National Parks Loop Day 10 (June 20, 2010)

I didn't get away until 8:30 this morning. A leisurely drive out of the foothills and down to just outside of Fresno where I turned back in towards the mountains to get to Kings Canyon/Sequoia. At one point, I put on my MP3 player and enjoyed driving and singing to my 70's collection. Alot of the music in that playlist really takes me back. Growing up, my father was in the radio business, so music was a very big part of our lives. He would do his own "mix tapes" on 8-track and we always had new music in the house. So, it's kinda like "Wonder Years" and I have this soundtrack to my childhood. It was nice as I started to climb into the mountains again. I noticed many smells along the drive that have held a place in my memory since my childhood in California. When people ask me where I'm from, I tell them Denver right now but have lived in many different places including 3 areas of Southern California, Louisiana, Arkansas, California again, Indiana, Illinois (spent more time at work than at home, so I figure Chicago counts as a place I'm from). But I thought this afternoon while enjoying the sites, smells and music of my childhood, that California would have to be where I call "home" most of all. I've spent more time in California than anywhere else and it feels more like home than anywhere else (other than Teton/Yellowstone, but that's written in a journal from another lifetime that I'll not go into here).

After my reflections and realizations of "where I'm from", I made my way towards Kings Canyon National Park. I had not planned on spending a great deal of time in Kings Canyon as I was anxious to get to Sequoia,
get camp set up and explore. I stopped at the Visitors Center to get my Parks stamp, of course, and picked up a couple of gifts. A jumper for Ava (my 5 month old niece) and a Kings/Sequoia wine glass for Mom. Figured I would take care of the oldest and youngest and let the rest fend for themselves.

After a short drive, I found an area to go for a short hike. The round trip was just over 1/2 miles but the trail wound through a beautiful setting of giant Sequoias. They are amazing trees and I'm not normally someone who is impressed by "trees". But these are some major friggin' trees! Some are over 3,000 years old and almost 300 feet high. The base of each tree is enormous. There aren't alot of
pics you can take that really show their scale. I did the hike with a bunch of French tourists. Funny how different the French language sounds when spoken by a 65 year old retiree rather than an 18 year old stripper. May have to do some further research on that one.

After a nice hike in Kings Canyon, I headed for Sequoia National Park, just a short drive through the mountains. As always, the passport stamp was the first thing I took care of so as not to forget. I also located the showers and general store. It was a really nice area and beautiful drive. I picked my campsite when I made the reservation based purely on the map location. When I got there, the spot was in full sunlight and contained a sand pile where either the kids played alot or was some ancient Indian burial site. There were displays built in the sand with beads and feathers and about 10 million golfball size rocks. It looked alot like the scene in Jeremiah Johnson when Johnson returns to the home of the "crazy womavn" (how he referred to her, not me) and found the burial mound that the Crow had created as a monument to his skill as an enemy. While this would have been cool for a tour of the actual location of the movie shooting, it was not very cool for a camping spot. Not liking the layout, I drove back to the campground check-in and asked if I could change sites.
They moved me to one about 4 sites down. This site (#184 in case you are headed to Sequoia and looking for a good spot) is much better. It's up in the trees leading into the woods. One Camper is beside me, one across the road but then no one within 2 or 3 campsites. Much more peaceful and out of the way than the first spot. And no Indian burial mounds, which is always a bonus when looking for a peaceful place to sleep. When I first started tent camping, I wanted to be next to the restroom (always well lighted) and in the middle of all the activity so I wouldn't feel like I was out there on my own. Now, although I do enjoy a developed and popular campground, I find myself more and more comfortable with space, distance and quiet. A definite difference from last year. While setting up, I was a little frustrated due to the driver of a 5th wheel that I followed into the park. He seemed to feel that the rest of the world could wait for him to do what he needed and that his needs were paramount over everyone else. It is a very selfish attitude and is a pet peeve of mine. He stopped his unit right in the middle of the road at check-in, blocking anyone wanting to enter if they already had their pass. When I drove back to my site after moving spots, he was again right in the middle of the road trying to decide what to do and blocked the entire road. This along with the fact that it was getting late and my exploration time was going to be minimal didn't do alot to improve my mood. I was so distracted that twice I drove my tent stake through the plastic rain fly latches! Yes folks, I friggin' did it twice in a row! I was not focused and not living in the "here and now". Luckily I noticed the problem before doing permanent damage, but it added to my frustration. I reminded myself to focus on the "now" and to breathe deeply from my gut and not my chest. "Bring it back down" I told myself. After about 20 minutes the tent was up and camp was set. I only scheduled Sequoia for one night and it was already almost 4pm by the time I set camp. I tried to stay in the "now" and not get more frustrated. I decided I would grab a bite to eat at the store and see what I could see of the park before the sun disappeared for the night. I made the mistake of ordering 2 slices of pizza at the little snack shop near the Visitors Center. They baked it from scratch or at least from frozen. It took almost 20 minutes to get my two pieces of pizza. But I managed to laugh at the delay rather than get upset. I realized I was in the middle of a 17 day camping trip and was spending tonight in the breathtaking beauty of Sequoia National Park instead of heading into work for another frustrating night with minimal staff and maximum frustration. Putting things into perspective made the wait for the pizza easier. 45 minutes after stopping for a "quick" bite, I took off through the park.

