Posting now from a hotel in California after a nice hot shower and five days trekking all over the Redwood forests of Northern California. I was able to gather some photos of some very cool, VERY big(gigantic?) conifers. Some are surely well known, others not as well but all to me were awe inspiring. To imagine some of these trees were already growing when Christ was born and were already giants when the black plague tore across Europe 700 years ago, it's mind boggling.

Lower in the post I have included some photos but I wanted to say, pictures do them no justice and thus these might act as spoilers to visitors. In order to allow folks to skip them I've included them at the bottom of this post.

As for the parks, I am very happy to report that at least in my amatuer opinion, the US National parks systems have done a *phenominal* job both protecting these legendary monoliths while simulataneously allow the public close up examination. I've highlighted some of the individual park details I wanted to review(positively!) below.

Jeddediah State Redwood Park. To me the most impressive things about this park is the ease of which you can adventure amongst giants but also the lack of gates, tourist traps and the extreme sense of nature still present. I hiked the camp two days in the middle of the week, but at high season, Early Summer/Late Spring and for the most part, the paths and trails were devoid of people. I could sit there and look over the trees and the various settings in private and also enjoy the sounds of the woods. Another impressive fact is that there is NO COST to entering this great place and access is also very easy. Unlike Yosemite and the giant redwood forests of the Sierra, there is no extreme elevation gains here, heck, if you wanted to and had the time, you could BIKE to the park.

The campsites themselves are fantastic also. Quite private, nice bathrooms here and there(with showers), a majestic river 50 yards from my own site. All this and you sleep under OLD growth coast redwoods. It's amazing.

Mostly I wanted to say, if you enjoy a lack of crowds, as I do, I'd put this on your list. It's off the beaten path a bit, very, very quiet and almost completely devoid of human interferance.

I visited Yosemite and King's Canyon parks as well, home to many giant sequoia groves. Yosemite had a great campground(Wawona) next to a raging river which was terrific because any white noise helps a lot with noisy camp neighbors. A few miles(literally) from this site is the Mariposa grove. I heard it was a zoo during the day and that parking was challenging, so I awoke early with the light, headed down and parked with only one other car. Shortly after getting out of the car and making headway, I was greated by shockingly huge, beautiful monoliths of nature. Though only featuring a few of the largest giant redwoods(Grizzley Giant in particular), this grove was amazing. From 7AM to 9AM I walked several miles and saw NO ONE. Not one person and only heard a distant park ranger truck once or twice over that time.

I was able to sit under the majestic Grizzly Giant sequoia. Though relatively short compared to trees on my trip(215 feet?), this tree really looked fake it was so huge. Enormous branches jutted out and arched irregularly and huge swathes of foliage was scattered here and there amongst the giant canopy. A sign stated that the largest branch, over seven feet in diameter itself was larger then any of the other non-sequioas in the area, no small feet considering the enormous 200'+ sugar pines present as well. I sat in the cool shade as the enormous, bright red bark and branches were lit by the rising sun and I was able to listen to birds, squirrels and even a few doe passed me by. It was amazing and for me, the best part of my trip. I spent almost thirty minutes, straining my neck up the canopy as I imagined all the silly wars fought, all the lives of humans that had passed and yet this thing was still here long before that. It leaves you in a different state of mind I think.

As I headed back to my car, a few hours later, I realized that the parking lot had indeed filled with hundreds of cars and people and busses everywhere. I cannot stress enough if you go to these parks, go to bed early, get up earlier and enjoy these beauties in their natural setting. It's not that I hate people or crying, whining kids asking when they can play their Nintendo or swarms of overweight, disgruntled tourists complaining about the 'brutal' hike or the enormously oversized SUV's all driving as fast as they can and then complaining about the price of gas.... Well, ok, maybe sometimes I do hate people. In any sense, I suspect everyone else here who truely appreciates trees and conifers will enjoy these wonders in a more natural state.

Later during the trip, at King's Canyon I was able to visit the Giant Forest, an enormous grove of Giant Sequoia, and also home to General Sherman, the largest living thing on earth. Here I went later in the day due to scheduling issues but I found the parks had done a magnificient job of managing this wonderful place. Huge paved trails, set comfortably(and I suspect a healthy) distance from the trees, yet more then close enough to enjoy their majesty. Winding, subtle paths lead me through an enormous forest of these giants, literally dozens or hundreds of trees 25'+ wide and 200-300' tall. General Sherman was protected by a large ring and yet had a small segment where people could get closer for photos. During my trip here I was surprised(though probably ignorantly so) that most, and I mean 90%, of the people spoke different languages. Korean, Dutch, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and other languages intermingled but everyone was largely quiet and subtle with their movements and conversations. Perhaps the trees demanded it with their presense, or perhaps there is a universal awe of these great things or perhaps I was just expectant of more obnoxious people that were there.

Later during this visit, I wandered around the rest of the Giant Forest and because of the vast trail system, people were very well dispersed(away from General Sherman).

Amazingly as well, parking and the single lane roads were very open, fast moving and frustrating-free. Ironically the city traffic I dealt with earlier today in Fresno was much worse then anything I saw in any of our parks, despite perfect weather and school being out.

All in all, I had a wonderful, memorable time, captured some great images and enjoyed all three parks immensely. If you have a chance, get out and enjoy them, it's something you won't soon forget.

Some photos. For the most part, I've kept out information here intentionally, if you want more, let me know and I'll try and dig it up for you.

On Highway 101, along the Oregon border. Endless viewpoints of stunning sea-vistas, the trip alone along the highway was worth every penny.

Right off my campground at JSRP.

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I need a shower and time to relax, but I'll post more photos in the next day or three.

-Will