A Very British Trip Report - California 2005 - Day 3


Day 3 - Friday 5th August

Me: Kev, 47.
Wife: Tam, 41.
Daughter: India, 14.
Daughter: Georgia, 11.

If you'd like to know more take a look at
http://freespace.virgin.net/kevin.stringer.index.htm

Considering the 8 hour time difference Tam and I do well to get about
5 hours sleep. We both wake up at 2.30am! We then doze on and off
before getting up at 5.00am along with the girls.

We all have showers and organise the suitcases before going for
breakfast in the lobby of the hotel. It's continental style, but very
good. There is a choice of cereals along with toast, pastries and
fruit. Tam tries the maple and brown sugar oatmeal and immediately
proclaims it 'gorgeous'. Her exclamation of pleasure goes clear off
the scale with the banana bread oatmeal.

Suitably sustained we pack up the car and head north on the 405. The
preferred choice of CD to start off this morning's entertainment is
Rock Monsters, a compilation of great rock music from the past 30
years. The ladies decide that head banging is not suitable and decide
to do the Degu Dance. For the poor souls ignorant in the ways of the
Degu, it is a small Chilean rodent not dissimilar to a squirrel
crossed with a hamster. Georgia has a couple as pets and, apart from
attempting to nibble their way through any piece of furniture laid in
their path, are entertaining little devils.
Anyway, this dance appears to consist of raising your hands in front
of you in a squirrel like manner and bobbing your head back and
forward. Not a pleasant sight for the poor unsuspecting American
motorist making his way to work as he catches a glimpse of 3 deranged
females in a Chrysler 300 acting as though the local home for the
mentally unstable is having it's annual outing. One or two of them
glance my way and shake their heads in a sympathetic manner.

As we approach the Sequoia National Park the landscape changes and
becomes hillier with increasing vegetation.
At 9.15am we pay our $10 fee and enter the park. The first stop is
just inside the entrance to see a river tumbling down from the
mountains. This is just a taster of things to come.

Once inside the park the road becomes incredibly winding and we spend
most of the time below 30mph. This isn't a problem; in fact it's a
good thing as it encourages you to take your time as you meander ever
upward through the mountains.
Amphitheatre Point is next. So called because it gives a 180-degree
view of mountains and deep valleys. We are already gobsmacked. You can
see Moro Rock from here. This is a completely bare granite outcrop
stuck on top of a mountain. From here we can't work out how anyone
could possibly reach the top as it stands 6,725 feet tall. I guess
we'll find, out we're going there soon.

We enter the Giant Sequoia Forest, which needs no explanation from me.
You get a bit blasé about it all after a while.
'Look! That's a huge one'.
'No, that one's hugerer'.
'That one's the hugerist'.
We arrive at the base of Moro Rock and begin the trek to the top. It
involves a lot of steps and some fairly low handrails protecting you
from a certain and rather messy death. India and Tam are not keen on
heights and pin themselves to the wall of the rock like leeches.
Georgia and I raise our eyebrows and continue with the serious
business of getting to the top. Believe me, it's worth the pain. At
the top of Moro Rock you get a 360 degree uninterrupted view of
mountains and canyons that is simply beautiful.
We spend a while up here trying to commit the views to memory. Hey, we
don't need to do that. We've got digital cameras and camcorders.
The trek down is easier than the trek up.

Back to the car where we have the obligatory photo at Tunnel Log where
you can drive through a felled Giant Sequoia.

This is turning into a bit of a travelogue, but the next stop is
Crescent Meadow where the huge trees give way to a meadow filled with
grasses and white flowers. Beautiful as it is, I can imagine it must
be even more wonderful in the spring.

On the road again until we reach the General Sherman Tree, the single
largest living thing on earth. Big doesn't start to describe it. The
girth and length are amazing. (Words that are not new to my ears). The
base of the trunk is vast and it continues in the same vein as you
slowly move your eyes up until your head is as far back as it will go.
Falling over backward at this point is considered uncool.
This monster is somewhere between 2,300 and 2,700 years old. Now, that
is a mean tree.

