Hiking Among Giants

The giant sequoias in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park are some of the world's largest trees. It's a strain on the neck to look up at the very tops while hiking among them.

To give some perspective, the General Sherman tree (the largest tree in the world!) is 275 feet tall and 36 feet in diameter. We didn't stop to see it this trip but others are equally impressive.

We drove through the parks and did a short day hike in Redwood Canyon which is a somewhat lesser traveled area, supposedly due to the two miles of dirt road to get to the trailhead. But even our low-clearance Prius made it without too much concern.

This 20 second video I made also gives come perspective. (Be sure to change settings to HD.)

Such stark and dramatic landscape near Kings Canyon.

Hume Lake

Near the end of the day we found a quiet little stream through some water worn rock. While Andrew was off taking photos of the mini water falls and reflections, I was entertained by the water striders and their shadows. In the photo below, the water strider is just left of centre and his large shadow is in the middle.