Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Mojave Desert, and Las Vegas - part 3

Day 5 - 2014-04-23 - Sequoia National Park and drive to Barstow

After breakfast at the lodge, we headed out to see the General Sherman Tree - the largest tree in the world by volume.  From the abled parking, it's a steep quarter mile hike along the trail to get to the tree itself.  It's a pretty impressive tree, by all counts, with other only slightly less impressive trees nearby.  From the General Sherman Tree we took the 2-mile Congress trail, which, in addition to some very impressive other trees, includes a tree named 'The President', as well as a copse of trees named 'The Senate', and another named 'The House'.

After hiking back up the steep trail (7-11 minutes) to the parking lot, and feasting on some bananas, oranges and plums we had brought along, we continued on towards Moro Rock.  Moro Rock has a fairly large parking lot, if you go, so don't be confused (like we were) and park further up the road.  To get to the top of Moro Rock, you walk along a winding path with many stairs leading up to the top.  Along the way there are fantastic views on both sides of the rock, and from the top there is a fantastic 360 degree panoramic view from which you can also see the winding road out of Sequoia.  While there are railings all around, those who suffer from vertigo may need some convincing to go up to the top.

After Moro Rock we headed to Crescent Meadows.  However, having walked around the meadows back at Wawona, we weren't all that keen on spending more time in meadows which looked very similar, so after a brief look around, we headed out.

After Crescent Meadows we headed out of Sequoia National Park to Barstow, by way of Bakersfield, where we stopped for Mexican food at El Adobe.  The food was reasonable, and the waiter prepared the guacamole in front of us from scratch, which was cool.  The ride from Bakersfield to Barstow was uneventful, though the road had a ton of trucks on it.  For those of you wondering, Barstow was just a convenient place to stop for the night between Sequoia and Mojave - it did not promise to be anything special on its own.

Sequoia/King's Canyon Summary

Destination: Big Stump - Didn't see much of it.  It's a 1-mile loop, though you can head in to see a stump and then head back out if it's not your thing.

Destination: Buena Vista Peak - Well worth it.  It's a 2-mile moderate hike, with a (allegedly) grand view of the surrounding area.  We had fog cover half the valley just as we got there, but it was still a pretty great hike.

Destination: General Grant Grove - Nice, easy, 1-mile trail.  There's the General Grant Tree, which is the 3rd largest tree in the world, as well as other giant trees, a hollowed-out giant tree that served as someone's house (and a saloon, at some point).  It's pretty full of visitors, though.

Destination: Panorama Overlook - A short drive up from the visitor's center, a paved trail leads to a couple of nice viewpoints of the King's Canyon.  Worth a visit.

Destination: North Grove - Nice, easy, 2-mile trail, full of giant trees.  The trailhead is right out of the General Grant Grove RV parking lot, but we didn't see anyone during the entire hike (aside from 3 deer lounging in the forest).

Destination: General Sherman Tree and Congress trail - The General Sherman Tree is worth visiting down a quarter mile somewhat steep (but with stairs) path.  There's a disabled parking lot much nearer the base of the tree, if you can't handle the trail.  If you're feeling like a walk through the woods, the 1-2 mile (you can short-circuit the trail) Congress trail has a nice view of some giant Sequoias, including some growing in large clumps.

Destination: Moro Rock - A must see, the top of the rock provides great views of the entire valley.  This walk is busy, but pretty worth it.  If you're particularly wary of heights, you might want to take something before going up here.

Destination: Crescent Meadows - Didn't really see it much.  It's a loop around a meadow, in an area which is actively visited by Black bears.

Hotel: Montecito Sequoia Lodge - One of the nicest, most laid back and reasonably priced places we've ever been at.  It's probably much busier during the Summer, though it was by no means empty in the Spring.  I'd recommend getting a room with a view of the mountains (Room 102, for example).  Dinner and breakfast are included, as is lunch other than on the day of checkout (though you can pay $10 for it).  If you want a trail lunch, let them know before 7:30pm the evening before, and they'll have it ready for you in the morning at no extra charge (unless you're checking out, in which case it'd be $10).

