Re: SEKI Road Trip -- RV general interest story

http://www.examiner.com/x-12879-LA-RVing-Examiner~y2009m6d18-Road-Trips-Sequoia--Kings-Canyon-National-Parks-California

Road Trips: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California
June 18, The Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, famous for their tall trees, waterfalls, rivers, sweeping canyon vistas and copious wildlife, cover 864,000 acres of California’s High Sierras, from the foothills of the Central Valley to the 14,494 foot peak of Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Ponderosa, Jeffrey and Lodgepole pines, march solidly up the western slopes of the mountainside and then gracefully give way to the towering majesty of the ancient Sequoias on the high plateau. “In the vast Sierra wilderness, far to the southward of the famous Yosemite Valley, there is yet a grander valley of the same kind. It is situated on the south fork of the Kings River, above the most extensive groves and forests of the giant sequoia, and beneath the shadows of the highest mountains in the range, where canyons are the deepest and the snow-laden peaks are crowded most closely together.” .....

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

"The Sequoia, also known as a Redwood...."


It wood [sic] seem that ol' Julian graduated at the head of his class from the Ronald Reagan College of Dendrology.

I just wrote a new piece on Yosemite:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-12879-LA-RVing-Examiner~y2009m7d9-Oh-Ranger-Why-is-Yosemite-National-Park-in-flames

I tried very hard not to mention Redwood and Sequoia in the same sentence! Also, although I deeply appreciate being compared to Ronald Reagan (one of your greatest President's and certainly better than your current incumbent), I actually attended the Margaret Thatcher School of Arboriculture. The British have a little bit more experience in this area as I believe the USA is still only 233 years old (barely 10% of the age of a Sequoia).

Kind Regards,

Julian
LA RVing Examiner

"Margaret Thatcher School of Arboriculture"?

Presumably this would be the school of arboriculture that proposes that whatever is good for the largest, richest, and privately owned trees will be good for the forest and "trickle down" to the lower life forms?

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

I gather then, that you are not a fan of Margaret Thatcher? Oh well, life is full of contradictions, as is Yosmite. It's interesting that the prime movers in the eco-terrorism that was inflicted on Hetch Hetchy were the Federal Government and The City of San Francisco, demonstrating that private enterprise is but a novice when it comes to the large scale destruction that can be visited upon us by the State. I also note with interest that Dianne Feinstein has done everything in her power to block efforts to restore Hetch Hetchy to its original condition. Last time I checked she was a "Registered Democrat" (yet another contradiction). Greed is not, and never has been, solely the province of private enterprise or its proponents. Hetch Hetchy remains a testament to that fact.

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jlgothard
I gather then, that you are not a fan of Margaret Thatcher? Oh well, life is full of contradictions, as is Yosmite. It's interesting that the prime movers in the eco-terrorism that was inflicted on Hetch Hetchy were the Federal Government and The City of San Francisco, demonstrating that private enterprise is but a novice when it comes to the large scale destruction that can be visited upon us by the State. I also note with interest that Dianne Feinstein has done everything in her power to block efforts to restore Hetch Hetchy to its original condition. Last time I checked she was a "Registered Democrat" (yet another contradiction). Greed is not, and never has been, solely the province of private enterprise or its proponents. Hetch Hetchy remains a testament to that fact.

Nothing against Margaret Thatcher personally. I am "not a fan" of the political views and rescource utilization that essentially produce a "support group for the rich" as a result of cronyism, industrial indulgence, and misdirection of governmental power to benefit primarily those in the upper economic strata under the deception that what is good for the weathy is good for the poor. I am not a fan of socialism for the rich or for the concept that government is to be used, as it was by Reagan and Baby Bush as a institution to be driven into the ground by deficit spending to benefit certain business interests and poorly veiled politially driven neo-empire-building jingoist militarism.

I am not a Hetch Hetchy scholar, but I don't think Hetch Hetchy was constructed unilaterally by governmental action acting against business interests-- it is likely, as most turn of the century civil engineering projects like the railroads, that they were driven by "titans of industry (and monopoly)" with private capital and governmental rescources to expand the business opportunities in California.

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

I think Hetch Hetchy is perhaps a unique case. As I understand it, the need for a reliable source of drinking water stemmed directly from the aftermath of the San Francisco earthquake in1906. Nearly all the pressure to dam the Tuolumne River came from the City of San Francisco. You are no doubt correct that the power generation element would have carried a significant amount of private involvement in the lobbying process that produced the 1913 Raker Act. It does, however, look like this was a classic case study for those interested in learning about the worst excesses of "big government in action." I think the Federal government failed in its fiduciary duty of care to its citizens by allowing this development. It is truly bizarre to drive through the Mather Campground gateway on the Hetch Hetchy Road and find that it is administered by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department (some 3.5 hours drive to the north!).

As a Brit I try to stay out of US political debates (though I am actually a Political Science Major!) as we have more than enough nefarious politicians in the UK without my debating your US equivalents. That does not mean, however, that one should not grieve for the loss of Hetch Hetchy and wish, however hopelessly, for its restoration. This is a wonderful, and significantly less traveled, section of Yosemite and I would certainly commend it to anyone who has not had the privilege of visiting it.

