Escape to Kings Canyon, part 6: Grant Grove and the national park story

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A GHOSTLY MIASMA

The weather changed overnight at Hume Lake. Rain was beginning to fall and a chill was in the air when I woke up. I drank my coffee quickly and ran down to the lake with my camera.

Though I’d seen plenty of fog in Santa Cruz, I’d never seen anything quite like the mist hanging over the lake that morning. It looked like smoke rising from a hundred tiny fires under the surface of the water. Fog drifted in iridescent segments between stands of trees on the opposite shore. Clouds smothered the sun, and the fogbanks turned white and opaque; when the sun came out, the fog became translucent. The effect was both spooky and sublime.

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Escape to Kings Canyon, part 5: the past and present of Hume Lake

This post is part 5 of a series. Click here to read the first post. To see the gallery, click here.

IN SEQUOIA NATIONAL FOREST

Cedar Grove had felt like the bottom of the canyon, enclosed by mountains, low and secret. As we climbed uphill on our way to Hume Lake the next morning, we left that hidden world behind. We drove back through the Boyden Cave Roof Pendant and past Junction View, then took a left turn and followed a winding road through the trees. Hume Lake appeared in the distance, a shining gem, vanishing as we got closer and trees obscured it.

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Escape to Kings Canyon, part 4: climbers, rangers, wilderness lovers

This post is part 4 of a series. Click here to read the first post. To see the gallery, click here.

EVEN BICYCLES ARE FORBIDDEN

Back at the campground, Bev read her book and I darted away with my camera. There were things I needed to see more closely, some flowers and birds and rocks to attend to, some niches of the river to explore. On my walk I revisited the Cedar Grove pack station. Sundari and I had passed it the day before. From here, for a fee, visitors can leave for wilderness trips on horseback. Cedar Grove is a popular point of departure for people going to the Kings Canyon backcountry. Many campers take the Rae Lakes Loop trail, 46 miles of beauty: soaring vistas, waterfalls, stunning valleys, forests.

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Escape to Kings Canyon, part 3: glaciers were here

This post is part 3 of a series. Click here to read the first post. To see the gallery, click here.

GREENER THAN EMERALD POOLS

Roaring River Falls is a supercharged waterfall which flows out of yet another hanging valley before running a rocky, choppy race to the Kings River. We reached it after breakfast on our first morning at Cedar Grove. It was a short drive from our campground, a walkable distance really. This cascade is loud and fast, making a sound like continuous thunder, even louder than Grizzly Falls the day before. Sundari made no move to swim in the frigid green pool beneath the falls. I think she might have if nobody had been around.

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Escape to Kings Canyon, part 2: plunging into the depths

This post is part 2 of a series. Click here to read the first post. To see the gallery, click here.

A PATH THROUGH MONARCH WILDERNESS

Over a breakfast of waffles we postponed our first encounter with the General Grant Tree for a few more days. The giant sequoia had lived for 1,650 years; it would probably still be upright at the end of the week. We were restless and ready to move on, craving breathtaking scenery, newly confident in our vehicle after its battery upgrade. Bring on the geological wonders! I thought. Morning sunlight sparkled through the gaps in the trees as we left Grant Grove behind.

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