Grant Grove - Kings Canyon National Park

Sonora, CA, Library

 

 

    The dam across the Kings River as seen from Elwood Road not too far from Phiedra. [Click once to enlarge; press ESC to return here.]

 

 

 

 

 

    The road along the north shore of Pine Flat Lake/Reservoir.

 

 

 

 

 

    From CA180, the northern entrance road to Kings Canyon National Park, a photo of the country to the south of Squaw Valley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A sequoia (sequoia giganteum) near the entrance to the Grant Grove Trail. [Photos taken 20 Oct.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Because of their thick bark and very resinous wood, sequoias are rarely, if ever, killed by a forest fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    While a tree this size may cause some timber fallers to "salivate," Sequoias, likely because of their weight, tend to shatter when they hit the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    I eschewed a walk through the "Tunnel Tree."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    [Click once to enlarge; press ESC to return here.] The General Grant tree is 268 ft tall and 40 feet wide -- at an age of 1700 years; it is the 3rd largest sequoia (by volume) in the 17 or so groves in the Sierra Nevada.

 

 

 

 

 

    The base of the General Grant Sequoia, which was so-named in 1867. Kings Canyon became the third national park after Yellowstone and Sequoia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Looking upward....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    [Click once to enlarge; press ESC to return here.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

    "Silent Cal," President Calvin Coolidge, spoke up in 1926, naming the General Grant Tree the Nation's Christmas Tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    With a diameter of 40 feet the General Grant Tree is the widest sequoia in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    One of the branches of this sequoia is reputed to have a diameter of 4.5 feet, which is about the size of a large red fir tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    General U.S. Grant smoked cigars; so it's fitting that his tree has a fire scar. :-)> And...no...the fire was not extinguished with several barrels of whiskey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A side view of the Gen. Grant Sequoia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    The Gamlin Cabin -- at one time spartan quarters for the park's first ranger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    If necessary, click once to enlarge.
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Links:

• Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park website
• Wikipedia article on the General Grant Grove
• Yelp.Com reviews of the park

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F 2 Nov Actual Route: N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Sonora Lib - Standard - Tuolumne - N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd

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Th 8 Nov Actual Route: N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Sonora Lib - Sonora Walmart bd
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Finding Campgrounds:

• RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
• Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
• Free campsites website
• Info on finding BLM Campgrounds

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

Smith Station Meadow to Cherry Valley, CA

Sonora Library, CA

 

 

    Smith Station Meadow, where one heads to the left to Greeley Hill and Coulterville and to the right to the Crane Flat/Big Oak Flat Entrance to Yosemite.

 

 

 

 

    Panning up and to the right from near the top of Smith Peak but below the USFS lookout, the gorge of the main fork of the Tuolumne River after it leaves Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.

 

 

 

 

 

    From the Cherry Valley Road, a view of Yosemite's north-western granite mountains.

 

 

 

 

 

    The main fork of the Tuolumne River at a fairly low level given the light winter snow and precipitation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A photo of the Tuolumne River from a break in the trees along a powerline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Zooming in....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A rather docile-looking Tuolumne River -- perhaps because of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir upstream.

 

 

 

 

 

    The Kirkwood Powerhouse, part of San Francisco's Hetch Hetchy project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A shot of the Cherry Valley Dam and Lake Lloyd, which most call Cherry Lake. It is also part of the Hetch Hetchy Project.

 

 

 

 

 

    A shot from the dam, where "No Parking" is allowed. [My truck was idling in Neutral.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A view from the middle of the dam to the far end of the lake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Panning left from the photo above, which gives one some idea of the size of Cherry Lake/Reservoir.

 

 

 

 

 

    Panning farther left we see a point where I believe the campground is located. While the campground is listed as being open until the end of October, it was closed for repairs.

 

 

 

 

    And to the left again; believe there is a boat-launching ramp somewhere in this cove.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A shot along the road on the top of the dam; to the rear is the road to Kibbie Ridge and trailheads to Lake Eleanor, Kibbie Lake, and the Emigrant Wilderness.

