9/27/14 The day after finishing the loop, we spent some time in Sequoia National Park and visited the General Sherman tree and Crystal Cave.
1 After getting off the trail the night before, we drove out to Stony Creek and stayed at a small lodge there. We woke to a light rain and snow on the peaks around us. Looks like we timed our five days on the loop perfectly. It was definitely great to see fresh snow though. Here's hoping for a wet winter! Now we're on our way to see the General Sherman tree.
2 The path starts about 2/3 of the way up the height of the tree. Then you take a long, fairly steep, trail all the way down to the base. General Sherman is the largest tree, and largest living thing, on Earth. At 275' tall, and 25' in diameter, this tree is massive!
3 At the base looking up the General Sherman tree.
4 Giant fire scar at the base.
5 Walking around the base of the General Sherman tree. Those trees in the background that look like toothpicks are actually pretty big trees!
6 The obligatory tourist photo.
7 Video looking up the entire 275' height of the General Sherman tree.
For best performance, you can view the video on YouTube.
8 A couple more Giant Sequoia photos as we head back to the car.
9 The Twin Sisters, two Giant Sequoia that fused at the base as they grew. Now it's time for our tour of Crystal Cave.
10 Crystal Cave is one of the largest publicly accessible marble karst caves in North America. It has been a popular tourist attraction since the 1940's, with tours run all day every summer. We reserved our tickets and made the relatively long drive down for the tour. Here you can see the underground stream running through the cave. The water carves one inch deeper every 540 years.
11 Amazing stalactite formations. The lighting is all from carefully placed LEDs along the walkway. Otherewise, it would be pitch black.
12 The stalactites form from calcium oozing through the marble. The stalagmites form from drops hitting the floor and building up over thousands and thousands of years. Looks like something out of an Aliens movie.
13 We wish we could go off the established path and explore the cave.
14 More amazing formations. We learned a new pnemonic from the guide... "stalactites stay tight to the ceiling while stalagmites might reach the ceiling some day".
15 One of the large rooms in the cave with the "Jabba the Hutt" formation.
16 Another view of the large room.
17 Marble Hall, the largest room in Crystal Cave and largest of all the caves in Sequoia-Kings Canyon. The lighting makes it very tough to take pictures, but the room is pretty mind-blowing. The guide turns the lights out for a whlie so everyone can experience complete darkness (probably a first time for most). Not a single photon of light. Your eyes would never, ever adjust to the point of being able to see anything.
18 360 degree video inside Marble Hall. You can hear our perky guide answering questions about Native American cave dwellers.
For best performance, you can view the video on YouTube.
19 One last picture as the tour heads out of the cave. Here the marble is polished to perfection from thousands of years of flowing water. Now it's time to reluctantly leave Sequoia National Park and make the long drive home.