The atmosphere in the car was tense. Kent woke up grouchy from a long nap. ‘But why are we going to a winery this far away?’ he demanded to know. I shrugged and cast a sideways glance at my mother-in-law, as she nervously tried to maintain our cover story. It was my husband’s 30th birthday, and he had no idea that we were headed to celebrate in Sequoia National Park!
After spending Kent’s official day hiking and camping on the coast, it was time to head inland for a second celebration with the family! It was 2015, a little more than a year after our first Great American Road Trip to Death Valley (just over the mountains!) – and just a week or so before our second in Yosemite (and beyond!).
We were driving to our surprise destination with Kent’s folks; luggage tucked craftily beneath shopping bags in the rear of the car. Finally, we pulled into the driveway of a rental home in Three Rivers, California. Kent’s sister and future husband had put up a sign and balloons. We all came together in the forest to celebrate Kent! And thus began a classic Stander getaway.
Together, we ventured into Sequoia National Park to discover the trees the park is named for! Hiking the aptly named Big Trees Trail was a perfect family activity: we strolled in the dappled shade from one grove of giant Sequoias to another. We met General Sherman, Chief Sequoyah, and so many others!
These trees, the biggest on Earth, are incredible. The giants of the redwood genus live in an even more restricted range than their coastal cousins: only here, on the western slopes of the southern Sierra Nevada!
Giant sequoia trunks are super thick. These solid trees also grow to unreal heights. And that characteristic copper color! John Muir must have put it best when he wrote, “Where are such columns of sunshine, tangible, accessible, terrestrialized?”
Alta Peak
But we wouldn’t be KnC if we just stuck to the well-trafficked, easy-access areas. We wanted more: we wanted to go deep into this park, climb its soaring peaks and touch its beating red(wood) heart.
So we picked a prominent peak that we could see from our home-away-from-home in Three Rivers and struck out early one morning for an active adventure on Alta Peak!
Although it was a perfect choice, it was almost a non-starter! The previous day, we’d seen several bears out and about. On our Alta Peak morning, we pulled into an empty parking lot. Empty, except for a juvenile black bear ambling away into the forest. We looked at one another, wide-eyed, and stayed comfortably seated in the car for a few minutes!
But curiosity got the better of us both, and we hopped out and onto the trail. We made sure to keep up a lively, loud conversation as we hiked quickly through the quiet forest.
When we emerged into a clearing, the sun had risen above the ridge and was illuminating a beautiful valley. And, as always, the higher we climbed, the better the views became!
Although our trail only gained about 1000 meters, our peak at 3000 meters towered over rocky Kaweah Canyon below. Spinning around, it became apparent that Alta Peak was just one of multitudes of craggy peaks in this wilderness!
The only thing marring our peak experience was the billowing smoke from a wildfire. Much like in Yosemite, we felt worried about this very real effect of an ongoing drought on the amazing forests of Sequoia National Park.
Still, it was a spectacular day to be on top of a mountain: soft clouds drifted lazily through a big blue sky. The sun felt warm on my face and legs, and I lounged on a toasty summit rock to bask.
Thus recharged, I couldn’t be sad about making a return trip. Besides, we stopped to linger at lots of very big trees!
Into trees? Me too! Sequoia National Park is one of the only places on Earth to walk among giant sequoias. Highly recommendable. After getting up close and personal with the big trees, why not go up for an eagle’s-eye view of the park from Alta Peak?
Next, come explore more US national parks with us!