The Boy Pauses To Take In the View

There are two places that no one should miss when they visit the giant trees of Sequoia National Park. Ironically, the first has nothing to do with giant trees. Moro Rock is a narrow granite outcrop that sits 4,000 feet above the valley below. It provides incredible vistas of the San Joaquin valley to the east and the massive peaks of the Great Western Divide to the west.

A Long Way Down

The trail to the top of Moro Rock consists of three hundred fifty-three granite-hewn steps. A surprising number of visitors only see a few of them before turning around. It’s a long way down.

The Dad & The Boy

Why is it that little boys always find the rocks and debris on the outside of the railing more interesting than the equivalent stuff on the inside of the railing? The Mom would have preferred to lash The Boy to a post for the duration of our time at the top.

Moro Rock Sunset

Although this was my fourth trip to the top of Moro Rock, it was the first time I’d managed to do it at sunset. This had always been a goal of mine and not just for the obvious reason that the light tends to be better at this time of day. The San Joaquin Valley has serious air pollution issues. During the day, a brown haze obscures views of the Coastal Range and other sights to the west. In the evening, all this particulate matter serves to intensify the colors of sunset. The result is the vivid yellows, oranges, and pinks seen in this image.

The Congress Trail

The second “must see” destination in Sequoia is the Giant Forest, and more specifically, the two-mile Congress Trail. This trail winds through grove after grove of immense Sequoias. Walking among these huge trees in the quiet stillness of the forest is a serene experience.

Lupine Under Sequoias

Lupine carpeted much of the forest floor along The Congress Trail. We were a week or two early to catch it at its peak but the lush green leaves complemented the rust-colored Sequoia bark nicely.

Sequoia Trunks

The Giant Forest contains four of the five biggest Sequoias in the world, including the world’s most massive living thing, the General Sherman tree. If you’re keeping track, this leaves California with the world’s oldest living thing, the Methuselah Tree in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest; the world’s tallest living thing in Redwoods National Park; and the world’s most massive living thing (by volume), the General Sherman tree here in Sequoia.

The McKinley Tree

At 291 feet tall, opinions vary on whether or not the McKinley tree is the tallest Sequoia in the park. It does represent the best opportunity to get a trunk-to-crown photo of one of these grand trees. Up close it is hard to tell how much bigger they are than their non-Sequoia neighbors.

Tree Blood

Lewis got a little too close to the inside of the tree and discovered sap. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

The sap of the Sequoia has a very high water content which protects these trees from fire. It’s rare that a mature Sequoia succumbs to fire; forest fires actually serve to burn out their competition and stimulate Sequoia seeds to germinate.

Most mature Sequoias meet their end during wind storms. Their shallow root system leaves them susceptible to being blown over. Rangers who have been around when this has happened say that you can hear the crash all over the park.

”Don’t roll down your window, Mommie!”

I’ve never been on a trip where I’ve seen so many bears -- both at Sequoia and, later, Yosemite. You’d think I could manage a decent bear shot with so many opportunities but, no, this is the best I could do.

We were actually out looking for bears when Darla spotted this mother with her two cubs. I had the image composed in my mind as they wandered toward us. Everything was ready: 100-400mm lens? Check. Shutter speed? Check. Aperture? Check. ISO? Check. IS Mode? Check. The bears wandered into position. Click…nothing…confusion. Apparently everything was not ready. By the time I rectified the situation, the bears were disappearing into the forest.

“Doh!” (Yes, I know…tiny violins are playing across the globe.)

Meanwhile, Lewis is in the back seat of the truck. “Mommie! MOMMIE! Don’t roll down your window, Mommie!”

Sun at the Treeline

Previous stop: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
Next stop: Yosemite National Park