KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK

WE TRAVELED TO AND CAMPED KINGS CANYON ABOUT 8 YEARS AGO. THIS PARK HAS SEQUOIA TREES THAT CONTAIN SOME OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST TREES IN THE WORLD. THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN THE U.S., MOUNT WHITNEY, IS HERE AT 14,500' HIGH. THE PARK ALSO HAS OVER 200 MARBLE CAVERNS. THE PARK HAS OVER 200 MARBLE CAVERNS. THE PARK HAS A VAST MAJORITY OF ECOSYSTEMS. THEY MITIGATE FOR EXISTING AND POTENTIAL HUMAN EFFECTS ON THE ECOSYSTEMS.

I REMEMBER VISITING A GROVE OF SEQUOIA TREES WHERE WE SAW A MOTHER AND HER BABY BEAR. IT WAS AN UNUSUAL EXPERIENCE. WE PHOTOGRAPHED THEM. SOME OF THE VISITORS SEEMED SEEMED TO BE TOO CLOSE TO HER. IN ANY CASE THEY WALKED AWAY FROM US.

THE YOKUTS HAVE LIVED HERE FOR OVER 6 TO 7,000 YEARS IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRAS. IN THE HIGHER SIERRAS AND IN THE WESTERN FOOTHILLS THE WESTERN MONO LIVED IN THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS. THEY WERE HUNTERS AND GATHERERS.
IN THE LATE 1700'S AND EARLY 1800'S THE SPANISH BEGAN EXPLORING THE EDGE OF THE SIERRAS. TRAPPERS, MINERS, AND LOGGERS POURED IN TO EXPLOIT WHATEVER THE MOUNTAINS HAD TO OFFER. BY THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY THE SAN JOAQUIN COMMUNITIES LOOKED TO THE SIERRAS FOR WATER AND RECREATION. THE TWO PARKS, SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON PROTECT 265 NATIVE PREHISTORIC SITES AND 69 HISTORIC SITES. THE YOKUTS AND MONARCHS WERE SEPARATED BY LANGUAGE AND HISTORY. THE YOKUTS SPOKE PENUTIAN. MONACHE LANGUAGE IS LIKE SHONE. THESE TWO PARKS PROTECT OVER HALF OF THE REMAINING SEQUOIA GROVES IN THE WORLD. THE SIERRAS ARE ABOUT 400 MILES LONG WITH THE NORTHERN END NEAR LASSEN PEAK AND THE SOUTHERN END AT TEHACHAPI PASS. IN THE 1850'S THE GOLD RUSH CHANGED THE WAY THESE PARKS LOOKED AND EXPLORERS CAMPED AND MINED FOE GOLD IN HUGE NUMBERS.

SEQUOIAS BECOME VERY LARGE BECAUSE THEY GROW FAST OVER A LONG LIFETIME. THEY ARE RESISTANT TO MANY INSECTS AND OTHER DISEASES, AND ARE RESISTENT TO FIRES. THE MAIN CAUSE OF DEATH IS THEIR SHALLOW ROOT SYSTEM CAUSING THEM TO FALL OVER. WOODROW WILSON CREATED THE NATIONAL PARK IN 1916. HOWEVER, YELLOWSTONE WAS THE FIRST NATIONAL PARK.

THERE IS A TRAIL THAT HEADS UP TO A LARGE ROCK TOP THAT I COULD NOT WALK ON BECAUSE OF THE SEVERE VERTICAL DROP ON EITHER SIDE. I LET MY SON AND HUSBAND DO IT. I'M SENSITIVE TO HIGH PLACES AND DEEP RAVINES.

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