Day 6 - 2014-04-24 - Mojave Desert

We left Barstow at 10am and decided to give the Calico Ghost Town a quick look.  However, we got there between two tour buses, and after ascertaining that it's pretty much just a tourist trap, we decided to pass on it.  Instead, we headed up to the California State University Desert Studies Center, located on the grounds of a now defunct health spa from the 40s.  On the shores of a long dry lake, the Desert Studies Center surrounds a couple of desert springs, with various birds, fish and insects (including quite a few dragonflies). 

From the Desert Studies Center we headed to Baker, where we lunched at a Subway and paid a visit to the Alient Fresh Jerky store (a tourist attraction, selling various forms of jerky with names such as "Abducted Cow Jerky" and "Weed Killer", but cute, if you're stopping there anyway.  I can't comment on the quality of the jerky.)  We then headed into the Mojave Desert National Preserve on Kelbaker road.  In the desert we saw a number of white lizards crossing the road, a snake, quite a few Joshua trees and Yuccas, as well as the Kelso sand dunes.  On a whole, though, the desert didn't really offer much beyond stuff we would later see in the area around Las Vegas, so in retrospect, we would have skipped the detour through Mojave.

The evening brought us to Las Vegas, where we checked in at the Venetian hotel.  Vegas was not my favorite place in the world.  Perhaps we should have seen some shows, or tried some of the casinos, but other than that the Vegas Strip was noisy, impersonal, ostentatious, and very crowded.  We spent two nights there, but escaped to the hills during the days - though more on that in the next post.

Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Mojave Desert, and Las Vegas - part 2

Day 3 - 2014-04-21 - Small hikes, and a drive to Sequoia

Our day began with checking out of the hotel, then driving right around the corner to a small hike called Swinging Bridge.  Theoretically there is a loop that can be done from basically the hotel, but much of the first part is on roads, so we did that by car, parking next to an Adventist camp.

The Swinging Bridge is just as the name implies - a low bridge over a river.  We walked a bit, but mostly spent the time taking pictures.

After getting back from the Swinging Bridge, we took a walk around the meadow just across the street from the Wawona hotel, where we also stopped to eat a picnic lunch. The meadow loop, which was 3.5 miles long, while not difficult, was not particularly interesting, and is definitely skippable in favor of other activities.
After the loop, we headed out towards Sequoia/King's Canyon national park, by way of Fresno.

Yosemite Summary

Destination: Mariposa Grove - Worth seeing, especially if you're not continuing on to Sequoia National Park - can be made long or short based on your schedule, as there are giant Sequoias directly in the parking lot (though this might be changing), as well as longer trails you can take if you feel like seeing more / hiking.
Destination: Yosemite Valley - Definitely worth seeing. Can be done in a day, or you can spend at least another day there - in hindsight we would probably have done that.
Hotel: Wawona Hotel - Reasonable. Might be worth looking into the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Valley instead - though we didn't stay there so we can't comment on it.
Food: Wawona Hotel - Meh. If you're staying in Wawona, there isn't really much other choice, but the prices are high for the value.
Food: Village Grill in Yosemite Valley - Reasonable for lunch (according to David), at reasonable prices.

The drive from Fresno to King's Canyon offered some nice views on the way up. In King's Canyon we briefly stopped by Big Stump, where there are some dead stumps of giant Sequoias, from when they were logged before people realized that they weren't particularly useful trees. Then we headed down to check in at the Montecito Sequoia Lodge.

The Montecito Sequoia Lodge is actually in the Sequoia National Forest between King's Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Park. It is an all-inclusive resort, offering all meals (including the option for packing a trail lunch), some guided hikes, a small lake with canoes and such, and a swimming pool and hot tub, among other things. There are rooms in the main lodge, as well as individual cabins (with detached bathrooms). Meals are a buffet with a good selection of good food, with a large communal dining area. There are games (such as Bingo) in the main lodge in the evening, and boardgames are available for checkout. The rooms are pretty spartan, but the general atmosphere of the place is very laid back and friendly.

