Tom's National Park Adventure

When I planned this trip out, today was supposed to be an easy drive and then I would have the rest of the day to go check out these really monster trees. Well……… one can only control so many things. A freak hurricane that dumps more than a years worth of normal rainfall in just a day or two is not ……I repeat NOT a controllable event!

The very manageable drive that I had originally planned turned into an all day log marathon. I started this morning around 3:45AM. I got to my final camping spot just a little after 6:00PM. That is a very long day.

I did however make it to my original planned camping spot around 2:00PM this afternoon.

While driving there I discovered that a huge part of the Sequoia National Forest burned up about three years ago. This little campground was somewhat saved.

After talking to the campground host, I discovered that the campground was about five hours or so from the Fresno Airport. This wouldn’t do!

I have been holding on to a little secret. When I originally put out to my friends and family that I was going to do this trip, I also threw out the option for anyone who wanted, to meet me and go along for a bit. Much to my surprise…..Someone actually took me up on the idea and is flying into the Fresno Airport tomorrow morning! I will pick him up and we are heading to Yosemite for three days and nights. I will take him back to the airport and then resume my trip.

I’d like to thank Jeff Primm for doing this. It is no little act to fly all the way out here just to hang with me for a few days. I’m really looking forward to the company. It is really appreciated.

As long as I am handing out shout outs, I have one more person to thank. Ross McClain has been monitoring my progress on the spot tracker from day one! He will often send me a text to inquire why the hell I am going the way I am! Ross was very helpful today. He was checking out which roads had been closed and where they had been closed. Much easier for him to do this at his computer, than it was for me to try to do while I was going down the highway. Ross also found the campground I currently am staying at this evening. It is just about 20 minutes from the airport, so I will be able to sleep in a bit tomorrow morning. Thanks again Mr McClain!

After leaving campground #1, I headed to Kings Canyon National Park to go to the visitors center and get my stamp in the passport. I technically didn’t go into Sequoia National Park today, but I was in the Sequoia National Forest and the Sequoia National monument area, so I’m counting it as one of my stops for the trip. I drove around so many switchbacks today I couldn’t even keep count! I did however finally arrive at the Visitors center around 4:30PM. This gave me just enough time to look around a little and get some pictures of some really big trees!

The biggest tree I saw today is called “The General Grant Tree”. The General Grant is 268 feet tall, 40 feet wide and is only 700 years old!

I didn’t have enough time to do my normal routine. I kinda had to scoot through some areas and get the heck out of dodge so I could set up camp for the evening before it got too dark. Here are some of the pictures I got.

On the drive down highway 180 down the mountain, off in the valley there were two guys on parachutes riding the thermals up the sides of the mountain. The highest point was somewhere above 7000 feet. It was just so strange to look out the window to see a parachute below you in the sky! I wonder if they jumped out of a plane or they BASE jumped off of some high point in the mountain.

More tomorrow!