Human vs. GPS error
Our three hour drive towards Three Rivers was uneventful until we had to look for our turnoff, North Fork drive. As we got closer, I plugged the address into the GPS on my phone but service is spotty and I've been given the job by "the driver" to be navigator. The "driver" should have fired me because I inadvertently typed in South Fork drive instead of north. Here we go up a narrow windy road and not even a half mile into it did I realize my mistake. Luckily, we found an area to turn around Papi and Edna (no easy task for the total length of approx. 50 ft.)! I stood in the middle of the road to help navigate Perry around logs, ditches and a fence. Fortunate for us, a man was working outside watching us struggle and was kind enough to direct us to North Fork.
Three Rivers is at the foothills of the Sequoias surrounded by mountains, trees and supposedly bears! Sequoia RV Park is in a small area called "Kaweah" and as the sign stated as we pulled in, Elevation 960 and 480 Souls! I looked at Perry as we entered the wilderness "Are these 480 souls alive or dead"? After all....it is Halloween! We found our spot, unhitched and went into town for our new tradition of pizza on travel day. The next day we explored a nearby area called Slick Rock and Perry attempted to fish in the river outside our campsite without any luck.....too many rocks. We sat outside enjoying the creek right outside our site and the beautiful fall evening and before long our neighbor who was from Washington state joined us in conversation. He told us of he and his wife's plan to tour the U.S. in their 40 plus foot R.V. We enjoyed talking to Craig and Lisa and hope our paths will cross again somewhere across the U.S. Soon after, a small jeep drove up and a friendly, salty character was selling firewood for $10 a bundle. Our fire was kicking up and soon we were joined by a younger, tall, thin man and his girlfriend who proclaimed themselves to be "gypsies". They were a year into their relationship, decided to sell everything and travel. YIKES......sounds like Perry and I? They had no agenda and were living in a tent trailer but were a fun couple to be around. I had my reservations about Chris since he took to Daisy but also felt comfortable in disciplining her when she got overly excited. I liked Beth but it was time to cut this party short! We had to get up early to head to the Sequoias and Kings Canyon.
Thursday 11-3-16
We couldn't wait to visit Kings Canyon since David and Taylor loved it so much. It was a good two hours to get there and UP the mountain roads we went with not a word spoken between us. I don't think either one of us care for heights.....the what ifs? We know the end result will be worth it and it was! Kings Canyon is amazing however, being that we were here in the off season a lot of hiking and picnic areas were closed. We heard so much about Hume Lake and the General Grant tree in the Sequoias. First stop was the Visitors' Center with verbal directions to the General Grant tree. According to the volunteer "it is only one third mile from here". Since you can't bring dogs on national park trails, we made the dogs comfortable in Papi and set foot to see the General Grant tree. Oh yes......bear whistle neatly tucked away in my pocket. The trail led us to small signs that said "General Grant" with the arrow pointing in the proper direction. With not a soul in sight we walked for a good mile, wondering if the fallen tree in front of us was the famous tree and this continued a couple of times on the trail until we determined something didn't feel right! There was a creepy silence in the air and I knew the bears were somewhere in the not so far off distance. We walked until we saw a paved road and "yes" cars....civilization! This road led us back to the truck and as we drove further down the road, there was a large sign that pointed to the General Grant tree. We determined the woman volunteer in the visitors' center meant one third mile driving distance....not walking! Good old General Grant tree was not the fallen tree on our path but the one near the parking lot with dozens of tourists taking pictures of the second largest tree in the world! We moved on in search of Hume Lake . We followed the signs and noticed there weren't any cars heading in the same direction to the lake. Did the rest of the people know something we didn't? Apparently, because it was just US and the speeding Fed Ex truck on the single lane, steep narrow road with an amazing canyon view and the 1,000 foot unsecured drop off. Traveling at 10 mph we made it to Hume Lake that had NO WATER?! How could that be since so many people I've talked to fairly recently, had been there ? Upon our safe return, we were told the dam in the lake was being repaired. Okay everyday can't be perfect! Up the road we went in search of recommended Cedar Grove, also in Kings Canyon. We were at the summit and looking down the windy, stark road when Perry and I decided it was best to head back "home", but not before stopping to let the dogs do their thing. Perry took them on a trail that took them out of my sight and I thought they were taking long. Here I am in the middle of nowhere and after twenty minutes the dogs came running back towards me and the truck with no leashes and no Perry. ( I could NOT drive the truck down 6500 feet if my husband didn't come back). Thankfully, ten minutes after the dogs ran back, here comes Perry! He figured the dogs got an uneasy feeling when they came across fresh beat scat. GLAD to get out of here figuring each day brings a different adventure. We didn't get to see all of Kings Canyon but couldn't wait to get back to buy our $10 firewood and plan our trip to Sequoia National Park the next day. What a day!
