Sequoia/King's Canyon, CA   j karov
  Jul 28, 2005 11:41 PDT 
All,
just back from a trip out to California, visiting
King's Canyon national park.  

Standing near these trees is truly breathtaking.

I had never been to see any of the great trees in CA
until this vacation, in which I spent a week at
King's/Sequoia National park. Pix are from June of
2005.

 kings_canyon1.jpg (70729 bytes)
Kings Canyon

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I decided to get up very early each morning to
avoid the crowds, and was well rewarded by
peace and quiet. 

kings_canyon2a.jpg (63237 bytes) 
King's Canyon

near_grants_grove.jpg (62743 bytes) 
Near Grant's Grove
Later in my week there, I did lots of hiking away
from the maintained trails, which is where I got these
shots I have posted to you. You can encounter bears,
so be prepared. The picture of the bear & cub
was a bit of a close call, but fortunately these
are black/cinnamon bears, and are fairly well
desensitized to people.

 
Bear with cubs near General Sherman Tree

There is a sense of timelessness hiking among such
giant trees. They dwarf us in ways that are humbling,
and bring perspective to our life, and underscore
our insignificance. Yet, at the same time there is
much peace there, and it is a most spiritual
experience hiking in their midst.

Jason