God's Country

Yeah, I did it. I used the "G" word in the title on a non-denominational blog. But really there's no other way to describe Kings Canyon National Park where we are right now.




Call it The Grand Canyon's little brother. Kings is one quarter (not in size) of the national park land where we are — there's Sequoia National Park, Sequoia National Forest, Giant Sequoia National Monument and then Kings Canyon National Park. They're all connected and really you could be in one big national park, but the Feds in their questionable wisdom decided to divvy it all up. National parks, we learn, have different rules than say a National Forest or Monument. In the National Parks, everything is sacred ground and there's very little commercial businesses. A few lodges, cafes and shops. Nothing more. National forests and monument, well, the rules change. They are protected areas, but logging is allowed, mining too. Want to put a lodge or a Subway up? Just pay off your congressman and he'll make it happen. The regulations get stretched a bit, let's just say.

For the first time on our trip, the night in our Sheep Creek campsite is cold. I awake shivering in my sleeping bag some time after 1:00 a.m. and fumble about in the tent for some extra layers. In the early morning, it still feels quite cool and after a quick breakfast, we pack up and drive to the end of the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway. We get some more super views of the canyon as we drive.









At the end of the road there is a parking lot, a ranger's station and the trailheads for a number of hikes. We head out on the Mist Falls Trail — 9.4 miles of hoofing it through the canyon fun to what else — Mist Falls.

The cool morning air is now gone and it's hot. We have on our sunscreen and bug repellent which is MUCH needed. The erratic buzzy knats/mosquitos are swarming our faces off. Our eucalyptus spray seems to keep them mostly off me, but Jenn is doing wild badminton swats around her head. It's almost enough to force us back to the car, but we persevere. More bug spray, please!

Here's a little fellow that Jenn almost stepped on.




No, it's not a rattler. So very disappointing, I know. We learn later from the ranger that he's merely a chubby aquatic garter snake. Sigh.... Are we ever going to hear the percussive tail of our friend the rattler?

It's a good hike through the forest, along the rushing river, over large rocks. Yeah, I'm saying it again — it's God's country. Green, rugged and peaceful. The smell of fresh sequoia in the air. Chirping birds and clicking grasshoppers. Pretty sweet to just stop and take it all in, especially with those canyon cliffs all around.










Eventually, the bugs thin out, but the heat doesn't let up. It's our saving grace when the trail meanders into the shaded forest.




Up ahead, there it is, Mist Falls. Not too bad at all, we think.




It's a great place for some lunch, much needed water and to paddle our feet in the ice cold river.




We meet a retired pilot from San Diego who tells us all about the differences between the national parks and national forests. He thinks we're going to love Yosemite. "However, there will be a few more people there than here," he says. We expect this. "Getting a camping spot can be tricky at any time of year," he adds. "It's our most visited park in America."

We get the idea. Book ahead if we can.

We say goodbye, climb up to the falls and get some mist on our faces and camera lense, then do the hike back. The bugs seem to be mostly gone now. I guess it pays to hike later in the day.




Honky is waiting for us in the parking lot. No bears in his front seat — we've dutifully stored all our food in another bear box. We stop at a picnic spot for a carb refuel, then drive into Cedar Grove Village and Visitor Center to see what's going on there. We discover a store and showers — which means ice for the cooler and two clean campers. We then decide to take it back to good old campsite #11 in Sheep Creek. We like this site. Quiet, by the river, no bears.

At least, not yet! C'mon, Yogi and Boo-boo. I got a pick-a-nic basket waiting for you two big fellas!!

General German

We awake to three portly Israelis stalking our campsite.

Truthfully, we're up and breakfasted when they pull up to our site, but it still feels like an early morning invasion.

Down goes the tinted car windows. "You go soon?" they inquire.

There are a myriad of vacant spots available, however it is ours they seem to covet.

Keir informs them that we will indeed be leaving soon and they are welcome to the site. They pull up alongside our car, get out, and proceed to watch our every move while pacing around our campsite.

Seriously?!?!

Seriously.

