwintering sites that are neither cold enough to kill it, nor so warm that it wastes precious energy flying too much. Monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains spend the winters in high mountains in central Mexico. Monarchs west of the Rockies migrate to Pacific Grove and two additional locations on the central California coast. En route, they may travel as far as 2,000 miles, covering 100 miles per day, and flying as high as 10,000 feet. A mighty achievement for such a seemingly fragile insect!

Why is this migration so unique? In many migrating species, such as birds and whales, the same individuals travel the migration route year after year. In contrast, migrating Monarchs have never been to their destination before. In fact, several generations of Monarchs have lived and died since last year's butterflies departed.  In late summer and early fall, a special generation of Monarchs is born. These Monarchs live much longer, up to eight months. Triggered by the decreasing daylight and angle of the sun, these butterflies delay sexual maturity and begin flying south toward the overwintering grounds, up to 2,000 miles away. The Monarchs feed on flower nectar during the journey, attempting to build up fat reserves which will enable them to survive the winter months. At night they may cluster together in small groups, but as winter approaches, they move on to more permanent overwintering sites.   

 After arriving at their destination, the monarchs cluster in large masses to conserve heat. Their flight muscles do not function well unless the temperature is above 55 degrees. They rest quietly on the trees, resembling dead leaves, until sunlight warms them enough to fly. On warm days, the butterflies will leave the trees entirely, seeking out nectar sources with which to replenish their energy reserves, but always returning well before evening to once again cluster in the trees.  The overwintering Monarchs do not mate until the increasing temperatures and daylight hours in February trigger the development of their sexual organs. By March, most of the butterflies have departed on the spring migration. With the coming of spring, the Monarchs join the western migration, spreading out through the Central Valley, into the Sierras, and northeast to the Rocky Mountains, laying eggs as they go. Monarchs born in the spring and summer move rapidly through their life cycle, flying further north and east with each succeeding generation. As many as 5 generations of Monarchs may continue northward, until the shortening daylight once again reverses the direction of the migration.

 Butterfly chair in the butterfly sanctuary Pacific Grove.

 


Pacific Grove's climate is mild throughout the year regulated by its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, culminating in a Mediterranean type climate. As a result, Pacific Grove's average high temperature ranges from around 16° Celsius (60° Fahrenheit) in winter to 22° Celsius (72° Fahrenheit) during the summer months. Average annual precipitation is around 19.5 inches (495 mm), with most rainfall occurring during California's wet season between November and April, while little or no precipitation falls during the summer months. The cool coastal temperatures with much hotter inland temperatures means that fog is common, especially in the late night and early morning during the summer.

 

 Fog rolling in along the Big Sur coast just south of Pacific Grove.

It is a beautiful place to live and work.  I'm thankfully to be here.  In my future posts I'll report a little more on what I am doing as well as show highlights from some of the weekend trip throughout California that Jane and I are enjoying.  Until then.