It's getting towards lunchtime now so we stop in Lodgepole to pick up
some rolls, ham, cheese etc. to make our lunch while stopped in a
picnic area. Things don't go quite to plan as it starts to rain quite
hard and we have to sit in the car and eat. Not elegant, but it serves
it's purpose.

A few more miles down the road and we begin the descent into Kings
Canyon. I don't know if I can adequately describe this. The road winds
backward and forward getting increasingly twisty as you travel
downward for 8 miles. Every mile seems to produce an even more
stunning vista as the sheer face cliffs tower above you.

I comment to Tam that the only thing that has been scarce today is
water. Not much in the way of the old rivers. Lo and behold we turn a
corner and there is the mighty Kings River cascading over rocks before
our very eyes. Nature 1, Stringer 0.

The road continues along the bank of the river for several miles until
we pull in to look at Grizzly Falls. Now we had read that the best
time to see waterfalls is in the spring and that by summer there is
nothing much left but a trickle. If this is a trickle then I don't
want to be near a raging torrent! It's spectacular enough as it is.

We are staying the next two nights at the Cedar Grove Lodge and we
book in at 3.00pm. There is not much in the way of accommodation in
the floor of the canyon unless you are prepared to camp. Perhaps this
is a good thing, high-rise hotels would definitely be out of place.
>From the outside the lodge is ok, rustic in a Wilderness Lodge sort of
way. Inside the rooms are somewhat basic. Clean, but showing their age
a little. There is no telephone and (gasp!) no TV. There is much
wailing and gnashing of teeth and a mutiny looks on the cards. It is
only the fact that I raise myself to my full height, put on my
strictest voice and say 'Please don't be upset, it' not my fault' that
a catastrophe is averted.

No time for relaxing, we are on the move again, this time to Roaring
River Falls. This is a different type of waterfall to Grizzly Falls,
broader but not so high. It's still lovely though.
Zumwalt Meadows is next. The river running alongside is more
spectacular than the meadow, which is probably suffering a little in
the heat.

By the way, the rain stopped long ago. It's a little overcast, but
still hot, in the low 90's.
Our final stop before returning to the lodge is at Roads End. As the
name suggests the trip into Kings Canyon is one way and this is the
end. We park and walk the few yards to the river, which is much
gentler and broader at this point. Here we stand atop John Muir Rock,
named after the famous naturalist and environmentalist who did so much
to help preserve this amazing part of the world.
Some hardy souls have been jumping into the river from here. We prefer
the gentler pursuits of paddling in the shallows. My lord that waters
cold. If the General Sherman Tree had fancied taking a dip in this
water it's girth and length would have been drastically reduced, I can
tell you. This place is another incredibly beautiful and quiet spot.

Back to Cedar Grove Lodge at 6.00pm. We have covered 220 miles today,
much of it on very slow and winding roads, but I wouldn't have missed
a minute of it.

3 beers are despatched while I work on my trip report. Thirsty work
all that driving. The girls entertain themselves listening to their
portable CD's and playing cards while Tam lies comatose on the bed.
In the evening we eat in the café in the Lodge. This is partly due to
the fact that I've had 3 beers and partly due to the nearest eating
establishment being 30 miles away.
The café is a bit of a 'greasy spoon'. Think Formica, plastic and
bright lighting. The food is also a little over priced. We have
chicken strips, ribs and twice cooked pork. I presume it was still raw
after the first time. The bill with drinks is $50, but this is a
counter service restaurant. To be fair the food is reasonable and we
sit on the outside balcony at a table overlooking the Kings River. The
décor might not be sophisticated, but the view is.

While we are waiting for our food several very dirty young men come
in. Tam's first thought is 'They could have washed first', but it
turns out they are fighting a forest fire and are just taking a brief
break to get something to eat. You must have to know what you're doing
in that line of work.

By the way, this isn't the place to come if you're looking for
nightlife. The restaurant is open for dinner between 5.00pm and
9.00pm. After that ? well, there is no after that. So it's back to the
room to read, drink beer or play cards, whichever is your preference.

So, what is my highlight from a day of highlights? For me, the drive
down the mountains into Kings Canyon was amazing. And we still have
the jewel in the crown to come. Yosemite.


.

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