Sierra Cascades - Day 15 - Sequoia National Park
Date: June 20, 2021
31.12 Miles
6,811 Feet of Gain
Three Rivers, CA to Lodgepole Campground in Sequoia National Park, CA
The Zero Day made all the difference and we are ready to ride. In fact, we both bubble with excitement about the possibility of what lies ahead in the Sierras: high elevation, cool days, copious water, and views of the alpine. With a cooler but still 106 F expected day ahead down in Three Rivers, we decide to start biking at 3:30 am once more to beat the heat. One last time do we bike down the highway through Three Rivers next to the Kaweah River. At dawn's first light we hit the boundary for Sequoia National Park along with its CCC-era sign. From there, we ascend through hillsides of savannah, California buckeye, and scrub oak. Giant rock walls serve as buttressed railings from the tumbling Kaweah River below. We stop at the closed Foothills Visitor Center to use the restrooms and fill up our water as dawn creeps over the landscape.
The climb is intense. At an average grade of 5%, there are sections punching up to 12%. And it is relentless. In fact, today we will spend almost the entirety of our riding just going straight uphill. No matter though - elevation equates with coolness in our minds so we embrace the challenge. Janna and I will, by day's end, have gained a massive 7000 feet of gain in 30 miles on the Generals Highway. As dawn comes on more strongly, I can see all the oak and buckeye are crisp and desiccated, their colors washed and faded under the beating summer heat dome. I'm sweating so intensely in the cooking morning sun plus exertion that I'm ramming straight through my water between drinking and pouring it on me. We happen upon Potwisha Campground where we stop at a faucet to dunk our heads and refill our supplies. Then, it's upward once more.
The climb grinds away beneath us. Slowly, we gain in height. We take at the Hospital Rock Picnic Area to let our leg muscles and bodies cool. Then, we hit the legendary switchbacks up Deer Ridge where we stop to take photos of the Kaweah River Valley below at Amphitheater Point. It's incredible what the elevation's vantage affords. Granite-exposed ridgelines cut the viewscape as the inner heart of the Sierra Nevada rears up. We round a corner at about 10 am as the ecosystem shifts from deciduous scrub to pines and ferns. Suddenly, the shade is abundant. And like that, we enter the lush, cool, dense, Giant Forest. The first truly massive sequoias spring up roadside shortly thereafter. They almost catch me off guard for how quickly they come on after such chaparral-rich climb. A shiver of relief goes through me for both the coolness we've achieved and the fact that we are once again biking below the arching arms of some of the oldest and largest trees on Earth by volume. There is no better way to see the cypress Sequoioideae then by biking amidst the heart of the redwood.
Cars pass us, but on bikes we have the advantage to pull over at every tree that catches our attention. A few large trees have even fallen across the road; their debris has been heaped on the sides. Incredible. Janna and I arrive at the Giant Forest Museum and restrooms where we plop down in the shade and decide to take it easy. Now that we've successfully made most of our elevation gain for today, we are in no hurry. First, we can't check into our campsite until later on this afternoon. Second, we are in heart of sequoias (our first time) and want to take in everything. Unfortunately, the Giant Forest Museum is still closed for COVID, so we make due with a long snack while gazing upwards and around. A ranger gives a talk outside which we listen to for a while.
We ride a little further up the road to the Big Trees Trailhead which is a large boardwalk that enters a grove of massive sequoias set in a meadow. Given the prevalence of bears and the presence of the boardwalk, we take our bikes with us and walk them along the large loop through the evergreens. The meadow is neon green in the noontime sun. It's spectacular. The two of us stop at every bench to sit and admire, moving slow with care and diligence to appreciate our surroundings. Then, it's back on bike as we make our way up the Generals Highway to General Sherman Tree - the world's largest tree in volume at over 36 feet wide, 275 feet tall, and with an age of over 2,200 years. It's pretty incredible to see, and we take many photos as we walk the trail at General Sherman's base.
The whole time we walk around the tree, I keep thinking how grateful I am to now have biked through both the coastal redwoods on our Pacific Coast Highway trip, and now here through the sequoias. We wrap up our viewing and make our way in the afternoon over to the Lodgepole Market & Grill. The grill is regrettably closed from COVID and the market has slim pickings for the same reason. But we are able to get a few ice creams and sit outside and eat. From there, we make our way over to the Lodgepole Campground for our reservation to camp for the night. I reflect on how this is our first camp spot in days - literally - since the heat dome had sequestered us indoors for A/C and safety. I feel relaxed, absolutely thrilled to be back on track with the "spirit" of the trip - being outdoors. We strip our bikes of almost all bags to store in the bear box at our campsite because Janna and I were advised that the mere sight of them could encourage bear interactions. And with that, we lay back and relax the rest of the afternoon away before sleeping next to the soft sound of the Marble Fork Kaweah River flowing adjacent to our campsite.