Soon enough however, we are back on the park road and heading further into Sequoia National. The Generals Highway, as it is known, is under construction and, in the direction we are heading, cars are only allowed to pass on the hour. We boo it up to the waiting lineup laughing along to the Raw Dog comedy channel as we wait — Bill Hicks, Eddie Izzard, Richard Pryor, Eddie Griffin.... we love the satellite radio in Honky.

In front of us are a young German couple. Buoyed by the comedy station, we role play them discovering the famous tree is named General Sherman not General German as they thought. Har har, it was funny to us at least...

General Sherman is regarded as the largest tree in the world — not the tallest, not the oldest, but the tree with the most volume. It is indeed massive. There is an incredible air of calm stillness that the tree commands. The many folks walking around and taking photos are all whispering. Cliched perhaps, but you can't help but feel grounded and alert.








It reminds Keir and I how much we enjoy being out traveling. Focussing on where to set up camp for the night, what to eat and when, where to hike to — these are decisions that fill our day and fill our spirits. We are taking care of ourselves and focussing on our Now. It is much easier to stay in that moment when we are out exploring.




Up the road, we stop at the Lodgepole Village to grab some more ice for our mini cooler and some insect repellent for the morning and evening bugs that descend upon us. We hear that the Little Baldy hike provides a nice view of the surrounding mountains, canyons and valleys so we make the 5 mile round trip to the top (over 8,000 feet up we were!) to marvel at the view.











Driving in to General Sherman, we spied a mama and baby bear out foraging. So out comes the bear bell for the hike. It sounds like Santa's sleigh in the wilderness....







We opt to make the drive out to Cedar Grove in the Kings Canyon to camp for the night at Sheep Creek (4600') and are rewarded with more phenomenal views along the way, The canyon descent is simply breathtaking and with the 5:00 p.m. thunderstorm (is it a "thing", we wonder?) passing by to the east, we are rewarded with some excellent photo light.











Our campsite is again, fantastic. The rushing water nearby, tall Sequoias overhead and the Kings Canyon walls soaring up around us. The temperature promises to dip into the 40's overnight... a far cry from the Death Valley heat.













Tomorrow, (Thursday) we think we'll try a 9 mile hike to a nearby waterfall
and then hit the Redwood Forest hike and the General Grant trail on our return to Grants Grove camping area.

Fueling Up

There is not much going on in the city of Bakersville. It is urban sprawl to the max... with more than a few oilfields and working derricks thrown into the mix. In fact, the oilfields are right in the middle of the commercial areas. So much for urban planning! There's the Target, the Carl Jr's, an oil derrick, a refinery, now the Lowes and Del's Taco...








With over 34,000 people though, it affords us a place to restock before heading out into Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

We do our laundry at the hotel, hit the massive Food Co. for supplies, find a natural food store for the stuff we can't find at Food Co., fill up Honky, grab a gluten free oven fired pizza lunch and then head on up to Sequoia.

It's a transition day so we aren't planning to get much hiking in. Due to the incredible amount of smog and pollution from LA and Mexico, you can't even see the Sierra Nevada until you are in the foothills.

We arrive at the park entrance just after 4:30 p.m. By 6:00 p.m. we are set up at Buckeye Flats (around 3600') for the night. It's a cosy campsite of 24 or so sites, nestled in amongst an oak grove alongside a roaring canyon stream. The newest development is our personal bear box. All the sites have them and all food, garbage and any other scented products must be stored inside. It's the law! You can't lock the goods up in the car — the bears will do a smash and grab.















After our satiating late gluten free pizza lunch (gosh we love the food availability here!), we can't muster up much enthusiasm for dinner so we have some soup and corn tostados and watch the passing thunderstorm. We only get a few drops, but the wind roars through the canyon at full force.

Next to us are Tom and Laura — east coast Floridians who have relocated to the west coast (Monterey) for a few years while Tom completes grad school for the navy. They are using their weekends to explore California and maximize their time together. With Tom is in the Navy, this two year school stint will be the longest stretch of time they have actually been together in the same place. Keir and I are interested to hear about life on the sea (for Tom) and life while Tom is at sea (for Laura).

