Sequoia National Park Pt. 1

During my second night in Visalia, Ca, I was told I couldn't camp in the Walmart parking lot by a very nice security guy. He did inform me that I could camp in the northern parking lot though. So, I moved and it all worked out. But I feel like being asked to leave a spot during the night is a right of passage in the vanlife community, so I've reached a milestone!

The next day I made my way to Sequoia National Park. Right outside of Visalia and through Lemon Cove, Ca I drove past a huge orange grove or multiple of them, and it smelt amazing! The air was so flowery and fragrant with the spring bloom. The trees looked beautiful and green lined up in rows over the rolling hills.

Once I got to Three Rivers, Ca the hills turned into pine-covered foothills and winding roads. After a little ways up into the mountains, I entered the park.

It looked different than I thought it would. The mountains were green and colorful and I wasn't greeted by the giant sequoias yet. But as I made my way up and up, along a rushing river and through grass-covered hills, I came upon the Giant Forest. On my first sighting of the towering sequoia trees, I couldn't help but say "holy sh*t." It's baffling how large these trees really are.

I stopped at the Giant Forest Museum and started my hikes of the day from there. I did the Big Trees Trail and it was very cool to see so many of these giants around a meadow. It was very interesting to learn that their roots can be as shallow as 3 ft into the ground. The roots spread out very far in every direction and that's how they support themselves. There weren't any trees in the meadow and that's because the ground would be too soft to hold them up, but they're around it because they use it as their water source since so much snowmelt pools there. I also learned that forest fires aren't necessarily bad for these trees. Fire helps release the sequoia seeds that then fall on the fertilized ashen ground. They don't have as much competition for sunlight and water since the fire likely took out other plant life in the area. Sequoias have a thick, nonflammable bark that protects them from fire. It was also crazy to see the sequoias that were laying on the ground too. They reminded me of beached whales; just impossibly large and long.

I did the short 1-mile loop and then went back to my van to have some lunch. I then wanted to do the Moro Rock hike and see the Crescent Meadow Dr area. The road was closed to that area so I had to hike all the way in, which is just under 2 miles. I did the quick Hanging Rock overlook and it was a really nice view of the canyon I had driven through. It was really beautiful. From that small part of the hike, I could see Moro Rock in all its glory. It's literally a gigantic rock formation thing on the edge of a cliff. I made my way over to that part of the hike and that's when I could see the long staircase that brought you to the top of the rock. I started going up the narrow and twisting steps. There was an epic view of the southern Sierra Nevadas to the left the whole way. Once I got to the top it was a 360-degree view and it was absolutely stunning! The canyon was lush and the far-off mountains held the classic fog over them. Snow-capped mountains stretched across half of the view while sloping green hills made up the other side. It's probably one of the highlights of my trip so far. I really loved experiencing that view.

After some pictures and marveling, I headed back down and walked towards the Tunnel Log. I passed some more amazing sequoias and had fun taking pictures and videos. It was cool to see the tunnel but a bit of a different experience since I couldn't see anyone drive under it. I headed back for my van and wanted to hike the Tokopah Falls but didn't realize that area of the park was closed. So I headed for my camping spot for the night, which was in the Sequoia National Forest since the national forest also goes up in between Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park. There weren't a lot of places to camp so I'm glad I got there when I did. I hung out for the evening and made plans to see General Sherman tree the next day and some of Kings Canyon too.