I believe that Reagan ranks directly above G. W. Bush on the "greatest Presidents" scale.
(By the way, I guess that the Brits haven't heard that we had an election last year and that G.W.B. is no longer in office. We elected someone with a brain this time.)

I've been wanting to go to Kings Canyon for years but so far have only made it to Sequoia. From pictures it appears that the Cedar Grove and Zumwalt Meadows area of Kings Canyon is sort of like a miniature Yosemite Valley but with not as many waterfalls.

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Bob Weaver
I've been wanting to go to Kings Canyon for years but so far have only made it to Sequoia. From pictures it appears that the Cedar Grove and Zumwalt Meadows area of Kings Canyon is sort of like a miniature Yosemite Valley but with not as many waterfalls.

I'm guessing you probably entered Kings Canyon NP as far as Grant Village goes. I know that's not quite Kings Canyon itself.

They've got waterfalls. There's Grizzly Falls (in Sequoia National Forest) just before you enter Kings Canyon NP proper. Roaring River Falls is short but very loud.

Most of the way to the Roads End Pemit Station is actually Sequoia National Forest. There are some pretty interesting things to see. Kings Canyon Lodge (private) has two gravity-fed glass-vial gas pumps. It's also more expensive than anywhere else in the area. Boyden Cavern is pretty nice too.

Well, I'll make it there someday I'm sure. When we went to Sequoia, we drove up the General's Highway and camped at the Lodgepole campground, and took some hikes including up to Heather Lake. It was very pretty, but it doesn't have the grandeur and drama of Yosemite. The trees are very impressive there.

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Bob Weaver
I've been wanting to go to Kings Canyon for years but so far have only made it to Sequoia. From pictures it appears that the Cedar Grove and Zumwalt Meadows area of Kings Canyon is sort of like a miniature Yosemite Valley but with not as many waterfalls.

Kings was cut by the river and, consequently, is a "V-shaped" valley as opposed to the glacier-cut "U-shaped" Yosemite valley. That is also the reason that it doesn't have any high waterfalls like Yosemite.

It is deeper than Yosemite. E.g., the Copper Creek trail, which climbs out to the north rim, starts at Roads End at an elevation of 5.0k and enters Granite Basin through a pass at 10.4k... in less than 7 trail miles. (Note: the elevation differential from the Colorado River to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is 4.8k.) The most popular dayhike is from Roads End to Mist Falls, a RT of approx. 10 miles.

It has been traditionally known as "Fresno's Yosemite" because the local populace tends to go there for weekend camping trips. (There is a plethora of car camping sites down in the canyon.)

If you watch the 'Story Video' in the following link, about 60% of the way through the video there is an aerial view of Kings from the Sierra Crest:
<http://www.openroad.tv/index.php?categoryid=16&p25_id=48#>;



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2009 01:55PM by szalkowski.

Cool thanks. The town of Idylwild, California is sometimes called "The Yosemite of the South" because there is a large rock there (Tahquitz Peak) popular with rock climbers and the mountain is forested and it snows there. But it doesn't even begin to compare with Yosemite, in my opinion, as far as scenery goes. It's as if you took a tiny, insignificant sample of Yosemite and dropped it there. It is way overdeveloped and commercialized though, which does make it similar to Yosemite.

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Bob Weaver
It is way overdeveloped and commercialized though, which does make it similar to Yosemite.

What makes you think Yosemite is "way overdeveloped and commercialized"?

Only the eastern end of Yosemite Valley specifically. It's a park, yet they've turned it into a resort.

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Bob Weaver
Only the eastern end of Yosemite Valley specifically.

Sigh! Yosemite != Yosemite Valley

But... Yosemite Valley is the claim to fame of the park, and is what makes the park a world-class destination. The rest of the park is similar to the rest of the Sierra Nevada range. Yosemite Valley is what makes the park unique and famous. It is the best part of the world's best park, and instead of leaving it as a park, they turned it into this:

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Bob Weaver
But... Yosemite Valley is the claim to fame of the park, and is what makes the park a world-class destination.

That doesn't make Yosemite over developed.

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The rest of the park is similar to the rest of the Sierra Nevada range.

How much of the "rest of the park" have you seen? It's not just more Sierra.

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Yosemite Valley is what makes the park unique and famous. It is the best part of the world's best park, and instead of leaving it as a park, they turned it into this:

Do you have any idea of the scale on that shot?

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Bob Weaver
Cool thanks. The town of Idylwild, California is sometimes called "The Yosemite of the South" because there is a large rock there (Tahquitz Peak) popular with rock climbers and the mountain is forested and it snows there. But it doesn't even begin to compare with Yosemite, in my opinion, as far as scenery goes. It's as if you took a tiny, insignificant sample of Yosemite and dropped it there. It is way overdeveloped and commercialized though, which does make it similar to Yosemite.

Climbs on Tahquitz Rock were the original benchmarks for the Class 5 subdivisions of the Yosemite Decimal System. The popularity of rock climbing there by the Rock Climbing Section of the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter is almost undoubtedly the origin of the "Yosemite of the South" designation.

Sigh.

"If you accidentally stray off the trails be very cautious and look out for snakes, cougar and bears."

Snakes and cougars and bears. Oh, my!
Snakes and cougars and bears. Oh, my!
Snakes and cougars and bears. Oh, my!