Re: Sequoia Nat'l Park

I am thinking about camping and exploring the Sequoia Park however I can't really find a good source of information about what to expect or listings of campgrounds etc.
This forum is excellent for the Yosemite area, is there somplace were I can find good info on Sequoia?
Pictures, trail descriptions? The Recreation.Gov site is too generic.
I would also be interested in a short overnight backpack to a campground too.

Thanks in advice.

Did you look here: ???
http://www.nps.gov/seki/index.htm

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A forum focused on Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, similar to this forum but not nearly as active, would be the Sequoia Kings Canyon Hikers
Yahoo! Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sequoiakingscanyonhikers/

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I've found highsierratopix to have useful backpacking info particularly for Seki

Thanks for the info everyone, I've been wanting to check out Kings/Sequoia for a while now.

Oak guy,
For you.
All you need to do is pick up a Sequoia / Kings Canyon Map and start dreaming.

This guys stuff looks pretty good though:
http://sierrahiker.home.comcast.net/~sierrahiker/

Pretty much in The Sierra.. you just can't go wrong. Or so I heard.

Have fun

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I know, I've been looking at the map since the last trip to REI (on a sidenote, why does every trip there cost me a ton of money?). One of my backpacking buddies moved down to SoCal, so the middle ground meeting point is Sequoia/KC....

Does anyone else drool over maps and look at their sick days like I do?

When I'm not there... I'm thinking about going there... (like right now)
But sometimes looking at the big picture maps is depressing...
never gonna be able to see it all... (at least in the detail I want)

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Thanks for the info, guys!

Hopefully you found this:
http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/park-regions.htm

There's so much to see there too.

Have fun

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Serious question...

You've hiked and backpacked extensively in both Yosemite and Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Parks. I presume (but correct me if I'm wrong) that you prefer backpacking in Yosemite over SEKI. What is it about the Yosemite region you prefer over the backcountry of the Sequoia/Kings Canyon region? Or do you find both regions of the Sierra about the same, except that the trailheads your prefer of Yosemite are closer to your home than those of SEKI?

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What I truely love about Yosemite is the feeling of the power of the glacial past.
The huge and varied glacial erratics, the glacial polish on canyon walls, the
many many domes and exfoliating crests, and of course, the many incredible
valleys and waterfalls.
Nothing finer to me than to hang out and sleep atop a dome or on top of
a slab of smooth as silk granite that has been ground down by a massive amount of ice.

Kings is much more raw. Not as much polish. Not as many domes.

That's the biggest reason.

Now take something like Balloon Dome. In neither. Now that is the bomb.
Or Cherry Creek Canyon. Heaven...

Yosemite is also closer and it's easy to do a 2-3 day trip where I don't see anyone
else just exploring some stupid old trail or little dome I saw from over yonder
that I'd like to get atop.

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Thanks for your reply. To sum up, you love the exposed granite of Yosemite, were SEKI due to mother nature, has less.

The reason I asked is because I know some backpackers who prefer SEKI over Yosemite. The main reasons they give: less people and less traveled.

But to me, their reasons seem a bit suspect. First, because as you know, there's large amount of wilderness in Yosemite that sees far fewer people that many areas of SEKI. Second, these backpackers seem to stick to the more popular trails of each park, so if they value areas that are less travel, I've always wondered why don't do more cross-country or go beyond the "standard, well-traveled trails of each park.

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I've never had an issue with people in the backcountry. If you're willing to go cross country, there are miles and miles that you can have to yourself, even on holiday weekends. For me, Yosemite is just closer to the bay area, which is why I have been to SEKI, but hopefully that will change soon.

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oakroscoe

For me, Yosemite is just closer to the bay area, which is why I have been to SEKI...

There are a number of trailheads off of Hwy 180 in around the Giant Sequoia National Monument and the western sections of Kings Canyon National Park – that time-wise – aren't that much father than many of the trailheads in Yosemite.

That said, most of my backpacking into Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks have started from trailheads in the Inyo National Forest on the eastside of the Sierra. Of course, those trailheads are significantly more distant (in miles and time) from the Bay Area than those of Yosemite.
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Less people and less traveled. When?
That is the key question. Timing plays such a big part.
If you want solitude it can be easily found. Easily.

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That's what I've stated to them. That there are a lot of areas in Yosemite that are less traveled than many place around SEKI. But in their mind, Yosemite is overrun by people. (Their loss, me thinks.)

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