There were a few fisherman just putting their boats in the water and getting ready to head out to spend the morning on the lake. The water was a beautiful blue and the air was crisp, so we took some time to stretch our legs while I took a few photos. When we finally decided to get back in the car and continue up 398, we decided it was time to swap drivers so I could look for photo opportunities. Of course, that meant a few more stops before we actually made it to Sequoia NP because the road followed along the lake as it turned into a river into the Three Rivers area.
Finally we made it to the one thing Bill wanted to see - big trees. I have to admit that I was initially skeptical about the attraction, but when I first saw them I was in awe. As soon as we got our first glimpse Bill said "wow" and then we both went silent. Maybe it's because we're living in southern California now, land of eucalyptus and palm trees, and we haven't seen "real" trees for quite some time now. The sequoias were humbling; so proud and majestic. John Muir said it best;
"When I entered this sublime wilderness the day was nearly done," he observed, "the trees with glowing countenances seemed to be hushed and thoughtful, as if waiting in conscious religious dependence on the sun, and one naturally walked softly and awestricken among them."
We just had to get out of the car and take our "tourist" photos.
This is a "little" unnamed tree.
Sequoia NP is the second-old national park in the United States. It was established in 1890 to protect the Big Trees in Giant Forest, including General Sherman, the largest living thing in the world. Sequoia also contains Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain peak in the lower-48.
I struggled to find a way to capture the trees with a camera in a manner that would do them justice. I tried laying on the ground and shooting up, but the contrast of the sky was too much and I'm not really happy with those shots. I'm going to try double-processing one that has good potential and see if that will reveal what I want to convey. It was now late morning and the light just was not cooperating with me. Ultimately I found myself fascinated with the bottoms of the trees - the scarring from old fires and the incredible root systems of the fallen trees. I used my 580EX for fill flash because it was so dark under the canopy, and those are the shots I am happiest with. It was amazing to see how much damage the trees could take from fire and still stand so strong. Some of them were literally hollowed out halfway up.
We continued roaming along General's Highway through the Giant Forest, turning down the side roads and getting out whenever something caught our eye, but for the most part avoiding the crowds by avoiding the named trees and the visitor centers. It was kind of funny how no one paid attention to anything that didn't have a sign on it, but everyone had to have their picture taken at the Tunnel Tree or the Auto Log. We debated stopping to see the caves, but with a goal to make it to Yosemite in time for sunset we didn't think it would be prudent since it required purchasing tickets in advance and reserving more than two hours time. It was just killing me that we didn't leave any time for hiking on this trip, so I had to tell myself that this was just a scouting trip and that I would make a checklist of places that deserved more time on our next visit.
Eventually we came upon the turnoff for the road to Moro Rock and Crescent Meadow. Moro Rock (N36.544167 W118.764167) is an exfoliated granite dome that stands 6725 feet high and overlooks most of the park and the Great Western Divide, a company of peaks all over 11,500 feet. With several of the peaks over 12,000 feet, he Great Western Divide is so high that it blocks the view of Mount Whitney. It is an easy climb to the summit of Moro Rock; there is a staircase cut into the side of the dome (done long before we decided it was better to preserve such treasures in their natural state), and a steep 1/4 mile climb with a 300 foot ascent will take you to the top. We've lived at sea level all of our lives and I've always had a hard time acclimating to elevation, so in a sleep- and oxygen-deprived state we had to stop mid-way up to catch our breath before proceeding to the top.
"Why are we doing this again" Bill asked.
"We're bagging a peak." I replied. Ha-ha, I did a little climbing when I was younger, but he always thought it was crazy and would never even give it a try, so it was one of those things that fell by the wayside after we got married. This was the closest I'd get to peak bagging these days.
He he - I look like I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open! Look at the haze over the valley.
Still mid-day, so once again the light was not the best for photography, but the view of the Great Western Divide was just amazing. This was our first trip to the Sierra's, and they were everything we had hoped they would be.
After our invigorating climb to the top of Moro Rock we continued working our way over General's Highway. We had been warned about construction that had the road down to one lane at one section, and that northbound traffic was being let through every hour on the hour. We weren't sure how long the back up would be so we were anxious to put that part of the journey behind us and start heading toward Yosemite. We began climbing, climbing, climbing over the pass, and when we hit the construction area we must have timed it right because there was no backup to speak of. It was a scary sight to look out the window and realize that the road was one lane because the cliff had eroded away beneath the surface of the other lane! I can't even begin to imagine how they plan to fix it, and we supposed that the only fix would be to blast away rock from the far side of the road so there would again be two lanes. But what could they do to stop the cliffside from continued erosion? That vision of the crumbled road stuck with me throughout our journey as every destination required crossing over mountain passes with narrow roads on the sides of steep cliffs.
A meandering drive with incredible views and several more photo stops along the way eventually brought us out to CA180 for the 200 miles or so we'd drive to Yosemite.
You can view my Sequoia National Park photo gallery here.
There's not too many photos in there because I was shooting at mid-day, so I'm still thinking about how to possibly process some of them to see if they're worth saving.
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