For one week each year, we venture to the Sierras, sleep in a tent, cook over a fire, and hike as much as we can. This year our destination was Sequoia National Park. Sunday morning we got up at 4 am, loaded the car, and drove for 7 hours to reach our temporary home at Dorst Creek Campground.
We had a fantastic campsite (#186 if you’re looking to visit). We were on the edge of the campground, with a serene wooded hill along the back of our site. The bathroom and water spigot were close enough to be convenient, but not so close that we had strangers tromping through our site. The neighbors were all older couples who seemed to be as appreciative of quiet and solitude as we were. After four consecutive years of visiting Yosemite, we noticed a distinct peacefulness in Sequoia.
After setting up camp and making a quick lunch, we set out for our first official adventure: Muir Grove. The trail head was actually located within our campground, and according to the guide books was near the group campsites en route to the campground amphitheater, which was practically next to our campsite. Easy peasy, right? No, of course not. The guide books all carefully explained how to find the trail head if you were driving in to the campground from the entrance, and not how to find it if you were walking the other direction from your campsite. But while searching we found a very nice deer hanging around the group campsites, so our troubles were worthwhile.
After communing with our new deer friend for a bit, we finally found the trail head we sought (FYI its on the road that runs BEHIND the group campsites). Finally, our first hike in Sequoia began!
According to the guide books, the trail to Muir Grove is 4.2 miles round trip. The journey to the grove started off in the woods, and passed along the edge of a small meadow.
In the sunnier spots, the sides of the hills were filled with wildflowers.
We passed an unnamed granite dome, which of course we had to climb and explore. Looking out across the expanse, we could see the tops of the Sequoia trees in Muir Grove.
Back on the trail, we encountered more giant trees, colorful wildflowers, and a small fern-filled creek.
Finally, we reached the Sequoias.
The main trail led to the right, and following it through the large trees we eventually came upon another granite outcropping to explore. The views were largely blocked by trees, but since we made the hike mainly for the purpose of seeing trees, I was totally cool with it.
We went back to the main part of the grove, and found a few more overgrown use paths that led to other groupings of Sequoias within the grove.
We could have spent several hours just wandering around exploring here, but after the day’s long drive and knowing that we had a week full of more hikes to look forward to, we headed back to the campsite for the evening to get some rest.
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