California 2017 - Day 7 - Sequoia National Park
Friday
Route
The day started at the Lodgepole visitor centre where we bought our tickets for the Crystal Cave tour, we opted for the last tour of the day to allow plenty of time to visit some tall trees and a big rock and yet we only just made it in time.
Last year ago we did a Tall Trees trail in Dunster which boasted the tallest tree in the UK and compared it to the largest tree in the world - The General Sherman, who would believe we would be visiting this tree today!
So, here is the tallest tree in England...
And here is the largest tree in the world...
Actually it is not the tallest tree, which we visited yesterday, but the biggest by mass, a fire scar means it is no longer increasing in height but it's girth increases each year.
After a while you become used to these giant trees, they are literally round every corner!
Next we drove to Moro Rock a dome of granite which was formed by a volcano. From the vantage point at the top the watershed of two valleys can be seen, well worth the 400 step climb! Amazing views of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
We ate our picnic lunch in the Crescent Meadow which has a few broad-leaf trees, in spring there is a carpet of Alpine flowers. Of course there were plenty of sequoias too including the Chimney Tree which we could stand inside!
We also drove through a tree which fell down in 1937, blocking the road and now made into a tree tunnel.
Further down the mountain we arrived via a 20 minute white knuckle ride at the parking lot for Crystal Cave. Our food needed to be stored in a bear box and we were instructed on our pre-tour talk to lookout for rattle snakes, avoid the poison oak and not to stop in the rock fall areas.
Colin volunteered to be the back stop man so that he could take the best photos until he was handed a torch to signal to the group leader we were all together - hmmm I got that job, thanks Col - we ended up following a Chinese couple who clearly had not understood that baby carriers were not allowed in the cave and wanted to stop and breast feed the baby in the cave! The cave was actually very beautiful with glistening crystals and huge stalactites.
Another fun packed day in the Sequoia National Park.
Route
The day started at the Lodgepole visitor centre where we bought our tickets for the Crystal Cave tour, we opted for the last tour of the day to allow plenty of time to visit some tall trees and a big rock and yet we only just made it in time.
Last year ago we did a Tall Trees trail in Dunster which boasted the tallest tree in the UK and compared it to the largest tree in the world - The General Sherman, who would believe we would be visiting this tree today!
So, here is the tallest tree in England...
And here is the largest tree in the world...
Actually it is not the tallest tree, which we visited yesterday, but the biggest by mass, a fire scar means it is no longer increasing in height but it's girth increases each year.
After a while you become used to these giant trees, they are literally round every corner!
Next we drove to Moro Rock a dome of granite which was formed by a volcano. From the vantage point at the top the watershed of two valleys can be seen, well worth the 400 step climb! Amazing views of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
We ate our picnic lunch in the Crescent Meadow which has a few broad-leaf trees, in spring there is a carpet of Alpine flowers. Of course there were plenty of sequoias too including the Chimney Tree which we could stand inside!
We also drove through a tree which fell down in 1937, blocking the road and now made into a tree tunnel.
Further down the mountain we arrived via a 20 minute white knuckle ride at the parking lot for Crystal Cave. Our food needed to be stored in a bear box and we were instructed on our pre-tour talk to lookout for rattle snakes, avoid the poison oak and not to stop in the rock fall areas.
Colin volunteered to be the back stop man so that he could take the best photos until he was handed a torch to signal to the group leader we were all together - hmmm I got that job, thanks Col - we ended up following a Chinese couple who clearly had not understood that baby carriers were not allowed in the cave and wanted to stop and breast feed the baby in the cave! The cave was actually very beautiful with glistening crystals and huge stalactites.
Another fun packed day in the Sequoia National Park.
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