Travel Post: Sequoia National Park 2020

 On February 8th, 2020, Jeremy and I woke up early in the morning ready to head out to Sequoia National Park. My parents and my sister Katy were also joining in on this adventure.

We had originally planned on leaving in the wee hours of the morning, but I don't believe we ended up leaving until 8:00am due to various reasons. Jeremy and I were quite antsy to leave, and were excited for the road trip ahead.

The journey from Campbell, California to the park took us over four hours. My parents were in the front seats, and Katy, Jeremy, and I crammed into the back. I took the middle, as I had previously promised.

I ended up being the car DJ and played my "Wedding Playlist" for everyone that I have saved on my Alexa app. It has a little something for everyone, and it ended up being quite the car-karaoke filled trip.

We got to the park in the early afternoon, so the sun was quite fierce. We got to the park entrance gate, and my parents purchased the America the Beautiful pass as Jeremy's and my Christmas present. The pass allows you to have free admission to any National Park for one year. 

If you plan on visiting more than one National Park within a year, I highly recommend getting the America the Beautiful pass. It only costs $80.00 which is usually about the same or cheaper than two admission fees into different parks. For example, the admission fee into Sequoia National Park costs $35 for a vehicle, and is the same for Yosemite National Park. We were just on vacation, and happened to go to two national parks. For $10 more, the annual pass is well worth it. 

Jeremy and I live relatively close to Rocky Mountain National Park where I plan on adventuring a few times this year. Let's say I go three times over the course of the next year. A vehicle day pass at RMNP is $25, which means that would be $75 spent in admission fees alone. Jeremy and I are also going to Yellowstone for my birthday in June. Yellowstone's admission fee is $25.

So, basically, instead of spending $170 this year on national park passes, the America the Beautiful pass is just $80. Get one! It's worth it if you plan on visiting the parks.

Okay, I'm done trying to sell you on that point :P I just love my pass!

The family kept joking that I wanted to stop and take photographs so much that we wouldn't even be able to get through Sequoia National Park in one day. Sort of true. Since I had been there before, I was a little less adamant on stopping for pictures than I was my first trip there back in 2017.

Jeremy, Katy, and I all got out to check out this giant "Tunnel Rock". I personally enjoy Katy's "Captain Morgan" pose.

We found a dirt path off to the side that took us to the top of the Tunnel Rock. We were able to climb up on top of it. The rock is actually quite steep, and there are signs warning you of climbing up on top of Tunnel Rock, so we didn't climb too far up. 

​Katy was the bravest of the three of us, perching up on the hump of the rock. Jeremy and I stayed by the slab on the side, which made for a perfect foot rest.

Sequoia National Park is a beautiful drive, even before you get to the famous Sequoia trees. I highly recommend soaking in the view. Plus, a lot of people don't know that Sequoia National Park is also home to the tallest mountain in North America - Mount Whitney! That is on the completely opposite side of the park from the trees, so we did not go and visit the mountain. Maybe next time! PS - the mountain in the above photo is NOT of Mount Whitney. I believe it is Mount Eisen - I could be wrong! If anyone knows what the snow-capped mountain is in this image, please feel free to comment!

The rock formation in the foreground is known as "Castle Rocks"... naturally.

The trees above are other Giant Sequoias, and it's interesting how some grow so close together - almost like that group of trees is a triplet!

We had to drive relatively quickly through the park to get to General Sherman, which is off by itself. A lot of people think it is grouped with the rest of "Congress" over by General Grant, but Sherman stands off by itself.

Are you wondering why General Sherman is off by itself and why people go to see it? Mistakenly, people believe it is the "biggest tree" on Earth - which is true to an extent. It is actually the largest known single-stem tree by volume. Believe it or not, it is not the tallest tree, and it is not the widest tree! I have included a list below with the record-holding Sequoias.

The image on the left is of this adorable older couple that was visiting the tree together. I had taken their photo on their phone, but I love this image I took on my camera of them gazing up at General Sherman.

He is quite massive, but he's not the only tree "standing tall" in the forest. Ha, sorry.

Largest Tree by Volume in the World

General Sherman
Located in Sequoia National Park. His total volume is 1,486.9 cubic meters, or 52,508 cubic feet!

Largest Sequoia Tree by Circumference

Boole
Located in Converse Basin Grove in the Giant Sequoia National Monument outside of King's Canyon National Park. This tree is 34.4 meters around, or 113 feet!

Tallest Sequoia Tree

Diamond
Located in Atwell Mill Grove, outside of Sequoia National Park. She stands at 87.2 meters, or 286 feet tall!

Oldest Sequoia (Non-Living)

Muir Snag
Located in Converse Basin Grove in the Giant Sequoia National Monument outside of King's Canyon National Park. This tree has been standing for more than 3,500 years!

Oldest Known Sequoia (Living)

President
Located in Sequoia National Forest. This tree is approximately 3,200 years old!

Number of Sequoia Groves

There are 65 named Sequoia Groves in the world.

The tree shown to the right is none of the trees listed in the fun facts - it is a younger Giant Sequoia growing near Grant Grove!

The tree above with the sun shining next to it and the one on the left directly above this sentence are both images of General Grant.

In the Grant Grove loop, there is this fallen tree called the Fallen Monarch. The tree was hollowed out by a fire more than 300 years ago before toppling over. The fallen tree served as shelter to cattlemen who later built a cabin very close by, a saloon, and a horse stable! Now it is a tourist attraction that one can walk through. The right image above shows Jeremy standing in front of one end of the Fallen Monarch.

When the family, Jeremy, and I were there, it was beginning to get dark, so it was very black inside the tree. I don't believe I would have noticed this heart shape hole on the top curvature of the fallen tree if it wasn't for the setting sun shining through it.

The following image after shows the other end of the Fallen Monarch.

The two trees above are more of the Giant Sequoias, and the one below is another image of General Grant. You can tell by the one significant branch that reaches out towards the sun in the image below. 

Earlier I had mentioned that there were cattlemen who lived in the Fallen monarch who later built a cabin close by. The two men were Israel and Thomas Gamlin, and the cabin is respectively known as the Gamlin Pioneer Cabin.

My mom has a picture of her with each of her kids inside this cabin. Dan and Katy were both little when she got pictures with them, while Jaqi and I were adults when she got pictures with us. Mom was able to get an updated picture of her and Katy on this trip, and I was able to get one of Jeremy and I. It makes for a fun photo story within our family!

​I now have pictures of mom and I, dad and I, and Jeremy and I in this cabin together.

The sun was almost gone when Jeremy and I finished walking the Grant loop. We went back to the Fallen Monarch, and I got this photo to demonstrate how smooth her bark has gotten over the years. 

She really is remarkable.

Please note that there are three famous trees known as the "Fallen Monarch". One is very close by in Yosemite National Park in Mariposa Grove, with the other also nearby in Nelder Grove in the Sierra National Forest.

Jeremy and I had finished walking the Grant Loop before my parents and Katy were finished, and we went and admired some more trees surrounding the parking lot.

​There was another set of "triplet" trees right at the end of the lot, so naturally I decided we needed some selfies in front of them. To demonstrate the trees' sizes, I also took a photograph of Jeremy walking towards the trees. Look at how small he looks, and he's closer to the camera than the trees are! Truly incredible.

After the family reunited at the car, we set out to drive the additional four hours to Yosemite National Park. We ended up booking a room at Yosemite View Lodge right outside of the park, and I can confirm that I slept very well that night after all of the adventuring!