Joan's Machu Pichu training hike - warmup hike on Saturday Nick Fohl 9/11/2005 Nick Fohl nfohl --- sixthelement

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This is a combination of photos from Saturday when we drove down to the park.  We stopped on the way at the Giant Forest grove which includes the General Sherman tree.  Apparently it is a genetic freak - it grows very fast  - the equivalent of a 'regular' tree 40' tall every year.  That has over 2000 years turned it into the largest organism on earth.

After checking in at the lodge we hiked up here:  Tokopah Falls: The trail to Tokopah Falls starts just beyond the Log Bridge in Lodgepole Campground. It is an easy 1.7 mile (one way) walk along the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River to the impressive granite cliffs and waterfall of Tokopah Canyon. Tokopah Falls is 1200' (365.8 meters) high, and is most impressive in early summer, when the run-off from the melting snowpack in the Pear Lake region upstream is at its peak. 

we saw two bears on the trail eating berries - I only managed to catch on with the camera - the angle was wrong for the mama (for the nervous nellies out there - they were on the other side of a stream and atop a very large rock so we were not bothering them - plus they ignored all the people entirely!)

At the bottom of the page is stuff from the National Park Service about the big trees.  Their main site is here:  http://www.nps.gov/seki/

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The Giant Sequoia -- Forest Masterpiece

It is difficult to appreciate the size of the giant sequoias because neighboring trees are so large. The largest of the sequoias are as tall as an average 26-story building, and their diameters at the base exceed the width of many city streets. As they continue to grow, they produce about 40 cubic feet of wood each year, approximately equal to the volume of a 50-foot-tall tree one foot in diameter.

The ages of the General Sherman, General Grant and other large sequoias are unknown, but it is estimated that these giants are between 1800 and 2700 years old. They have seen civilization come and go, survived countless fires and long periods of drought, and continue to flourish -- inspiring yet another generation of admirers.

The 30 Largest Giant Sequoias (as of December 2002)