Day 4 - 2014-04-22 - King's Canyon National Park

We got up bright and early in the morning (mostly because someone had turned on some heater in the middle of the night which kept waking us up) and hiked up to Buena Vista Peak for a grand view of most of King's Canyon National Park. Unfortunately, the fog had other plans, and just as we got to the peak, it covered up half of the vista. Nonetheless, undaunted by the fog, we captured some awesome photos of the visible part of the valley, and others of, well, fog.

Having finished Buena Vista Peak before 10am, we headed to the General Grant Grove, which houses large Sequoias.

After lunch at the Restaurant in Grant Grove Village, we headed over to the Boole Tree trailhead.  Unfortunately, the road was closed, and we weren't really feeling like doing a 7.5 mile hike instead of a 2.5-mile one, so we headed back to the visitor center for some advice on nearby hikes.  At the visitor center we got to hear a kid take a Junior Ranger pledge, before getting some tips and heading up to the Panorama Overlook for some more views of the valley, and then another hike through the North Grove, which is right next to General Grant Grove, but a lot less famous - and thus was empty. On the way back we stopped by some nice granite rocks by the side of the road.

Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Mojave Desert, and Las Vegas - part 1

Day 1 - 2014-04-19 - Arrival

We arrived in Oakland bright and early in the morning, grabbed our rental car, and headed off to downtown Oakland to buy some food for me to eat during the first few days our vacation which overlapped with Passover.  (Tip: The Whole Foods in Oakland does not have a wide selection of Passover products, at least not in the middle of Passover when we were there.  They were, however, running a Matzo and Easter Egg hunt on Sunday, which seemed like an odd combination.)

From Oakland we took the 3.5 hour drive down to Wawona, at the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park.  After checking in and getting organized, we drove over to the Mariposa Grove, where we hiked around in the forest a bit, amid our first glimpses of giant Sequoias.

That night and the following night we stayed at the Wawona Hotel, an historic hotel that has been around since the early 1900s.  The room was small, but comfortable, and the staff were friendly.  The onsite restaurant had upscale prices, but according to David the food did not match the price (he had some sort of gnocci with shrimp, and the gnocci were hard.  I was eating Matzah with veggies in the room, so I cannot comment).  For breakfast, a continental breakfast is included with the price of the room, but they offer other hot options as well.

Day 2 - 2014-04-20 - Yosemite Valley

On our first full day at Yosemite, we headed out early(ish) in the morning to the Yosemite Valley.  The valley was relatively crowded, but there were ample opportunities for us to find ourselves alone.  Just before entering the valley, you go through a long tunnel, immediately after which you encounter the Tunnel Viewpoint - a rather breathtaking overlook of the entire valley, including a couple of waterfalls in the distance.

The next turnout on the road after the Tunnel Viewpoint is Bridalveil Fall.  A short hike up to a viewpoint just beneath the fall lends a good view of the fall - be forewarned that it's a little misty at the top, and if the sun's angle is just wrong (like it was for us), it's not the best spot for taking photos.  A short walk across the nearby pedestrian bridge, however, provides nice views of both the fall and the cliff opposite it.

Down in the valley itself there are meadows, waterfalls and hikes of varying difficulties.  There are a few large parking lots in the valley, and a free shuttle that comes around every 10 minutes or so and has some 21 or so stops around the valley.  The valley also has a few restaurants, a hotel, tent campsites, and a grocery.

We took a hike off of shuttle stop 17 called Mirror Lake.  The trail had quite a lot of horse manure on it, and though the views were nice, we're not sure we ever quite saw mirror lake.  Nor were we able to cross the river at any point, which we had been hoping to do, given the hike maps we had seen.  Nonetheless, it was quite beautiful, and, once we returned to the beginning of the trail, we took the opportunity to dip our feet in the (really REALLY cold) water.

After Mirror Lake, we went up to look at the Lower Yosemite falls, then headed back as the sun was setting, and catching some more wildlife on the side of the road.