Sequoia.
If you had asked me what I thought of for most of my life when I read the name, I probably would have said something like “a large evergreen tree.” That feels like such an ignorant response now. Now the very word conjures up might within my mind. I picture mountains that actually feel small due the massive giants that live upon their slopes. All sorts of thoughts of regal kings and ancient warriors who will never give up ground and never let you forget whose realm you are in. Smells rush in and dominate my memory stronger than the images that my eyes etched into my own lore. You can say that you know what you’ll encounter as you head up the winding mountain road from the south into the Park’s entrance, but nothing can truly prepare you for what you’ll find.
So many National Parks are known for not necessarily doing a good job staying within their borders. Joshua Trees and Saguaros start appearing hundreds of miles away from the gates to the Parks they give their name to, the Grand Tetons and the Great Smokies let you know you’re headed in the right direction well in advance, and the Everglades’ River of Grass begins so very far upstream. While I wasn’t surprised that the beautiful Crater Lake couldn’t be spotted outside of the Park, I certainly thought that I would have spied at least a couple smaller Sequoias on the way to this Park. I mean, I had heard they are massive, and they are trees after all. Shouldn’t they grow in the areas near the Park?
Turns out, not so much.
Hunting Sequoias
In fact, it was quite a ways into the Park before my friend and I encountered our first Sequoia – a small and somewhat lankly one hanging out near a river in a valley far below the road. I know I said small, but that’s only because I’m writing this as someone who has explored this Park and knows that this Sequoia was indeed small compared to its brethren. However, this tree was not actually small compared to any of the other trees it grew among – this tree looked like Buddy the Elf sitting in class with the other real elves in his discovering he wasn’t like them montage. While all other trees in the valley were mature and impressive on their own, they only came halfway up the trunk of this lone teenage Sequoia.
As we continued winding up amongst the mountains, we stopped often at vantage points amongst the rocks and cliffs to drink in the unending valley views. The mountains and standard forests here felt like reason enough to designate this land as a National Park, and I plan to one day return to continue to explore them; yet on we drove.
I’m not going to lie: I’m glad that we were driving these roads in the summer and that I don’t easily get car sick. These mountain roads were anything but straight, and there is a great deal of elevation gain. As a resident of one of the flattest and lowest elevation states in the Union, Florida, traversing these mountains was fun and exciting to be behind the wheel. The Park entrance is at approximately 1300 feet in elevation, but by the time you reach the heart of the Park, you’re at about 7,000 feet. It’s thrilling yet at times you wonder if you’ll stop climbing.
Into the Giant Forest
Due to all that twisting and turning and doing my best not to drive us off a cliff, I can’t tell you whether we encountered another Sequoia before we reached the signs that proclaimed we had entered the Giant Forest, however once we entered this first major grove there was no longer any doubt. The cliffs and rock walls we had long lingered near were gone, and lush old growth forest enveloped us. At first, it felt like any other forest as we continued up the winding road from inside our rental car – it wasn’t until we pulled over for the first time and craned our necks skyward.
Major “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” moment.
Seriously though.
I think it might have been because my mind couldn’t come to the conclusion that we could possibly be seeing trees this large and that it was more plausible that we had been shrunk. Giant Forest might be one of the best named places I have ever been. There was no longer East and West, North and South, there was only Up. It was as though the entire world was pointing in one direction, causing your eyes to ever seek that which drew their attention. On one hand I knew that I was near the top of the range, but I also felt as though I was in the bottom of a pit. As one who prides himself of being acutely aware of where I am and where I am going, in this realm I was lost.
The dumb looks of joy and bewilderment spread between our faces when my friend and I tore ourselves away from the trees that had somehow encircled us. It was at this random stop along the road that I first put my hands upon the trunk of a Sequoia and felt its hum of life. No longer caring what I looked like, I leaned against it with my arms spread wide like a child. While I had already smelled the scents of the forest upon exiting the car, the richness of the bark now filled my sinuses and soon became the only thing I was aware of in the world. These trees dominate your world in every way possible.
Somehow, we climbed back into the car and pressed on, deeper into the Forest. Often I find myself the one driving in a National Park, and while I consider myself an excellent driver, it is not easy in such places to pay attention to the road ahead. In many ways, I was grateful that this was not a straight one as it forced my eyes to stay locked on the path.
