Kings Canyon- Grants Grove

We finished at Yosemite at about 2:30 and headed out to King's Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. We arrived at around 5 pm (yes we crammed a lot into each day- we didn't want to miss a thing!) Our first stop was Grants Grove in King's Canyon to see General Grants tree, one of the three largest trees in the world. We walked around a loop in the grove and got to see amazing trees and even a cabin used by homesteaders over a hundred years ago.

The Robert E Lee tree.

The groves of Sequoias were first explored shortly after the Civil War and the trees were named after heroes of that war. I can't begin to describe to you what it is like standing at the base of these giant trees. Sequoia's grow up to 311 ft and can get as old as 3200 years. They weigh up to 2.7 million pounds. Their bark can be up to 31 inches thick. (Yes almost 3 ft!). The branches can be up to 8 ft in diameter and the trunk base can have a diameter of up to 40 feet! (these are all just averages too)

The Fallen Monarch (or tunnel tree)

Sequoias are very disease and rot resistant and according to pictures taken in the late 1800's this tree has decayed very little since then. It probably fell centuries ago. The Gamlin brothers used this tree to live in while they built their cabin near by. They also used it as a hotel and a saloon. The US Calvary also used it to stable their 32 horses at one point. The hole in the "roof" was made to vent cooking smoke. Mike could walk through this without ducking that is how large it is. I think the boys walked through it at least three times. They just thought it was so cool to get to walk through a tree! They look tiny next to this enormous tree.

General Grant's Tree

This is the world's third largest living thing and has the greatest base diameter of any Sequoia at 40.3 feet. It is as tall as a 27 story building and wider at its base than a 3 lane freeway. It weighs more than 700 large cars and if its wood was strong enough for construction more than 40 average sized 5 room houses could be built from it. It has been alive for more than 20 centuries. President Coolidge declared it "The Nation's Christmas Tree". The trees at its base in the first picture were taller than Mike. It is just unreal. They are amazing.

All information was taken from the National Park map and information and from a brochure by the Sequoia National History Association called "General Grant Tree Trail" (It was a stop by stop guide to the trail.)