Hiking - Part 22

Sequoia National Park

The General Sherman sequoia tree in Sequoia National Park is the largest tree on Earth, measured by volume (some redwood trees are taller).  

The two trees with reddish bark are sequoias.  Sequoias only grow in a few groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California.  In addition to Sequoia National Park, there are groves of sequoias in neighboring Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Forest, and Yosemite National Park.

Unfortunately, wildfires in the last two years have killed up to a fifth of the world's sequoias.  As this is posted, fire crews are fighting to save the Mariposa Grove of sequoias in Yosemite from a wildfire.  Sequoia bark is quite fire-resistant (one reason why they can live for thousands of years), but the trees are vulnerable if a lot of combustible material has built up around them.  The U.S. wildfire season, once limited to the summer, has significantly lengthened, exacerbated by global warming.

This fallen tree is not a sequoia (the bark is not red).  Other trees such as Douglas firs also grow large in these groves, though not as big as the sequoias.

The park extends into the Sierras.  Beyond the hiker is a cliff called the Watchtower.

Up in the high country there are mountain lakes fed by snow.  This is Emerald Lake.

Snow-fed rivers provide much of California's water supply.

This guy is at the top of Forester Pass, between Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, on Hike Naked Day, the summer solstice.  At 13,200 feet, it's the highest point on the Pacific Crest Trail.  Note that even on the summer solstice, there's snow on the ground.

More snow in either Sequoia or Kings Canyon National Park.  The two parks are administered by the Park Service as a single unit.  I will cover Kings Canyon in a separate post.  Stay tuned.