Take The Road That Is Less Traveled Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park May 24, 2001 - May 26, 2000

                 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

                                    Robert Frost

          Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
          And sorry I could not travel both
          And be one traveler, long I stood
          And looked down one as far as I could
          To where it bent in the undergrowth;
          Then took the other, as just as fair,
          And having perhaps the better claim,
          Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
          Though as for that the passing there
          Had worn them really about the same,
          And both that morning equally lay
          In leaves no step had trodden black.
          Oh, I kept the first for another day!
          Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
          I doubted if I should ever come back.
          I shall be telling this with a sigh
          Somewhere ages and ages hence:
          Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
          I took the one less traveled by,
          And that has made all the difference. 

If I were to express my trip to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park using one word, the word would be unexpected. If I were to summarize my experience to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park using one sentence, the sentence would be Take the road that is less traveled. I did not expect to go to California for a conference. I did not plan to visit the less known Sequoia National Park until the very last minute. Once I was there, the beauty of the park was simply beyond my imagination. I traveled all by myself, off road and on road. I hiked for miles, alone, in the forest, not seeing a single soul for hours. I met quite a few interesting people and last but not least, I also made a good friend -- Linda.

Destination Unknown

So here I was, in the morning of May 24, sitting on the bed in a motel room at Santa Barbara. A map of California was unfolded in front of me. Looking at the map, there is the Joshua Tree National Park to the east of Los Angeles. There is the famous California highway 1 along the golden coast. Yosemite is a mere 300 miles away. For some reason, I chose the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. Although Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park is the second oldest park in US (the first, of course, is Yellowstone), it is less famous than its nearby neighbor -- Yosemite.

Four hours later, after zigzagging across the state, I came to the town of Visalia. It was a hot and hazy day but I could still see the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the far east. From this point on, the road was all up hill. It was only a 10-mile drive to the visitor center -- my first stop. However, it seemed have taken me forever to reach there. This was not a complain, though. As I drove closer to the park, the view just got better and better. What used to be vague, now became clear. What appeared to be small, now became gigantic. The mountain range was simply magnificent. As I drove on the winding road, it became harder and harder for me to focus on the road in front of me instead of road side. I don't know how many road accidents happens here everyday. But on a gorgeous day like this, accident rate could be really high. The first chance I got to stop was at lake Kaweah, which is fed by all the streams coming from top of the mountains. I was not sure whether it is a man-made lake or not. Either way, the view of the mountain far away was incredible.

Scenery near the south entrance

A well planned trip, or was it?

In the park

Sequoia National Park is named for the famous giant Sequoia tree. A typical giant sequoia can live up to 3200 years old, grow up to 311 feet tall, and weight up to 1200 tons. At 275 feet and weights about 1385 tons, the General Sherman tree is the largest giant sequoia tree. It is also the largest living thing on the planet, in terms of volume. The giant sequoia, however, is not the tallest tree in the world. The California coast redwood, which can grow up to 370 feet, is the tallest living being on earth. Looking at the figures cannot possibly show you the sheer size of the giant sequoia. You have to stand in front one of them before you really appreciate these giants.

The Giant Sequoia Tree

Moro Rock

Chasing the marmot

I parked my car at a parking lot near the camp site. The first thing one would notice at the camp site is the large number of rectangular-shape metal boxes. Further investigation reveals the purpose of these boxes -- to prevent bears from feasting on your food. All the food campers brought should be locked in these boxes so bears have no way to access them. Walking around, you would notice the excessive number of signs warning you about aggressive bears. They take bears seriously here at the park. I started my hike towards the waterfall shortly after I parked my car. The sun would be setting in less than two hours. More importantly, I am hiking alone, and I believe the bears just came out of hibernation. They must be very hungry now.

Tokopah Waterfall

Linda saves the day

I don't know how other people might react when two almost identical events happen to him, two years apart, at opposite side of the globe. I was just awe-struck right there. Is this a coincidence or is it that I have some kind of luck to meet sojourners? Well, we shall see two years from now.

I met Linda on my way back from the waterfall. She was sitting on a piece of rock, looking down the roaring Kaweah river. It was late spring and snow was still melting on top of high mountains, feeding into the river. The trail seemed so quiet, even with the sound of rushing water. I started talking with her, as she was heading towards the camp site as well. Before we got back to the camp site, we already exchanged enough information about ourselves and what we were doing on this particular day at this particular place on this lonely planet. Oddly enough, Linda also worked in the field of computer science. She had been working for nine years as a network analyst before she quit her job a few months back and started this journey of hers.

It was past seven when we got back to the camp site. When Linda found out that I was just wandering around in the park, with no specific plans, she invited me to her site to have a cup of tea. Although she has a camp site, she wasn't actually camping. Instead, she has been sleeping in her Nissan truck since the day she got on the road. She converted the cab into an elegant living quarter with all the necessary essentials. I believe she can go just about anywhere with this setup. I must say that I was quite impressed and inspired by the way she was traveling. If she had been traveling like this for months, I can definitely spend a night in the rental car I have, even my rental car is not as comfortable as her truck. That was how I spent my first night at the park, in a Hyundai Sonata, with a blanket and pillow which I borrowed from Linda.

The Hike to Twin Lake (9000ft) -- No, I did not get to the lake because I was afraid of the bears, even though I did not see a single one

Wild drive -- what Hao sees when he got lost!

Hume Lake

I only spent two days at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park but it seemed that I only spent an hour there. The vastness of the nature, once you are in it, is mind boggling. Standing anywhere in the park and look around you, all you can see are trees after trees, peaks after peaks and valleys after valleys. There are no signs of civilization, no trace of disturbance. You can smell the freshness of the air, mixed with scents of various plants; you can hear the harmony of nature at work: streams rolling down the slope, birds sliding through the air, trees wrestling with the wind; and, last but not least, you may taste the dark side of nature: the anxiety of getting lost in the woods; the fear of being chased by a hungry bear coming out of no where. I should emphasis on the fear part a little bit more, because that is how I, while hiking along in the mountain, had felt. After hours of hiking, without meeting another single soul, I started to worry about the possibilities of getting lost forever in the back country. I could imagine the search and rescue team looking for my dead body over the slopes and only found remains of my backpack, torn into pieces..... That being said, the pictures I took while visiting the park cannot reflect the true beauty of the park. I just hope the National Park Service won't sue me because my pictures are a disgrace to the true beauty of the park.