I knew on limited time and wanted to get to the giant sequoia groves about 10 minutes to the South. I got to the Sequoia museum, did a quick walk through tour then off to a trail. I didn't figure I would have alot of time, but wanted to get in a quick hike. I took off down a trail admiring the trees. I found one section where the Dogwood trees were in bloom (I think they were Dogwoods) with the Sequoias behind them. Unbelievably beautiful. All thoughts of the 5th Wheel driver, tent stakes through the rain fly latches and home made pizza delays disappeared. After walking about 15 minutes, I felt like I should be walking on the trail across the road instead for no particular reason. So, I backtracked, crossed the road and started down a new trail. Funny how this can apply to life as well. If the "trail" you are following does not feel right, if you listen to your gut, you may find inspiration to backtrack and try another "trail". There may not be a definable reason to do so, it's just that little voice in the back of your head. At least that's what I've seen in my own life. And when I do that, it's amazing what I find along the "new" trail that I would have missed had I stayed on the original path. "Flexibility and adaptability" as Doc always preaches.

This new trail led along the road's edge towards a meadow. The hike was beautiful. I was surrounded by lush, green grasses and the majestic Sequoia trees. The air was still, not too hot and my mind was finally back in the "now" enjoying all that was happening rather than pissing and moaning about all the little shit that doesn't really matter in life. As I neared the meadow, I saw what appeared to be a very large, black rock in the middle of the meadow hidden among the trees. I looked closer at the rock...it twitched its ears and moved its head.
This was no ordinary rock my friends! This was a rather large black bear that only looked like a rock with ears. As I came off the trail, I saw a number of people standing further down the meadow watching the rock/bear. Someone said it was a Mama with 2 cubs in the nearby trees. As I walked further, I saw another Mama Bear with 2 more cubs. And someone said there was a male bear (bear #7) that had just crossed the path I was on and was walking in the trees behind us. Wow! Three bears in Yellowstone (1 grizzly, 2 blackies), one
in Yosemite (technically up at Hetch Hetchy) and now 7 at one time here in Sequoia. Despite initially feeling I was short on time, I stayed around that meadow taking pictures for probably an hour. I did put my bear spray in my pocket at one point as I heard the mysterious male bear breaking branches on the ground as he moved around on the other side of the hill behind everyone. There was a Park Ranger there to keep people from getting too close to any of the bears. She was armed with a shotgun. I moved around a couple of times for better pictures, all the
while keeping my distance so as not to disturb Mama or the cubs. It was amazing to stand there and quietly watch them. They didn't feel threatened and were therefore no real threat to any of us watching. The bears seemed very calm and peaceful. The only time the Mamas looked up was when a cub would take off running across the meadow or when one decided he would play mountain climber on a park bench. I loved the peace and serenity of the moment. After a while, I figured I had taken enough pictures and had intruded on their dinner time quite enough. I thanked them for their time and the Universe for this wonderful gift. I started back up the trail and was joined by a 50 something dude (probably a fellow rider by his looks) and his 20 something, 6' 1" gorgeous European wife/girlfriend/mail order bride (you had to have been there to really appreciate it). Regardless of her technical status, he was one lucky son of a bitch. She was incredibly sweet and friendly. And did I mention gorgeous???? We talked all the way back up the trail to the cars. They were on a 2 week trip up the coast from Phoenix. They showed me a couple pictures from a trip they did last year to Yosemite and other trips. It was quite a hike back UP to the parking lot and my lungs were screaming for a rest. But, as long as Svetlana (the name I imagined for her, or my future European mail order bride) was walking and talking, I was not about to stop and demonstrate how out of shape I was. My 30" inseam was having a tough time keeping up with her long legs, but I would have forced a heart attack before I would have stopped. At the parking lot, we said our goodbyes. They headed for their car and I found something to hang on to while I caught my breath and brought my heart rate down.

