The Savage Traveler: Out West Adventure: Part 2--Kings Canyon National Park

Sat. May 25: HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!! We began celebrating our weekend by exploring Kings Canyon National Park. Following directions given to us by the woman at the Lake Kaweah Visitors Center, we took back roads that took us back to the San Joachim Valley with the acres of orchards and groves. As we traveled north we also rose high into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada where agriculture gave way to ranches with livestock. The road was narrow and twisty so we were glad there was very little traffic. We came out at Highway 180, just outside the entrance to the park and at 6800ft. The temperature was in the low fifties and there was a long line of cars waiting to get in. To avoid the crowds we stopped only long enough at the Visitors Center to stamp our Passport and then drove past Grants Grove and the General Grant Tree, where the park is very like Sequoia, and continued on the 30 mile scenic drive to the Canyon. We climbed a little higher and then descended into the wide, U shaped glacial valley that John Muir wrote was even more beautiful than Yosemite. The road continued to drop until we were at the level of the tumbling, roaring, beautiful Kings River. We drove along the river for several miles through the mile deep Canyon until we reached Cedar Grove. The elevation down there was around 3300ft and the temperature was in the mid-70s. We stopped at a snack shop there and bought a salad and sandwich to share, sitting on the rocks by the river. Then we drove to Roads End, which is one of the entrances for the Pacific Crest Trail. The friendly rangers there offered to stamp our Passport with the Pacific Crest stamp, but I declined since we didn't actually hike that august trail. On our return we made many more stops, taking short hikes to see Roaring River Falls and Grizzly Falls, which begins its journey high up in the Monarch Wilderness of the Sierra Nevadas. We did get our final stamp for the Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park at the Ranger Station in Cedar Grove. And there were many stops for scenic views and pictures. Our afternoon snack of cheese and apples was enjoyed high above the river, overlooking the granite walls and towering mountain peaks. It was about 4:00 when we got back to Grants Grove and the crowds were not as heavy as we took the trail through the Grove and to see the tree, which is one of the five largest in the world. Rather than returning on the winding road we had taken to the park we chose to get on Generals Highway and take it from Kings Canyon to Sequoia, sometimes running through the Sequoia National Forest and sometimes in the National Park itself. We rose to 7500ft and the temperature dropped to 51°. We went down some and then returned to 7300ft before we began to descend. It was fun to get back to the parts of Sequoia that we had seen on the Shuttle and eventually leave the park by the same route as yesterday. Back at the campground things were hopping and the temperature was in the eighties despite it being after 7:00. I made spaghetti sauce and Marv made a salad and we ate outside on the picnic table as the sunset into the hills. To work off our dinner we walked all around the campground, probably more than a mile, and looked at all the different set-ups people had for camping. Once again the noise slowly died and by 10:25 it was quiet and peaceful once again.