Some of the sequoia trees in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park are thousands of years old—the oldest ones we saw were up to 3,000 years old! Some of them are over 80 meters high, with a circumference of more than 30 meters, making them one of the tallest, widest, and longest-lived of all organisms on Earth. Barely able to see their top, we couldn’t help but feel really small and minor next to those giants.
We did a two-hour hike on Congress Trail, along which we saw giant sequoias such as the Sherman Tree, and others bearing such fitting names as the President, the Senate, etc.
A few miles north into the National Park, we also stopped at the General Grant Tree which was declared “the Nation’s Christmas Tree”. At almost one month to go until Christmas, we have to say, we liked the idea (although we’ll probably have a palm tree for Christmas).
Unfortunately, we were not able to do the scenic drive from Grant Grove to Cedar Grove since the roads are closed in winter. But we heard (well, Lonely Planet told us) that it must be one of California’s most spectular roads. Anyway, the drive up from Three Rivers was probably just as curvy and spectacular and offered great views as well.
