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Jean and I left a rainy Bay Area at 8:30am. After driving to Fresno and then
taking Highway 180 toward Sequoia / Kings Canyon, I realized I'd forgotten to
call to get current road conditions. Luckily, I still had reception with my
cell phone and called from the car (Jean was driving). It's a good thing I
did, because I found out that the road between Sequoia and Kings Canyon was
closed due to snow. So we couldn't get to Wuksachi Lodge from Highway 180.
We took a detour, taking Highway 63 and a few other roads before getting onto
198, the south entrance to Sequoia. We'd never been to this entrance before.
It's only about 1700 feet elevation -- the Sierra foothills, clear of snow. We stopped at the
visitor's center just inside the park, where the rangers were very helpful in
discussing snow-shoeing and x-country ski options.
Continuing up the very winding road, we began to see small patches of snow on the
roadside. Eventually we reached a checkpoint where people were putting chains on
their cars. A ranger stopped us and asked us if we had 4-wheel drive. I said yes,
but that wasn't good enough for him - "Show me." I pointed to the control on my
dash and he let us go through. It's so nice not having to deal with chains!
The drive through the park was incredible. A recent snow had left a small later of
white stuff on the ground, making it impossible to see the pavement. Instead, we
went along a white road with banks of snow on either side, snow-covered branches on
towering sequoias surrounding us. I'd never seen sequoia trees in winter before, and
this was quite a treat. It was magical.
We made a short stop at General Sherman just to stretch our legs after a long drive.
While we walked toward the largest living thing in the world, three little girls ran
over to a nearby snow-covered sequoia and made vertical snow angels around the tree.
You had to be there -- it was a funny sight.
We continued on up the road to Wuksachi Lodge, where we were staying for the next
two nights. There isn't much choice for staying in the park -- there's the lodge
(expensive), or camping out in the cold (it's free!). The lodge has a nice feel to
it. Unfortunately, the dining and living quarters are separated by a short walk
out in the cold. Not too bad unless there's a blizzard. The rooms are nice but
missing a TV (bring something to read!). The main lodge houses the dining room,
gift shop, and not one but two large Christmas trees. They also have board games
so you can hang out by the fire and play. Oh, the food is pretty good, too.
Christmas tree in the dining room
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