We enjoy a shared campfire, chatting and laughing together. Keir and I thrive meeting folks and having the opportunity to hear a bit of their life stories. We feel ever grateful for those shared moments of honesty and authenticity.

Feelin' hot hot hot!

It sets up like it will be an amazing camping experience — a seemingly quiet campground, no fly on the tent needed and no sleeping bags either.

It is brutally hot in our Death Valley campsite, but when the sun goes down, it's (almost!) bearable. Almost. We prepare to bed down for the night. This campground (glorified parking lot) is not as peaceful as we've experienced the past few nights in Joshua Tree and the Mojave Preserve. On our right, we have the French contingent who roll in after dark, chatting above a comfortable level and then deciding to blare their dance music.

But they are not to be the problem, we soon discover. It is our group of bicyclists on the left who return from a night ride just as we are settling in to watch the shooting stars and sweat the night away in our tent. They proceed to talk loudly, plan their entire trip, organize their food and gear, clank their dishes, jump start their car and blow up their crinkly mattresses. It doesn't help that the campsite (being right in the valley) has little vegetation or anything else to absorb the sound — it's a bowling alley of noise amplification.

Finally, sometime after 1:00 a.m? 2:00 a.m?, they are quiet and we are able to drift off, only to have them back up at 4:00 a.m. for an early morning ride, banging about, talking and making coffee (not to mention our favorite biker that decided to set up his/her bedroll about 2 feet from the DOOR OF OUR TENT!!!!!)

It just doesn't make sense to us — if they know (which they clearly did) what their schedule is going to be why would they not situate themselves where they wouldn't be so disruptive to those around them? There were many many other sites to choose from — yet no, they had to roll right in beside us!

Add the noise to the heat, it does not make for a restful night, which is too bad, because it is rare that it is warm enough and dew-less enough that we can leave the fly off our tent and gaze up at the night sky.

The temperature, we estimate only goes down to the mid nineties in the night. By early morning sunrise, it is already hot. Wanting to take advantage of the beautiful light, we pack up and head directly to the Mesquite Flat sand dunes.




Traipsing across the sand like a couple of weary nomads, we spy all sorts of animal tracks and yes, take full advantage of that beautiful morning light.










We breakfast up at the Emigrant campground (another bowling alley/parking lot site) and then descend below sea level towards Badwater.

Our hiking ambitions get the best of us and we are lured into a mile walk up the tantalizingly named Golden Canyon towards Red Cathedral.




The walk is shadeless and meltingly hot. It's not all that glamorous either and we return feeling as though we've wasted precious electrolytes.











Descending further below sea level, we drive the colorful "artists palette" and make our final Death Valley stop — the Badwater salt flats.




Low sodium, it is not. It is pretty cool standing on all that white salt (well, unfortunately not the kind of cool we'd probably have welcomed by that point!!)










Back we head to bustling Baker where we spy a coyote dashing across the road. With his tongue out and darting along on those spindly legs, it's a wonder how it makes do with that fur coat in the Easy Bake oven of the valley.

Our night stop finds us in Bakersfied at the Crystal Palaces Best Western —right beside the famous Crystal Palaces country music hall. No music for us though as we are beyond beat (by the sleepless night and the heat). We grab dinner at the delicious Orchid Thai restaurant and then hit the sack.

Death By Heat In The Valley

The ride into the park is a bit surreal. The surroundings seem so similar to the pictures we've seen taken on Mars. It is highly dramatic and boundlessly vast.




Oh, and it's hot. Hot, hot. Hot like Joshua Tree and the Preserve just couldn't even touch. The car thermometer consistently registers over 100 blistering degrees outside (photo below: top right hand corner: 105 in the shade baby!!!).




Upon entering the Death Valley Park, we descend into the main area of Furnace Creek. Aptly named, it's a furnace alright! A quick pop in to the visitor's center gets us some campsite options, and given that it is late afternoon already, we opt for the nearby Texas Springs (must be why all the water that comes out of the taps is near scalding hot!).

