California National Parks of the Sierras - Trip Report - Day 4
Day 4 - Saturday 6/23 – Trees, Meadows and Moro Rock
I was awake early again, but we are in no rush this morning. The plan is breakfast at 7:00, then we’ll stop at Lodgepole for snacks before heading to the Giant Grove for some hiking, with the focus on Crescent Meadow, then we’ll head up Moro Rock this afternoon.
I went out at 6:30 for a walk along the paved trails. Another beautiful morning. I saw a mule deer, several ground squirrels and several birds, including a Stellar’s Jay (such a beautiful blue). The birds were singing; it was a treat to hear their songs without the background noise of planes and trucks. I tried recording the sounds of the morning; turning the volume up a bit might help.
I met Lynn at the lodge at 7:00 for breakfast. We also saw Greg (the guy we met at Crystal Cave) and said our goodbyes, as they were heading off to visit family before heading to Yosemite.
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We were on the road at 8:15 and at the Crescent Meadow at 8:45 (we skipped the stop at Lodgepole). We did sort of a stream-of-consciousness route around Crescent and Log Meadows with a couple detours, including walking up to the Eagles View overlook on the High Sierra Trail. We missed the sign for the view point so we just kept hiking and enjoying the views for an additional half mile or so, before turning around. We met a Ranger on the trail, a young lady with the last name of Clark, who told us the sign for Eagles View is really easy to miss as it is blocked by the rocks on the outbound hike. Still a nice walk as we saw a variety of wildflowers and a few lizards in addition to the views.
Once back at the Meadow trail, we took the high road along the Sequoia Trail, checked out the Tharp log and the Squatter’s Cabin and continued our tour along the edge of the meadows. We were hoping for an animal sighting, specifically bear, but no luck. Just little critters in the area today. But that’s OK, it was still a lovely hike with a lot of great scenery and some history of the area thrown in. Tharp’s log was quite an ingenious use of a downed Sequoia as a cabin. The window had a shutter complete with horseshoe hinges; pretty cool. Between the meadows, forest and the detour to Eagles View, we had quite a smorgasbord in terms of scenery. Overall, a very nice hike. We were back at the car about noon.
Here’s a little more detail of this hike on EveryTrail. BTW, I used the EveryTrail app for Android on my phone to track the route we took on this and the other hikes. Seems pretty accurate, but I think the elevation was offset a few hundred feet. The more I play with EveryTrail, the more I like it, but I am still in the learning process. I also posted a review of the hike on Trip Advisor.
As we exited the road from the trailhead, I noticed that the “Road Closed” sign was posted. Turns out that the road is closed to private vehicles on weekends between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM, so we made it in just under the wire this morning.
We stopped at the Giant Tree Museum; nothing spectacular, well, except for the Sentinel Tree standing in the front yard which was very impressive! Since we were there about midday, the parking lot was full, so we ended up in the overflow lot and had to take the 0.3 mile trail to the museum past Beetle Rock. The views from Beetle Rock were certainly worth the walk; if we had not been in the overflow lot, we probably would have missed it. Regardless of where you park, take the trail over to Beetle Rock as the views are worth the short walk.
We headed back to Wuksachi for lunch and a break. We ended up eating in the lodge dining room. Not crowded at all at 1:00. I had the shrimp and corn chowder and the steak quesadilla (yeah, it was a repeat of Thursday night dinner, but it was good then, so why not!). Lynn had the grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup combo and gave it high marks. We spent the rest of afternoon relaxing. I caught up on my journal and reviewing photos.
A few observations:
- The Sequoias are amazing, simply colossal; truly wonders of the nature world. Just to think that some of them have been alive since the Pharaohs had been in power.
- Just as amazing as the natural wonders are the main-made marvels in the parks; the trails and roads to get to the natural wonders are engineering feats of unbelievable proportions. And they were built in the 20s and 30s with strong backs and shovels!
- The weather has been great this week. Dry, low humidity, clear skies with high temperatures in the mid 60s. Basically perfect.
- Light crowds in Sequoia. Next to no one on the trails this morning. A little crowded in the “touristy” places, like around General Sherman, but not elsewhere.
We hung out at the lodge, first on the porch then in the main hall, during the afternoon. At 4:00 we reloaded and headed to Moro Rock. We passed the Giant Forest Museum at 4:20 and the road was reopened. There was plenty of parking at the trailhead when we arrived, so our timing was pretty good. There was also a very long line of folks waiting for the shuttle bus back to the museum.
The climb up Moro Rock is really pretty easy. About 400 stairs to cover the 0.3 miles to the summit and it is a constant uphill climb. However, the trail is very tight in spots; one-way traffic in many places, so a little patience and common courtesy are in order. We did encounter a few rude hikers who were above waiting their turn, two young women with “all about me” attitudes went around us as we were waiting at one tight spot; their impatience caused a minor traffic snarl. It was also a bit crowded at the top and again there was some rudeness on display with folks pushing through to get views and photos. But those were very minor issues compared to the vistas! The views of the western divide were awesome and the late afternoon light was ideal. Looking west was not as good due to the smoke and haze, but there were still good views.
The stairs along the Moro Rock trail are in good shape and well spaced. It is a constant uphill hike, but not crazy steep (we’ll get to crazy steep in Yosemite!).
After coming down from Moro Rock we crossed the road and headed up the hill to the Roosevelt Tree. A bit of a steep climb on a dirt trail, but a short distance to the tree. However, we ran out of time for the hike to Hanging Rock (something for the next trip). There is a little more detail about the hike up Moro Rock in my TA review or the EveryTrail summary.
We were back at Wuksachi in time to unload our gear before heading to dinner. Saw another Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel on the way to the dining hall. We each had a flatbread pizza then split a crème brulee cheesecake (if you have not noticed a trend yet, just keep reading). A very good meal. DNC is doing a great job with the food and lodging at Wuksachi.
After dinner we took a walk along the paved trails through the grounds. We saw a few quail in the underbrush as well as a mule deer browsing right next to the trail. I went back out at 9:20 to check the stars, but the moon was out and throwing just enough light to disrupt the view of the stars. Still pretty, but not the dark night needed to really see the deep into the star field. So, I went back inside and watched “the Outlaw Josey Wales.” Wow, great day of hiking, excellent dinner with good beer, and a Clint Eastwood movie…did we hit the lottery or what!
Here’s the photo highlights from today.
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Return to:
California 2012 Trip Report Intro Page.
We went there in... 2012.
Travel Timeline.
Trip Report list.
Return to:
California 2012 Trip Report Intro Page.
We went there in... 2012.
Travel Timeline.
Trip Report list.