I took a quick camping trip in Kings Canyon. Mostly to test out new camping gear before our big trip, but also because I'd never been before.
Kings Canyon itself is quite a different area to Sequoia and it was a pretty drive in.I spent the first two nights at Sentinel Campground towards the very end of the road deep in Kings Canyon and well off the grid.After setting up camp I shot out for a quick run along the valley floor (Strava, AllTrails). Very pretty!More valley views.I had a lovely braai and then just settled in to enjoy the stars.
The next morning I headed out for a much longer mission (Strava, AllTrails). First up to Mist Falls and then up into Paradise Valley.
With all the snow melt the river was pumping, and the falls were very impressive.One of my favorite shots of the trip. The river was just beautiful.The first of two rattlesnakes on this hike. If you look closely you can see a rat's tail sticking out of its mouth!Some passing hikers alerted me to this beauty which was clearly annoyed, so I kept my distance!Once I got up into Paradise Valley (indeed beautiful) I was immediately set upon by clouds of mosquitoes. Fortunately my sun shirt was very effective and I was able to carry on.Refilling my water in a quiet(ish) spot in the river.It was a long jog/hike (over 30km) so I was good and tired by the time I wrapped it up. But not too tired to enjoy the scenery!I breathed in a burger and then headed back to camp for a shower. My feet loved the ice cool river water.
The next day I decided to head up to Grant Grove area for some fresh trails. First I packed up camp and drove over to jog among the giant sequoias (Strava, AllTrails), including the largest tree (by volume) in the world!
These sequoias were absolutely fantastic. There were quite a few people right at the start but I quickly got away from them and then the trail was serene and beautiful.Me and the largest tree on earth – the General Sherman Tree.Certainly my favorite type of tree. And there were so, so many of them on this trail.Being there in spring was particularly special. Everything was green and there were tons and tons of wildflowers.It's always impossible to get across the scale of these giants... This was one of my favorites, clearly having survived quite a fire!A quick snack at a picnic spot before heading on.
And then it was on to set up camp for my last night in the parks.
This was my campsite for the last night. Much higher up in Grant Grove at Sunset Campground. It was really nice and quiet, I had no neighbors at all!It's called Sunset Campground for a reason! I set up for sundowners with a majestic view and had a fantastic final evening.On my final morning before driving home I squeezed in one last outting up to Weaver Lake (Strava, AllTrails).