I left my new friends and drove back to the campground and decided that $3 for a 10 minute shower was an even better deal than $11 for a 20 minute wait for so-so pizza. Hell, I even had time for a shave. And after struggling to set the tent up and no shower for 2 days, I was starting to get a little ripe. When I got to my site, it looked even more peaceful than it had when I set up. I walked across the road and visited with my neighbors a bit. This is a nice tradition I have started. Either after initial set up, or at least before it gets dark the first night, I will find the nearest neighbor and go introduce myself. It's a great way to meet fellow campers and is good practice for me in putting aside my inhibitions and creating an ever expanding circle of friends and acquaintances as I travel out of my self-imposed shell. My neighbors included a husband and wife along with 2 young kids, probably 3 or 4 years old. Very nice people. I told them about the bears and showed them a few pictures. They were from the Central Coast and are doing 6 - 7 days in the Sequoia/Yosemite area. They felt like people I would be friends with and get together with if they lived close. I wish I would have gotten contact information from them for my next trip out to the Coast.

Then a fire, a glass of wine and it was time to write. I actually have all my food in the bear box tonight. There was a sign at check-in showing the number of cars broken into this week by bears. It was at zero, but I figured if it happened often enough to put up a damned sign, then I probably wanted to use the bear box provided. I will have to come back to Sequoia again sometime in the future. This is a beautiful place, but I'm headed towards Vegas/Zion first thing in the morning. I honestly think that I would rather come back to Sequoia than visit Yosemite if a choice had to be made. Something about the area, the trees, the elevation and the beauty that sets it apart for me. Hopefully as I leave the mountains and enter the desert, the weather will not be too hot for the final leg of my journey. Forecast low for tonight in Sequoia is low to mid 30's, so I broke out the cold weather sleeping bag again. I have a feeling that tonight will be the last night I use the cold weather bag for the remainder of the trip. I'll admit I'm a little nervous tonight as one entire side of my camp site is nothing but woods. Nice, private and relaxing, but a little spooky for someone relatively new to tent camping. But, I remind myself that there were no special warnings about bears in the campground at check-in other than instructions to use the bear boxes. My food is all securely stored in the bear box. And since my shower, I no longer smell like a decomposing corpse. I will have my bear spray in the tent tonight which I have not done the last 2 nights. Then off to Vegas in the morning after site break down. I'll stay at Jim's tomorrow night and enjoy a read bed, free laundry facilities and hopefully a nice, home cooked meal for dinner before driving up to Zion. Seven more days left on this trip and I plan to enjoy every moment of every day.

Good night