Utah-Nevada-California-Oregon (Day 5)

 Wednesday, May 12, 2021

"Yep, we're gonna need a bigger chain saw."

Looking straight up at the Sequoia trees

We slept in today.  After all the driving and activity, I think we needed it.  And along with the cocktails we consumed the previous night.

We are staying at the Sequoia RV Park just outside Three Rivers, CA.  And only a handful of miles from the entrance of the Sequoia National Park.

Before we arrived here, I expected the area to be a bit rainy and damp, like a semi-rainforest.  I also expected it to be somewhat cool in temperature.  All because of the pictures and movies I've seen in the Sequoia forest.  This is not the case.  It's in the low-90s and dry.  There are even a few palm trees here and there.  There are mountains in the park; perhaps the Sequoias are on the other side where the climate is radically different.  We shall see later today.

After our breakfast and other rituals one needs to do to start the day, we fired up the Jeep for our expedition into the Sequoia forest.  It didn't take long to get to the Park entrance, but did take some time driving in the Park.  It's basically going up a mountain.  You feel like a big horn sheep climbing up.

I'm glad we have the Jeep.  I'd hate to make this drive with an RV.

When we entered the the Park, the temperature was 91... and this was roughly before 11am.  As we climbed, we hit 3,000 feet in elevation.  Still about 90 degrees.  Then 4,000 feet and no change.  5,000 feet it's about 85.  6,000 feet and the temperature has dropped significantly now.  Going on 7,000 feet in elevation, the temperature has not only dropped to 66, we can now see very large trees.

We stopped at the parking lot for the General Sherman tree, one of the largest trees in the Park to begin our hike in the forest. These trees are impressive to look at.  The tallest tree in the Park is measured at 311 feet... basically +/- a 30-story building.  The oldest tree in the Park is estimated at 3,200 years. The trunks on a lot of these trees are as wide as my Jeep is long.  Maybe longer.

When you walk along the paved paths through the forest, you constantly get a scent of fresh pine.  Very refreshing and exhilarating.

I'm guessing we hiked for about a 2 hours.  I had packed my hiking shoes, but forgot about them this morning.  Instead, I hiked with the Chuck Taylors I was wearing.  No harm done and I probably looked rock star doing so.

On the way out of the Park, we stopped at the Gateway Restaurant on the banks of the Kaweah River to conclude our day of big hard tree discovery.  We then wanted to stop at the local brewery but discovered it was closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  This same attempt was tried yesterday, but all 3 parking spaces were filled up, not to mention they weren't open.  Instead, we returned back to the RV in time for Happy Hour.

Tree hugger

• Miles travelled: ? (didn't keep track but assuming about 50)
• Encounter with Ewoks: 0
• Local brews consumed: 0