We sup early (trying not to sweat through our shorts). Thankfully there are a couple cold beers in our little icebox that make it somewhat bearable. We choose to eat early so that we can make the sunset drive to Zabriskie Point along with half the other visitors in the park! It's a photo swarm!







We decide we will try to get up at sunrise to harness the excellent morning light — maybe at the Artist's Palette (near Badwater Basin which is the lowest point in North America at 280ft BELOW sea level) or the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.

We will also check out "Devil's Golf Course" (which we are suspecting is not actually a golf course...duh). Given that it is after 8 p.m. right now and the temperatures are still hovering around 100 degrees, we expect that getting up at sunrise will not be an issue — we may be severely dehydrated by that time.

Teutonia Peak

Descending from our hill top campsite (where, we saw a kangaroo rat!!), we decide to tackle the three mile hike up to Teutonia Peak which wanders through the world's largest Joshua Tree forest and promises views of the Cima Dome and the Preserve.

It's hot (surprise, surprise) and we're on the lookout again for rattlers and scorps as we walk. Indeed, as promised, the Joshua Trees surround us.




The last part of the hike is a huff and puff 750 ft ascent up to the peak. We are pretty much soaked through by the time we reach the rocky outlook. The views are fabulous and we can even see out to the I15 (a.k.a "the road to Vegas").







Speaking of Las Vegas, we have been trying to get in touch with our friend Dan who may be able to show us around and provide us with a place to stay should we make the detour to see what the big show in the desert is all about. We haven't been able to make contact yet (no internet in the desert and ripoff phone cards don't help the cause!), so after a short and joyous time in the never stimulating desert town of Baker, we push on into Death Valley. Vegas will have to wait, baby.

Cue the scary music for DEATH VALLEY — dum de duummmm!

The Mojave Preserve

Up early, we run a few errands in Yucca Valley and then jump back on the 29 Palms Highway, through Joshua Tree, through the marine base serving the town of 29 Palms and then north, heading towards The Mojave Desert Reserve.

It's two hot lanes straight into the desert with the Marine Corps Air Combat Centre somewhere on our left behind all those rising rock mountains.







We also drive a bit of the famous Route 66 and check out one of the relic diners and motels, still making a go of it.







Created in 1994 and consisting of a vast 1.6 million acres, The Mojave National Reserve is home to terrific rock formations, sand dunes, the largest concentration of joshua trees (in the world!) and then some jack rabbits, big horn sheep, coyotes and the occasional mountain lion.

We plan to make our first stop at the Mitchell Caverns where drip like formations (called speleothems) extend down in a world beneath the desert. Sadly there is a sign at the entrance informing us that it is closed.

So, we make our first official stop at the Visitor's Centre at Hole-In-The-Wall where the kindly park ranger sets us straight on the camping and hiking options. We ask about the caverns and are told they are closed due to budget cuts — a casualty of California's near bankruptcy status. Nice work, Terminator...

After a quick lunch in the shade, we take on the Hole In The Wall Rings Loop Trail and soon understand why they call it Hole In The Wall. It's a little tricky navigating down the rock face using the provided metal rings, but we get some great views of the swiss cheese cliffs and unpolished marble vertical rock formations.















The hiking loop is only a mile of so, but we're feeling the heat. That sun's hot, man!








Watch out for the prickly cactus, there.

We drive north up a sandy washboard road to the Mid Hills campground. The area surrounding the camp suffered greatly in 1994 when a wildfire swept through the Preserve. Upon first look, we think we've made a grave mistake. The area is burnt out and skeletal.

But further in, we discover half of the greenery ensconcing the 26 campsites has survived and we find a site that is the pick of the lot! Looking out over the valley below, we are rewarded with some stunning views. At 5,600 ft, it is a perch high above the desert floor.







It's much cooler up here too. Tonight is the first night we have our fleece on as we sit around the campfire. The setting sun decides to put on a show for us.














By 7:50 p.m., the dark descends and the stars burst out in full force.