 

 

 

    On my many backpack trips from Kibbie Ridge, I often stoppped to see if there were any rises on Cherry Creek below the dam. Not only don't recall every seeing any, but there never seemed to be many fishermen trying their luck.
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Links:

• Wikipedia article on Hetch Hetchy
• Website on San Francisco's Measure F, draining Hetch Hetchy

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Su 28 Oct Actual Route: N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Tuolumne - N.F. Tuolumne River bd

M 29 Oct Actual Route: N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Tuolumne - Mono Vista - N.F. Tuolumne River bd

T 30 Oct Actual Route: N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Sonora Library - Modesto Resv CG

W 31 Oct Actual Route: Modesto Resv CG - Waterford - Oakdale - Tuolumne Lib - N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd

Th 1 Nov Actual Route: N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Sonora Lib - Tuolumne - N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd

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Sa 3 Nov Route: N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Sonora Lib - Tuolumne - N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd
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Finding Campgrounds:

• RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
• Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
• Free campsites website
• Info on finding BLM Campgrounds

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

Saddlebag Lake & Yosemite National Park

Sonora Library, CA
[Two Links to my previous visits to Yosemite in 2011 have been added below]

 

 

    Mono Lake (elev: 6372') and Paoha Island as seen from US395 just south of LeeVining.

 

 

 

 

 

    LeeVining Canyon with the sun already below the crest of the Sierra Nevada but shining on clouds above and to the west side of the crest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Excelsior Mtn (12,442') to the NNW of Saddlebag Lake.

 

 

 

 

    In the distance, the U.S. version of one of Europe's most famous mountains: the Matterhorn. California's Matterhorn Peak has an elevation of 12,264 ft.
    Saddlebag Lake is the highest drive-to lake in California at 10,087 feet. Note that some fishermen nearly back into it.

 

 

 

 

 

    Zooming in one can see why the Matterhorn is aptly-named -- it has the same sort of outcropping on one of its triangular sides as the original in the Alps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Panning right, a view to the far end of Saddlebag Lake, which is man-made.

 

 

 

 

 

    Note the trail around the lake. While I walked to the spot from which this photo was taken in my Cabelas Walk-Mor oxfords, the soles weren't quite thick enough when I stepped on a sharp rock; wear boots if you decide to circumnavigate the lake.

 

 

 

 

 

    Am not certain if the snowfields near Excelsior Mtn remain all year or not. In other words, are there glaciers near that peak?

 

 

 

 

 

    Panning left, note a couple more snowfields which are still around after a dry-than-normal winter.

 

 

 

 

 

    Panning left, a meadow along the creek which drains Excelsior Mtn and off of which the creek dammed to make Saddelbag Lake branches.

 

 

 

 

 

    A photo of Mt Dana (13,063'), which is on the south side of LeeVining Creek and is the nearest peak to Tioga Pass, the highest pass over the Range of Light at 9,945 feet.

 

 

 

 

 

    The most notable rock in Yosemite: Half Dome (8,836'), as seen from Olmstead Point.

 

 

 

 

 

    Looking to the east along the Tioga Pass Road, Tenaya Lake (8,100').

 

 

 

 

 

    [Click once to enlarge; press ESC to return here.] A plaque which explains the process of opening the Tioga Pass Road each year (which, in more recent years, is a good indicator of the size of the Sierra snowpack and, hence, the amount of runoff to expect in streams and rivers draining the area).

 

 

 

 

    A good example of glacial-smoothing!

 

 

 

 

 

    The granite mountains in the right half of this photo were "worked over" by one or more glaciers; however, the mountain on the left seems to have excaped partially from becoming "a Smoothie."
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Links:

• 23 Apr 2011 post on Yosemite Natl Park
• 1 Nov 2011 post on drive from Big Oak Flat to Wawona
• Saddlebag Lake Resort website
• TrailPeak website for Saddlebag 20 Lakes Basin
• Wikipedia article on the Matterhorn in Europe's Alps

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Su 28 Oct Actual Route: N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Tuolumne - N.F. Tuolumne River bd

M 29 Oct Actual Route: N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Tuolumne - Mono Vista - N.F. Tuolumne River bd

T 30 Oct Actual Route: N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Sonora Library - Modesto Resv CG

W 31 Oct Actual Route: Modesto Resv CG - Waterford - Oakdale - Tuolumne Lib - N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd

Th 1 Nov Actual Route: N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Sonora Lib - Tuolumne - N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd

F 2 Nov Route: N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Sonora Lib - Standard - Tuolumne - N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd
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Finding Campgrounds:

• RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
• Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
• Free campsites website
• Info on finding BLM Campgrounds

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.