A Walk in the Giant Forest

Hi gang!

Hope you all have had a nice weekend. I went up to Sequoia Park with the family and spent an adventurous day up in the mountains! Wanted to share some pics with you all so ... as Savannah says on her adventures ... you can take a walk with me as well.

(I'll be posting in parts so as to fit more pics as possible )

So, as we head up the mountain, we hear the strong river so we make a stop to take a look at it. It's really loud and the air feels very cool.


Some lucky ducks are down there enjoying the refreshing water...


We have now driven higher up the mountain and have arrived at Giant Forrest. Mom and I make stop at the bathroom before we go on the trails


We are now ready to start this!


Big! Big trees...


Let's begin...


... TO BE CONTINUED

Absolutely GORGEOUS Carol!!!!

So beautiful scenery. Looks like you had fun with your mom. Almost like, your back in Little House On the Prairie time.

... and let's keep on walkin' :)

My brother asks me to take a pic of him


Can't help but take pictures of these humongous trees. Hard to capture the entire length of one.


A WARNING.... lol


Lots of people in the mountain today. We now have buses that take you all the way up here and back. Saw some people from France and a family from India. You get to hear all languages around here as it's one of the main destinations people go to.


Breathtaking....


Yes folks! That is a bear we are spotting! He's very close to the trail!


*Will the bear cross the pathway or will he retreat back to the bushes? lol

TO BE CONTINUED...

Great walking tour, Carol. Thanks! You always make me want to visit California.

HE DID IT...

He crossed!!! lol


We were very close and we all started taking pictures! Some people started getting too close but the park ranger warned us a picture was not worth an incident we could regret.


He started to come our way and my heart started beating lol


Perfect shot of him. I feel like I can put him in the California State flag! LOL


He retreated back to the woods but stood there a while thinking which way to go since that tree was blocking his way lol


Back to the trail!


*Drink some water folks. The temperature feels great up here... low 80s and some cool wind.

... TO BE CONTINUED...

wow.very cool

Thanks for all the comments guys! Wish we could all be there to enjoy it!

Following are some views we see along the way as we walk the trail...



Looking up at the trees...


I spot a bench so we can take a little break


BIG


Let's keep on going...


Listen to the sound of the little creek... :)


... TO BE CONTINUED

We are almost near the end...

We were walking calmly along this path when....


A bear crossed our path! Yikes! It is the CLOSEST I have been to a bear!
I didn't have my camera on and I didn't want to risk turning it on and have the bear turn it's head my way because of the sound... yes.. we were that close! We backed out slowly... hahaha Then it went inside the bush... so that's when I took a picture of him hahaha


Looks like he's making his way across and I'm sure the people there will get a nice surprise lol


What an excitement! We are now finishing the trail and on our way to Beetle Rock for a great view of the valley.


My mom gets in for a picture. I remember seeing the most beautiful sunset from this rock a couple of years back. Very breathtaking....


It was a very great exercise! We sure burned the food we ate at the lodge earlier!


A video of the Wuksachi Lodge.


THANKS FOR COMING ALONG GUYS!!!!

I wonder what the fishing is like in those streams...

Now that you mention it Alex...I bet the waters there would be good for Pike.

Great pics Carol!

Or 'bows. Rainbow trout are originally from California.

Yeah, that'd make sense. I was never any good at trout fishin'. I'm more of a cast-a-line-and-go-to-sleep fisherman, unless I'm in catfish mode, then it's game on. ;)

Just like Dad.

I'm the active, lure-fishing, fish-releasing kind.

Wow, what amazing pictures Carol! Thank you for taking us on your journey! What an absolutely gorgeous and majestic place. I can only imagine how incredible this actually is in person.


And, the bears would have totally freaked me out.

alexczarn wrote:

I wonder what the fishing is like in those streams...

flatbroke wrote:

Now that you mention it Alex...I bet the waters there would be good for Pike.

alexczarn wrote:

Or 'bows. Rainbow trout are originally from California.

flatbroke wrote:

Yeah, that'd make sense. I was never any good at trout fishin'. I'm more of a cast-a-line-and-go-to-sleep fisherman, unless I'm in catfish mode, then it's game on. ;)

alexczarn wrote:

I'm the active, lure-fishing, fish-releasing kind.

Ummm......Hello?!?!? Did you not see the bears in those pictures??? Would there be any fish left in the streams for fishing????? Or would you even want to get that close?

Thank you so much, Carol! What a beautiful tour. (And when you said "lucky ducks" up above, the picture hadn't loaded yet, so I thought that you were speaking figuratively, and that I'd see people when it loaded. I didn't realize that you were being literal about it. ) What incredible beauty! (And you're looking awesome, Carol!)

alexczarn wrote:

I wonder what the fishing is like in those streams...

Hmmm... like Rhonda said... the bears might not leave enough fish for you in that area

If you drive up a little further to the Kings River in Cedar Grove you might have some fun. That area is one of the best wild trout fishing streams in the Sierra. You can catch rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout, and golden trout. No more than five per day. While the trout are not consistently large one can catch 10 to 15 fish per day, five fish limit. Some have caught and releaesed rainbow and browns over 26 inches.



*Savannah, glad you like the pics. Funny about the 'lucky ducks' comment Yeah, they looked like they were having quite the good time. They were flapping their wings and there were these other ducks that stayed in a certain part of the river where the current was not strong... but they looked very happy. I wanted to jump in!



Oh, and Savannah, you would just love this park in the winter! We STILL have snow up there in July... but very high up. But in the winter season, the park just transforms into a winter wonderland and gives it a totally different feel.