road trip     

sequoia/king's canyon national park; shaver lake

king's canyon national park

Originally we had reservations at Sequoia National Park's Sentinel Campground, in the Cedar Grove area. The problem was, that campground was mostly shut down due to a changeover in the vendor in charge of facilities (Xanterra out, Aramark in), and on top of it, a controlled burn was probably going to blanket Cedar Gorve in smokiness. So, we found lodging in Shaver Lake, an hour from King's Canyon and over two hours from Sequoia. We drove to King's Canyon and hiked in Grant's Grove, home of the "General Grant" tree. These trees are sequoia gigantea, same family as the coastal redwoods, sequoia sempervirens. They are not as tall, wider at the base, and recognizably sequoia.




big trees

It is possible to get lost in these things.




hollow tree

This ancient tree was used as campspace for early visitors to the park. It is possible to walk from one end to the other of this "fallen monarch," and we did.




old cabin

Once inhabited, this was a home.




general grant

General Grant tree... tallest sequoia in this grove. It is 268 feet tall and 40 feet wide, and it is only 1700 years old.




shaver lake

Photo taken from a picnic area at Edison Campground. Shaver Lake is a reservoir and the dam that created it was built by California-Edison Power Co. a long time ago. Cal-Ed owns most of the land up here, and functions as a kind of benevolent overlord for the entire area. The camp is run by the power company, as are many others in the area. Water from the lake is used to generate electricity. It is also pumped up to a higher lake and used there to generate electricity on its way back down to Shaver Lake, creating a strange sort of "renewable" energy source for the entire area as well as great watersports recreation for the tourists and escapees from Fresno during the summer (Fresno was a sweltering 104 degrees during the days we were there, Shaver Lake was in the 70's, the difference due to the 6,000 foot difference in elevation. And yes, the road from Fresno to Shaver Lake was really interesting). The people who live here, for the most part, prefer the "governance" of the power company to that of the state or federal government and would prefer to be left alone by the state.




generator

This one looks like it hasn't been used in awhile, but it is an example of an old, reliable (but inefficient) technology that has only had cosmetic changes in the years since this one was used: next time you are at your local bank, look around outside and you will find (susally hiding in a fenced-in area) a Kohler or Generac internal-combustion-engine-powered backup generator for the bank, which depends on electricity for its vault locks and alarm systems.




mckinley grove

This little gem of a sequoia grove is in the Sierra National Forest and just a short drive from Shaver Lake. From redwoodhikes.com:

McKinley Grove is a tiny, isolated patch of sequoias between, but not easily accessible from, Yosemite and Kings Canyon. The core of the grove is a small, shallow basin where a short paved path leads through a cluster of about 20 big sequoias.
The grove is so small that most of the biggest trees are visible from the parking area. But what little there is of the grove is exceptionally scenic, with an unusual number of really big trees for such a small area. What's more, the trees grow in an attractive setting that looks a lot like the Giant Forest, with little or no groundcover and an open understory of leafy dogwood trees that bloom in May. Parts of the grove were logged in the 1980s, but everything that can be seen from the path appears to be unlogged old growth.


The largest tree in the grove is 20.3 feet in diameter, according to the sign.




dogwood blossom

Late blooming, these.




mckinley grove

Big trees...




mckinley grove

Little big trees...




creek

They say the snowfall this past winter was 160% of normal, so the creeks are raging.




many butterflies

Don't remember if these are Painted Lady or Admiral butterflies... painted either way, I guess.




huntington lake

This is the upper lake, Huntington, also created by California Edison. It is in the Sierra National Forest. National Forests are "multi-use" areas and so some are logged, some are preserved. some are dammed and some are damned. Regardless, water from this reservoir flows down to Shaver Lake and generates electricity on its way, some of which is used to pump it through tunnels from Shaver Lake back up to Huntington Lake. And one of the side-benefits is the Upper Billy Creek campground and picnic area, where we had lunch.




lichen

This lichen is really healthy, attesting to clean/unpolluted air. You won't find this growing very many places any more. If I had a facebook account, which I don't, I would definitely "lichen" this stuff.

This particular form is Letharia vulpina, wolf lichen. According to wikipedia:

A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship. The combined lichen has properties different from those of its component organisms. Lichens come in many colors, sizes, and forms. The properties are sometimes plant-like, but lichens are not plants. Lichens may have tiny, leafless branches (fruticose), flat leaf-like structures (foliose), flakes that lie on the surface like peeling paint (crustose), a powder-like appearance (leprose), or other growth forms.

This particular one would be fruticose. Just thought you'd want to know.




huntington lake

Billy Creek flexing its muscles...




  

This page was most recently updated 06/27/2019 01:58:41
Text and images copyright 2018 Thomas D'Alessio and Jocelyn Boor