With the tire patched and the engine fixed, we were hesitant to celebrate being back on the road, worried that something else was going to go wrong at any moment. Our drive towards Sequoia National Park took us through about 20+ miles of orange groves. The scent of the trees was unlike either of us had smelled before. We couldn’t help but repeat how good it smelled.
As the road started to kick up in elevation, we stopped to stretch our legs and take in the views at Slick Rock Recreation Area. We arrived at the Sequoia NP entrance station as the sun was setting. Unsure if we would be able to find a campsite so late in the day, we decided to turn around and opt for one in town a few miles down the road. The night was cool and humidity was up, the change in weather felt good, we had been in the desert southwest for about a month and a half, after all. We made a stop at a local Mexican joint for a beer and some dinner.
We were up early with our fellow campers all packing up our respective sites to head into Sequoia. The road from the south through the park climbs about 5,000’ while winding through tight switchbacks. We stopped a few times to get out and take some pictures. The sky was bright blue and we could see from the snowcapped mountains above to the creek bottom below. We easily found a parking spot at the Giant Forest Museum, where we started our hike to Morro Rock. During winter the road is closed to vehicles and is used as a hiking trail. About 100 feet onto the road, we found ourselves alone amongst the famed giant trees. The actual trail for Morro Rock was about a mile down the road. We started up the granite rock with almost no one else around. The higher we climbed up the stairs cut from the granite, the more fog started to build, pouring from one side to the other through notches in the rock. Rumor has it that the views from the top of the hike are spectacular. We were fully socked in and could barely see 10 feet below the summit ridge. The walk downhill was fully engulfed in fog. It was interesting to see how much the weather could build in about a 30 minute time period.
The hike along the road continued to other highlights of the park, including Auto Log and Tunnel Log. People once drove their cars onto Auto Log, and can continue to drive through Tunnel Log, given it’s no taller than about 6 and a half feet tall. We decided to take the scenic route back along Soldiers Trail. The fog moved freely through the trees, clearing and building as the winds shifted. We’d stop and marvel frequently. At certain points, at the base of these huge trees we’d watch the fog engulf the tops some 100-200’ above us. At a random tree of average size we decided to pace out the base. 31 steps it took to circle the base of the tree…and this was just an average tree we saw this day.
My best side!
Back at the van, we continued along Generals Highway to one of the most popular trees, The General Sherman Tree. We prepared ourselves for the 1/2 mile hike that would no doubt be a stark contrast to the few hours we had earlier. The trail was paved and full of people eager to see the largest (by volume) tree in the park. Interestingly, the height and circumference of the trees is not indicative of their age, but rather the optimal growing conditions. Some of the largest trees are actually 500 years or so younger than the oldest trees (2,000-2,500 years old) because of their proximity to moisture and ground conditions.
Home for the night would be in Azelea Campground in Kings Canyon National Park, on the north end of Sequoia NP. In the morning we got up and wandered around Grant Grove before anyone else got there. We have really come to appreciate being in popular national parks with no one else around. Sometimes that is by design, other times it’s luck.
About 3 hours after leaving and a thousands of feet elevation lower than relative seclusion of the mountains, we found ourselves sitting in traffic trying to cross the Bay Bridge with everyone else as they left work on a Friday afternoon. Really, the delay wasn’t too bad. We met Alex at his neighborhood watering hole in the Dogpatch section of San Francisco. The next few days would be spent catching up on recent adventures, reminiscing of past adventures, and planning future adventures. Rooney and Kinley were happy to play, but also happy to lounge about the living room like they used to when they were younger and roommates for a short period of time.
Alex played tour guide for us and showed us some of his favorite Bay Area highlights. We started Saturday off sluggishly after an evening staying up way past our bedtimes and having maybe one two many beverages. We did however get out for a run to the Saturday Farmers Market along Embarcadero. After looking at all of the fresh meats, cheeses and breads, we decided to take the pups out for a picnic and scamper along the beach at Fort Funston on the western/costal side of the city. After we made the dogs behave as we picnic’d at the top of the cliffs overlooking the ocean, they got to enjoy running along the water, meeting other dogs and having a quick game of tag before continuing on.
Happy dog #1
Happy dog #2
After an evening of French food Friday, we partook in Alex’s favorite dive bar/Ethiopian restaurant Saturday. Only in San Francisco do “dive bar” and “Ethiopian restaurant” get combined.
Sunday we explored the Marin Headlands, hiking along the sea cliffs, watching the swells crash against the volcanic rock. After a full day of running and playing the day before, the dogs were happy to sit and watch the waves with us. Not only was this an accidental visit to a National Recreation Area but we also filled one of our pillars of the trip later in the afternoon with a stop at LaGunitas Brewing Company for a beer in the sun. We rounded out our worldly dinner travels with some sushi in his neighborhood.
It was a great weekend catching up with Alex and seeing the sights. We look forward to our next adventures together, near and far!
