Re: Sequoia & Kings Canyon

never been there, thinkin' 'bout going there this friday and camping one night... any suggestions as to what campground is better than another? (Lodgepole, Azalea, and Potwisha)... i'll be sleeping in my Honda Element by myself, so all i'll need is a small campsite with a fire pit.

also, if you could suggest where to go while there, what to do and see etc. i love taking photos.

thanks for any help

I like Azalea.

I've stayed at Potwisha, it's in the foothills. The times I've tried a night at Lodgepole or Azalea the snow was too deep to camp without a snow shovel. But that was before I learned how to camp with a snow shovel and a catalytic heater.

Lots of stuff to do. Some suggestions:
Be sure to go by the Visitor Center at Lodgepole,
visit General Sherman tree (short hike)
stop at Giant Forest Museum then drive or take shuttle back to Cresent Meadow and do all the stuff along the way: visit the named logs, climb Moro Rock, visit the memorial just past the tunnel log (I think it is Stephen Mather memorial, see posts this forum), lots of trails including hike to Tharps Log from the Crescent Meadow trail head. Short hike along the High Sierra Trail to a good overlook (I forget the name). Watch for bears around Crescent Meadow.

---

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

Better check on the snow first. Potwisha doesn't get any lasting snow, so it's pretty safe.

As someone who nearly got snowed in around 7,000 feet last weekend... take your chains, take your chains. We were in RAV4s and a Honda ELement, and on a hill with an inch of snow on the road even all wheel drive vehicles can fishtail.

But yeah, there's lots to do - there's a neat 7 mile round trip hike out of Potwisha to Marble Falls. The petroglyphs are worth a look. And I'll bet the Redwood Canyon loop is fun in a little snow - I did it in fog, made it a whole new experience.

Quote
AlmostThere


But yeah, there's lots to do - there's a neat 7 mile round trip hike out of Potwisha to Marble Falls. The petroglyphs are worth a look. And I'll bet the Redwood Canyon loop is fun in a little snow - I did it in fog, made it a whole new experience.

Are the petroglyphs you mention the Hospital Rock pictographs/petroglyphs, or some other collection?

---

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

There's actually petroglyphs on the rocks over the river, across the highway from the campground. Go across to the large dirt parking area - at the far end there's a trail, which eventually leads to Hospital Rock. Along the trail in the first hundred feet or so keep looking up at the rock faces and you'll see them.

Anyone know how "Hospital Rock" received that name?

---

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

Quote
Frank Furter
Anyone know how "Hospital Rock" received that name?

Yes:
http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/place_names_of_the_high_sierra/h.html

Be sure to avoid the marijuana groves and the semi-automatics guarding them.

I don't know if the snow level will get low enough during this current storm but the Giant Forest is really, really pretty with the fluffy stuff on the ground. I think Sequoia Park is best in early to mid Nov. (not that it isn't any other time, just saying)

Absolutely do the Congress trail near Lodgepole/Big Forest.