Sequoia National Park
11-4-16
Somehow I knew this day would be different than yesterday. The drive (according to our neighbor Craig) is easy and scenic! He was right about it being scenic but NOT easy! The entrance to the park was only a few miles from where we were staying and our first stop was Tunnel Rock. Years ago cars would travel up the mountain under Tunnel Rock. Next stop was Hospital Rock which had petroglyphs (prehistoric stories carved into rock) and a rock where Native American women ground acorns into flour in time creating shallow "bowls" into the rocks . Next to this was the "bear warning" sign. Time to head UP the mountain......focus......don't look down! As beautiful and somewhat scary as this drive was, I managed to looked down and saw a tiny little spec which was actually a car working it's way up the mountain. Next stop.....Moro Rock, then General Sherman (the largest tree in the world). As we got out of the car to hike to Moro Rock, people we were putting their food in the bear proof containers....bears?! I decided to use the restroom before heading out to the highest point and all I could think of were bears! This narrow-minded ridiculous thinking led me into the "mens" restroom. Hopefully only Perry knew (he pointed it out) ! Gracie and Daisy didn't like being left behind and they sure let us know it by barking. The climb up was extremely steep but the top of the rock is supposed to have the most amazing view of the Sierra Nevada's (including Mount Whitney). After two-thirds up, I decided to head back and keep the dogs company. Off to the General Sherman tree.....guaranteed we learned our lesson after yesterdays trip to General Grant. We began the hike down to the famous tree reading signs along the way warning hikers of the intense climb back up. People were heading back up the mountain (out of breath) and Perry made the comment "if that old man can make it, you can make it". As they passed us, we noticed the "old man" was actually a woman in her fifties with a hat! Thankfully he quietly made the comment where only I could hear it. The tree was definitely worth the hike......what a magnificent tree! We stopped at a visitor's center once again, where I got a brilliant lesson on the sequoias from one of the rangers that also informed me that at this time of year, the bears are heading down to Three Rivers looking to store up on food in preparation for hibernation. Wait.......Three Rivers is where we're staying?! Trying to forget about what I just heard, we enjoyed a nice sandwich (much better than the other day) reminding each other to clean up to avoid bear "temptation". I need to face my phobias and see a bear.......well our treacherous non-verbal, lean to the left trip down the mountain brought us to a black bear off the side of the road. A couple cars had stopped to take pictures and once we were able to stop the bear had crossed to the other side. I was able to see it close up about 5 feet away and luckily I was in the truck!
We enjoyed a nice, relaxing dinner at the River View restaurant and again made friends with a lovely couple that were entertained by our dogs. Soon another couple walks up acknowledging our dogs as we ate on the patio. After a good hike, we all needed a break....the
Next.........our last few days in Three Rivers and......Clancy!
 |
| View of Mount Whitney from Moro Rock |
 |
| Add caption |
 |
| Hospital Rock |
 |
| Twin Sisters-Sequoia National Park |
 |
| General Sherman Tree |
No comments:
Post a Comment