Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and San Francisco
We flew into San Fran and needed to go get groceries. There was a Safeway that was close to the airport so we headed that way after getting our rental car. I felt out of my element at the Safeway when I had to put the grocery cart on an escalator for it to be taken down to the parking lot while I walked down the stairs—I have never done that!
Once we got situated, we headed for Kings Canyon National Park. We had camping reservations at Sunset Campground and since Kings Canyon and Sequoia are next to one another, it was a good spot. Once you get close, the drive is pretty scenic as you gain a lot of elevation. I had no idea prior to planning the trip that Sequoia/Kings Canyon ranged from 4,000-9,000 feet in elevation. We arrived that evening and were all pretty tired. One awesome thing about Sunset Campground is that there is a lot of firewood cut up at each site. The rangers cut up the wood from the dead trees for campers to use. It was great not having to locate firewood once we arrived! It was an easy campground to locate.
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Sunset Campground, Kings Canyon
We cooked dinner and headed to bed. The forecast was calling for temperatures in the upper 20’s but we guessed it was in the 30’s at night. Still very cold considering it was the middle of June. The next morning, we decided to go find showers. This proved to be more difficult than I thought. We headed over to the visitor’s center first.
By this time, there was a thick fog everywhere. The weather forecast called for sun the entire day so we were surprised that the fog didn’t lift until late that evening. Today was our only full day in the parks so we decided to spend it in Sequoia. We were wanting to see General Sherman, Moro Rock, and Big Trees Trail. We missed the public parking by General Sherman and all the other lots we found were for those with disabilities. We ended up parking along the road in a pullout and walking. We walked to the Giant Forest Museum and found a trail that said you could hike to General Sherman (5 miles). Do not take this trail! We, along with plenty of other people, never did get to General Sherman because this trail ends up in a rocky area near a waterfall and then at the other side there are multiple trails, none of which are marked as leading to General Sherman. Unless you have a detailed map, you are better off not hiking this trail to get to it. We ended up heading back to the road and walking the rest of the way along it. However, the hike was still very pretty! We made it to General Sherman and then took the bus back.
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Hike to see General Sherman (do not go this route) and typical photo in front of General Sherman
We decided to skip Moro Rock as the fog was so thick that we would not have had a view of the mountains. For dinner, we decided to eat at the John Muir Lodge as it was getting late. The lodge forgot that we had put our name in so eventually we asked and were seated. Then, we got a different table’s food and the food was not good. They might have just been having a rough night.
Day Three
Woke up early and went on a run. The elevation took my breath away immediately! I ran around the campground and found a trail that connected to another campground and path. At one point, I heard something jump out of the bushes behind me and it really startled me because it was so close. It was only a deer!
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My Dad was making breakfast when I returned. Since the fog had dissipated that morning, I asked my Dad if he wanted to head over the General Grant area to see more Sequoias. It is so close to the campground and you can see these nice Sequoias on a paved path in Kings Canyon. The General Grant tree is the “Christmas Tree of the United States.”
We left the park and headed towards San Francisco. When leaving, we didn’t accelerate for almost an hour due to losing elevation! The temperatures were also increasing on the way down. We stopped along the way to take a couple photographs.
Grant Grove Village, Kings Canyon
For scale, look at my Dad in the photo to the left
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Below: views on our way out of Kings Canyon National Park - losing a lot of elevation here
We arrived in San Francisco in the afternoon. Driving took a little longer due to traffic. We stayed at an Airbnb that was very cute. We had wanted to rent bikes but I did not know the bike rental required them to be returned early and we were not going to have time. Andrew met us there as he was visiting a friend in Oakland over the weekend. We made dinner reservations at the Water Bar and headed to Golden Gate Park. The park was very neat—and huge. We did not have a lot of time so we went to Golden Gate Bridge. I loved this part! The scenery in the area is beautiful. Rocky cliffs, blue/green ocean, the red bridge, green grasses. Dinner at the Water Bar offered us an amazing view. It was an expensive meal but we would be backpacking for the next few days so a good dinner was warranted.
Top: Golden Gate Park, Golden Gate Bridge Bottom: Oakland Bay Bridge from the Water Bar, Alcatraz
We woke up early the next morning and my sister flew back to Ohio for work. Andrew, my Dad and I all explored San Francisco a bit more before heading to Yosemite. We started by checking out Lombard street and riding a cable car/trolley. Andrew also wanted to go to the cable car museum (it is free!) and just like the engineer that he is, he was enthralled. Next, we went to Twin Peaks to check out the views of the city. Andrew has an awesome friend, Nate, that told us about a few spots to see in our shortened day. Then,we went to the Marina District and ate at In-N-Out Burger before heading toward Yosemite.
Left: Lombard Street
Top and bottom left: View from Twin Peaks
Bottom: Cable car
