When traveling along the Pacific Coast through California stopping to see the Giant Sequoias, the massive redwoods that are the world’s largest trees, should be on everyone’s todo list.
While the giant redwood range runs from southern Oregon almost the length of California, most visitors travel to one of the many parks and National Parks to admire them, seeking to escape from the urban encroachment that occasionally threatens the redwood forest. One of the largest, and oldest, of these parks in the Sequoia National Park, which shares much of it’s border with King’s Canyon National park. This allows you to visit both places of natural beauty at the same time.
John Muir was one of the first explorers of King’s Canyon, and he remarked on the similarity between it and the Yosemite Valley. This worked to confirm his theory that both were formed by glaciers, rather than the rising of mountains. In 1890, through his efforts, part of the area was formed into the Sequoia National Park. Another nearby stand of redwoods was also given Federal protection – the General Grant Grove.
I visited Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Parks in 2011. I had just come from Yosemite, and while the natural beauty of that park was everything I had hoped for, it was incredibly crowded. There were few places I had found where I could sit quietly for more than a minute without people appearing, and the public areas were over run even during the week.
I knew of King’s Canyon’s similarity to Yosemite, and even though it wasn’t far it seemed deserted. There were some areas where a steady stream of people appeared to take pictures, but away from those I might have been the only person for miles. Exceptions were around two of the biggest trees not just in the National Parks, but in the world – The General Sherman and General Grant.
The General Sherman tree was named by a troop of soldiers stationed in the area in the 1870s. Some had served with Sherman, and felt the grand tree lived up to the name. The General Sherman is located in the Giant’s Forest, inside the Sequoia National Park. An area of old growth Sequoia, it holds 5 of the 10 largest trees in the world.
One of the other five, in fact the second largest tree on the planet, is the General Grant. It was to protect this tree from loggers that the General Grant Grove was established. The massive redwoods have long been popular with logging companies, since each tree contains so much timber. Clear cutting claimed much of the redwood forest before it was slowed by environmentalists in the 1960s and 1970s.
Ansel Adams came to the Kings Canyon area in the 1930s while taking pictures of national parks all over the country. His pictures of the giant redwoods, and the canyon itself, helped spur the creation of King Canyon National Park, which included the area of General Grants Grove.
I spent a few days among the redwoods. Sequoia National Park along has over 40 miles of hiking trails, winding among the giants. Maps are available for purchase at the ranger station, which serves both parks. If you aren’t looking for a long hike, the General’s Highway connects the Giant’s Forest, with the Sherman, to the General Grant grove. Each still requires a short walk from the parking area, though there is a closer parking area for visitors who need it.