Parking at the large and meandering lot at the Giant Forest Museum (which oddly I’m just now realizing that we never entered), we realized that the trees that dazzled us at our large stop were merely young Sequoias. Here true giants loomed above. The expanse of the parking lot and the various vehicles and other people roaming about actually helped us get a better grasp on the enormity of these trees. The museum itself was dwarfed beneath the mighty Sentinel which stands a dizzying 257 feet tall, yet I come to find out that this beauty is only the 43rd tallest Sequoia in the world – finding this out as I type is truly hard to grasp as this tree dominates my memory.
Big Trees Trail
From Sentinel we found ourselves on Big Trees Trail (they are so good at naming things here) – a circular path around a large sunlit meadow. Round Meadow feels like a strange site in this massive forest. Sequoias are sun worshipers and race to fill every possible spot to reach towards the sky above, yet this large meadow contains no trees. While Sequoias are so massively tall and large in volume, their root system does not go deep. Wet soil, like the type that fills the meadow, is way too soft for the Sequoias to be secure in. In fact, there are many trees that have fallen along the edges of the meadow that just couldn’t support themselves in this moist soil. Yet the meadow does provide a collection reservoir for the trees that do survive to thrive. The hike around the meadow is filled with informative signage and benches from which one can learn more about Sequoias and soak in the sun yourself.
Big Sherm
As we made it back into the car and fueled up with some much looked forward to snacks, we finally pulled out the map given to us by the Ranger at the gate. Next stop on the map was something called “The General Sherman.” While many of you hearing that know exactly what the map refers to, we certainly did not. Quite simply put: The General Sherman is the world’s largest tree by volume. While its height of 275 feet is stunning (so much so that when starting down the path from the parking lot some 200 feet up the hill leading down to the tree you’re still not looking above it), its also a staggering 36 feet in diameter at its base.
While it’s amazing to behold, “Big Sherm” as we called him, is just one of many large trees in this part of the forest. What really drew my attention is the portion of a felled Sequoia near its base. Here, you could see the hundreds of lines of growth laid out in the ancient tome of its trunk. Sequoias live for thousands of years, with Big Sherm being an estimated 2,200 to 2,700 years old (what’s a few hundred years of guessing at that age?). It’s so wild to imagine that not only do these trees grow so large, but that they live for so very long. We are very lucky to have realized the importance of ensuring such wonders are left untouched. I will say that while the path down to the General Sherman was quite easy, the path back for someone who is used to living at near sea level involved a lot of stops to pretend to be taking in the sights while actually sucking wind.
Grants Grove
After a brief and much welcomed stop for lunch, we found ourselves setting off into another spot named after a Union General, Grants Grove. While the General Sherman is the largest tree by volume in the world, the General Grant is only a few feet shorter and possibly a thousand years younger so it’s quite possible that one day he could catch up and take the crown (yes, it does feel weird speculating about such things knowing full well that I’ll probably only live to a faction of these trees age – like an ant talking about what I’ll do in 20 years).
By the time you reach Grants Grove (which is technically in Kings Canyon National Park), there is a temptation to feel Sequoia’d out for the day. It as though your brain needs some time away from them to really comprehend what all you witnessed this day amongst the giants. Yet, Grants Grove does have this special goodness that you just can’t get elsewhere in the Park. For starters, this parking lot was almost empty and we found ourselves mostly having the Grove to explore on our own. This by itself filled our hearts with a special sense of wonder that truly caused us to get a better understanding of how unique of a place this Park is. Here with just our footsteps and the occasional conversation between us, we could get lost amongst the trees. There was no having to duck out of someone else’s camera shot, or countless discussions to overhear – this was simply an ancient old growth forest filled with whispering Goliaths beckoning you deeper. It was here that we found another felled Sequoia, though this one had been mostly hallowed out over the decades by nature allowing one to walk through it and peer out and up at the surrounding forest. Truly a unique view of the world that I find myself thinking back on often.
The Giants Now Walk With You
Leaving Grants Grove, we found ourselves making a final stop as the Forest ended and we could gaze off to the next adventure: Kings Canyon (which I cover here). Here overlooking the massive canyon beyond the forest’s borders, it’s hard not to feel the pull back into the Sequoias embrace. It is as though once amongst their lands, you feel as though you are forever protected against the outside world’s hustle and bustle. No agendas, schedules, or stresses reside in those groves – just a slow down of time, of life, of everything. There amongst the giants, you know for certain that you are just a small part of the overall web of life on this planet – yet instead of feeling insignificant, you feel charged with a responsibility to ensure that such places are protected forevermore.
While it’s been many years since I’ve been amongst the Sequoias, there is a rarely a day that goes by that they are not amongst me.
More thoughts on my time in and after Sequoia: