Day 2

Big day. Covered lots of ground. Started with a visit to Wuksachi and Lodgepole Villages. Made dinner reservations at the former, bought a trail map at the latter, and hit the ground running.

I drove to General Sherman's tree, the 3rd largest tree in the world, and parked my car there, hiking the remainder of the day. Note: Sequoia National Park has free shuttle bus service; Kings Canyon does not.

I took the Congress trail through the Giant Forest which is filled with, well, giant trees. The weather was beautiful, sunny and low 70's. As I got deeper into the forest, the trail became covered with a bit of snow. I got lost, as is so easy for me, and since I knew there were bears out there, I decided to seek out company. Luckily, I was adopted by a nice family of 4 who allowed me to tag along with them for the remainder of the hike through the forest. As we did, while crossing Circle Meadow on a long, wide log, we came across a single black bear grazing in the grass, and a cute beaver playing hide and seek on a neighboring log! Lot's of good photo opps here.

Anyway, my adopted family and I made our way through the forest, parting ways at Crescent Meadow. These meadows are very wet, lush and green, but I didn't see many wildflowers. I am told this is where the bears hang out at this time of year.

I continued my hike through the mountainous forest along the Sugar Pine trail, passing more beautiful trees, small waterfalls, and Crescent Creek. At the end of the trail was Moro Rock, and my long lost adopted family! We got reacquainted, and I climbed the 300+ steps winding around the mountain, and finally reached the summit at 6,725 feet. The view was breathtaking! Tall, snow capped mountains to one side, and thick green forest on the other, as far as the eye can see. You get the sense that you're on top of the world, especially your knees, as you make your way back down!

After a very full day of hiking, I was more than happy to take the shuttle bus to my car, and drove to Wuksachi for an early dinner. I had a surprisingly good salmon, and a piece of cheesecake which was served frozen.

Back to Stony Creek and fell into bed.

Day 3

I got up early, and went to get something from my car. The moment I walked out the door, my eye caught the most beautiful crested blue bird. I have no idea what it was, other than beautiful. I spent the next hour or so photographing the family of deer poking around the forest behind the lodge. I knew it would be a good day.

It was time to say goodbye to Kings Canyon and Sequoia. I decided to drive by Hume Lake on my way out. Am I glad I did! I think Hume Lake is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! Picture a natural, crystal blue lake, surrounded by sweet smelling pines, snow capped mountains in the background, all under a sunny, bright blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds. I was in heaven. I pulled out my camping chair, sat and drank it in for an hour, then hit the road.

I decided to visit an old friend, his golden, Jesse, and his big black cat, Sam, in Oakhurst. Spent much of the day on his back deck overlooking a pond, watching the hummingbirds, listening to the frogs, and catching up. Dinner that night at El Cid's Mexican in town. Pretty good, pretty cheap, and really crowded. A little reading, and a good night's sleep to cap off a peacful day.

Great to hear you are having a wonderful time traveling on your own. Keep it up!! Thanks.

Thanks, emalloy! Hopefully I'll get to finish up today.

We were there a few years ago and I felt like I was reliving it reading your descriptive trip report. Thanks for posting and enjoy the rest of your trip.

It sounds wonderful - I could never do it because my sense of direction is so pitiful (I'd still be wandering around that forest looking for a way back to my car!), but it sure sounds like it was the trip you were looking for.

maj, I'm so glad someone is enjoying reading this! I'm home, though. My trip was last week.

sf7307, boy, can I relate! I usually get lost, even WITH my GPS. Pitiful.

Me too! It really is sad, isn't it. I've been known to ignore the GPS, even though it was right and I was wrong

Steller's Jay?

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/stellers_jay/id

Great trip report and I enjoyed reading it. I always think of myself as pretty adventurous and have travelled to many capitals of the world on my own. But I don't think I'd do a trip on my own to any national parks as much as I'd love to. I get so lost (saw more of the cities that way) that I'd be scared to death to be out in a great big park on my own. And I'm SUPER clumsy, and trip & fall on a regular basis. Very sad, my doc says there's nothing wrong me...just clumsy! My hat's off to you!

You are a great report writer! I'll be waiting for you to continue.

mlgb, a steller's jay! That's it! While looking through the photos I took of the deer, I found that I had inadvertently photographed one of the birds. That was a nice surprise.

travisblue, I, too, love solo city travel. Heck, I love any kind of travel! I had the guts to do these national parks alone because I've successfully visited Yosemite alone many times before. The serenity I am able to achieve from these active, outdoor solo trips is unmatched. I know, however, that hiking alone is not the wisest choice. That, combined with the knowledge that bears WERE present, is why I sought out company when I lost the trail in the forest.

Day 4

Today would be a long day of driving, with a few stops along the way in California's Gold Country. Destination: Death Valley. I loaded up with sunscreen, loaded the cd changer, put the top down and hit the road!

My first stop was Mariposa, a sleepy little town about an hour's drive from Oakhurst. There, I toured the historic old stone jailhouse, in use from 1858 through 1963.

Next stop, Coulterville, where I photographed the Hotel Jeffrey and the Magnolia Saloon (California's oldest operating saloon), both built in 1851. An old west style gun battle was about to begin. I passed.

Next stop, Columbia, and the Columbia State Historic Park. This little town, founded in the 1850's during the California gold rush, is now an outdoor museum, costumed employees and all, dedicated to recreating life as it was back in the day. Think old west: saloons, sasparilla, horse travel, general stores, gun toting men and bonnet clad women. It was sort of interesting, if a little kitschy. The surprise of the day...Columbia Kate's Teahouse, with excellent food, service and literally hundreds of teas to choose from. I had a savory bread pudding, a delicious iced tea that my server chose, and a homemade strawberry shortcake, made from french macarons. I was one happy camper.

Time to hit the road again. Sorry I had to miss the belching contest, scheduled for 4pm.

It was time to cross the mountain range of the Stanislaus National Forest via the Sonora Pass. It was a beautiful, snowy(10 ft. drifts), winding drive through the mountains, while the temps dropped from the 80's into the 50's. Thank goodness for seat heat, because the top never went up. It was here I learned how to downshift my automatic in order to save my brakes.

Coming out the other side, the drive continued through Mono Lake, June Lake, Mammoth Lakes, Bishop, Big Pine, and Independence, before stopping for the night at the no tell motel in Lone Pine, 75 miles from the entrance to Death Valley. The interesting thing about this drive, down the 395, are the snow capped mountains to the west, across from the dry, desert mountains to the east. Sometimes, California seems confused.

A big, thick, blood-rare filet at Season's restaurant, and I was out for the night.

Day 5

Death Valley is HUGE. I had a lot of ground to cover in 2 days. With the heat, I knew I wouldn't be staying in any 1 place too long, to hike, picnic, what have you. I packed my days full, saw a lot and LOVED it!

I started the morning at Father Crowley's Point just inside the park entrance in the Panamint area. It was about 10 am and only 74* at this elevation. Nice surprise!

I parked my car and took the mile or so easy trail to the end. A beautiful, panoramic desert vista was my reward. Huge, barren mountains (lava?), punctuated only by the outline of a long, winding road in front of me; sand dunes behind me; orange/red, deep blue, yellow and white wildflowers at my feet.

Standing there completely alone, in the beautiful stillness, I experienced something for the first time in my life: PURE. SILENCE. No breeze, no birds, no humans or airplanes. It was as though someone had turned off the audio, but left on the video! I knew it was one of those special moments of a lifetime; my world is seldom quiet, let alone silent. I'll remember it always.

Next stop, Panamint Springs. It reminded me of a 1 horse town in Texas! Not much there, other than a small lodge, general store and gas pump ($5.50/gallon for 87!) Looks like a great place to stay to explore the east/north cooler part of the park. Not real convenient to the rest of the park, but small and quiet, which, on a trip like this, I prefer to convenient and crowded.

From there, I drove on to the Wildrose charcoal kilns. The paved road was lined on both sides by yellow wildflowers. I called it the yellow brick road! The last 2 miles of road are loose gravel, so getting there was painfully slow going, in my effort to try to protect the finish on my car!

Built in the 1800's, these kilns look like huge bee hives and were used to convert local wood into charcoal. They're apparantly the best preserved of their kind in the west.

Continued along to Stovepipe Wells, in nearly the center of the park. At this elevation, sea level, before noon, the temperature was into the 90's. By day's end, it was 104*.

Here, I found a camping area, motel, restaurant, general store and gas pump (only $4.50/gallon here.) Behind the motel are mountains; within view from the front, sand dunes. I chose this as my home for the next two nights.

I had half a day left to explore, and chose to make my way north to Scotty's Castle. This spanish style mansion was built in the 1920's as a winter getaway for a wealthy insurance broker from Chicago. There's a really interesting story behind it's ownership and occupation, and I took a tour of the beautiful interior and its grounds. The temperature here? A really pleasant 83*.

Before heading back to Stovepipe Wells, I stopped at Ubehebe Crater, a 600' deep hole in the ground, created over 300 years ago when the earth let off some steam. Pretty cool.

Back at home base, I had an early dinner so I would be free to photograph the sunset. I noted that there were a lot of international visitors, from all over the world. I spoke with some French, Germans, Italians and Romanians. The food at the restaurant was pretty basic...burgers, chicken, nothing fancy. I got a kick out of watching some foreign tourists photograph their burgers and fries, the way we might photgraph our fine meals when visiting Paris!

Sunset was pretty; not gorgeous as I had expected, but I'm glad I saw it. Lingered on a picnic bench to stargaze a bit, then a good book and light's out.

I'm enjoying your trip report and would like to see the pictures that you have posted on Facebook. I have a Facebook page, but I don't know how to access your pictures.

dbdurand, I'm proud of my photos and would love to share them with you! What's your FB name? I'll "friend" you.

It's Richard Durand.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1495825298

Okay, Richard. I've sent you a friend request. I hope you enjoy the photos, and thanks for asking!

It was a wonderful trip, the photos are great. I cannot believe you did it by yourself! You are so brave.

Day 6 - Final Day

The sun rose at 5:29 a.m. and I was there to greet it! It is certainly a unique experience for me to greet the sunrise, especially on vacation. The temp was already in the 80's.

I got cleaned up and packed up while waiting for the dining room to open at 7. Let the carbfest begin! I gave myself license to gorge on all sorts of bad things, since this was my last day of vacation. I especially enjoyed watching 3 20-something German boys chow down on Frosted Flakes. They're GREAT!

Once again, I covered a lot of ground. Behind Stovepipe Wells is the Mosaic Canyon, with its walls of slick, polished marble from years of rainfall. It made for a nice morning hike. From there, I drove to the nearby Mesquite Flat sand dunes. This was so cool, because, being there early in the morning, I got to see and photograph lots of fresh animal tracks. I really enjoyed that, though I am still shaking sand out of my tennis shoes!

Next stop: Badwater and the Badwater Basin. At 282 feet below sea level, it is touted as the lowest elevation in the U.S. I was expecting it to be the hottest location in the desert, but it wasn't, at least that day.

This area is covered with salt. Miles of white salt flats. It looks like snow, and it is an odd sensation to see in that sort of heat. Anyway, it was completely overrun with literally busloads of tourists, most from foreign countries. I enjoyed photographing the woman from Hong Kong who posed by flinging her arms in the air for each picture her husband took! She had chutzpah!

Onward to Artist's Drive, a 9 mile, paved loop which takes you through multi-hued volcanic hills. The highlight is an area known as Artist's Palette, comprised of surprisingly bright colored rock. This was one of my favorite spots in Death Valley, and though my camera was refusing to cooperate, the pictures remain in my head.

I drove through Golden Canyon on my way to have lunch at Furnace Creek. Furnace Creek is a resort village with a hotel they call the ranch (the upscale inn is close by, but closed in the summer months),many restaurants, bars, shops, tennis courts, pool, etc. It was a ZOO, and in the 100's to boot. If I was travelling with kids, I'd stay here. Otherwise, I prefer the quieter, more remote options. A fruit and cheese plate with iced tea, and I was out of there.

3 more stops: The Harmony Borax Works, really well preserved from the 1800's, and Zabriskie and Dante's Points, with their trails and differing vantage points of this vast desert. Lots of wildflowers in each of these areas, both of which were pleasant in the mid 80's.

I love the solitude of solo travel, but it was a long, lonely drive home. For those of you interested, please check out my photos on FB. And thanks for reading!

Thanks, Dayenu, for your kind words.

Love your report, so glad you had a wonderful time. I don't know many people who would do your trip solo like you did, hurrah.
Now you have made me want to go back to Death Valley! Thanks.

Many thanks, SeaUrchin.

Iregeo, Loved the report, thanks. Did you camp at Stovepipe Wells or stay in the motel? I've often wondered if this would be a good place to stay. Was it quiet at night and was it dark enough to see lots of stars or were there security lights on all night?

emalloy, I stayed in the motel. It was quiet, clean and comfortable. They do have a pool on the east side of the property which is open till 10, but my room was on the very end of the west side. Some of the rooms have t.v.'s and refrigerators. Mine did not.

As for darkness, they make a point of telling you that in their effort to optimize the ability to see stars, they light the property only enough so that you can see where you're going. The lights in front of each room are yellow.

To be honest, I tried, but was too exhausted to stay awake to watch the stars. During the short time I was out there, what I found more intrusive than the lighting was the noise from a hundred A/C units! But, in that heat, it was a necessity.

Thanks, that sounds like my kind of place.

we are going to have at least 3 nights in Sequoia in early Oct. I've found your trip report and pictures to be very informative. I already know the last 2 nights we will stay at the Wuksachi Lodge. For the first night i'm debating on the Stony Creek Lodge, which is the last night they are open for the season. Or driving out the Kings Canyon Scenic By way and spend the first night at Cedar Grove? any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated. we will be coming from 5 days in Yosemite.

thanks,

joyce

Hi Joyce. If it were me, I'd definitely stay the first night at Cedar Grove. Try to get a room with a patio by the river. It is gorgeous out that way, and very different from the Stony Creek or Wuksachi areas. Stony Creek and Wuksachi are only 20 minutes apart, so you will presumably be covering that area during your last 2 days.

Try to at least drive by Hume Lake, if not spend a bit of time hiking around the lake. You won't be sorry; it's beautiful!

I am so glad this thread got topped. I missed it first time around and this is an area I have long wanted to explore. Your report is very comprehensive and helpful. thank you for posting!

I missed this report as well - really enjoyed reading it! I think we missed each other in Oakhurst by just a few days.

Lee Ann

Thanks for a great report. My DH and myself are going to Sequoia and Kings Canyon in June. If we want to see Sequoia and Kings Canyon, then Stony Creek Lodge is the place to stay. How much time should we allow to see the two places?

Melissa

I thought the General Sherman was considered the largest tree in the world. Meaning the biggest in Mass or Volume. Not the tallest and not the widest.

Hey Melissa. I covered a lot of ground in a short time, but would have preferred a slower pace. I would say 3 or 4 days to do these parks justice.

spirobulldog, guess I mixed up the General Grant tree with the General Sherman tree. The former is the 3rd largest, I think. They all look the same to me.

If I could get lodging anywhere, what is the most central place to stay to see both parks?

Melissa