Kings Canyon – On the Road with Don and Paula

**They seem to like each other as groupings are quite common**

Day 19

We could not determine the language of the visitors that spewed forth from the large shiny black bus.

My guess was that it was from some Eastern European country, but it was of little consequence because they seemed to be really enjoying themselves, so origins at this point did not matter.

We have commented to ourselves so many times over the last few days that we felt like we were in the minority when it came to the “Where’re ya from” category. Our best “Line Friends” on Moro Rock were a Japanese family with the cutest little two-year old girl who said “Happy Easter” to every person she saw. We saw them again at the General Sherman Tree and had a happy reunion of sorts. Both Grandmas were there and were real troopers as both activities required some fairly strenuous uphill walking.

One cannot help wondering what it is like in other countries. To be fair, if we visited another land, we too would be included in the mix of tourists. I wonder if the citizens of said country would feel like they were in that same minority that we felt that we were in.

Maybe that’s Ok.

A pie-in-the-sky hope may be that if we all visited each other and felt welcome, then maybe in the future we could avoid some of the animosities that spring up between us.

We always try and make eye contact with people on the trails and say “Good Morning” with a smile. We make an extra effort to ensure that we greet folks from far-away lands with something a little extra, something that underlyingly conveys, “Welcome, we’re glad that you’re here”.

The LAST thing that we want is someone to go back to their homeland feeling is that the USA is filled with “Ugly Americans”.

Mr. **Shiny Black Bus gives a wonderful object to use as scale for these Trees!**

But even with the busload from wherever, the crowds were non-existent. There are several reasons for this, and they worked in our favor (mostly). I say mostly because one of the reasons was the time of year. In this season, the elevation determines the weather, not the calendar. So, the roads to the back country were still closed and for a good reason. There was a snowfall just two days ago that made the travelling a bit hazardous. Hence the closures.

The other reasons were that it was a Monday, Spring Breaks were over, and we were in Kings Canyon National Park, one of the most beautiful, but less popular Parks in the System.

Kings Canyon is connected at the hip to Sequoia, with who it shares a very large contiguous border. Sequoia is kind of the Big Brother here. If you have limited time, Sequoia definitely gets the nod, and the crowds.

But we discovered something nice.

Not all of the Giant Sequoia grow inside the confines of Sequoia National Park. Thirty or so miles away, in Kings Canyon National Park lies the formidable General Grant Tree, securely immersed in the middle of the Grants Grove grouping of these big guys.

Just like Avis, the second largest Tree, General Grant, tries harder to maintain his status. There is another Tree, The President, that depending on growth, and fire damage, competes with Mr. Grant for this title.

In a way, with the smaller crowds helping, we enjoyed our walk among these trees more than our experience from the day before.

The Park is just a little further away from our KOA than Sequoia is, but the drive up to the Park did not have the twisty-turny switchbacks that kept us dizzy the day before. So even though it was a bit further, it was a far more comfortable drive.

**Note relative size of visitors vs Trees**

As for the bus tours, I’m glad that we went this time of year because this Park and it’s relatively-not-zig-zaggy access road, is the only one of the two that can handle the size of a bus. Hopefully bus tours need to make some kind of reservation to ensure that not too many show up at the same time. This place is not large.

**Hume Lake, back at the turn of the century it was a mill pond, used for the logging industry in the area.**

We were able to drive a bit further past the Grant Grove to Hume Lake. The lake, as nice as it was, was not our reason for the extra drive. Our goal was to find an overlook that peers into the heart of the Kings Canyon, which was still back a bit further in the rugged Sierra Nevada.

The **Kings Canyon, deep and rugged, (especially around the bend) way back in the Sierra Nevada**

We found it and were not disappointed!

I would not rule out a return trip in a season that would allow entry into this Canyon. I have only seen photographs but both John Muir and Uncle Ansel (and his camera) liked it as much as Yosemite, so who am I to argue? 😊

Thanks for reading,,,

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