Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Park

Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park are actually located right next to each other. Kings Canyon is a deep valley that ends at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. The walls are mostly made of granite, which was brought to the surface millions of years ago by the movement of the continental plates and exposed by the erosion of the layers above it. In some places, you can still see the "old" layers on the extremely steep cliffs. Jagged layers of rock in unusual colors. In the western part of the park, there are also some sequoias, the giant trees that give the neighboring park its name. However, it must be said that humans caused quite a bit of havoc here 150 years ago. Often, all you can see are cemeteries of giant tree stumps, which can be rather nostalgic.

The next day, in Sequoia, we were able to see many of the living specimens. Including the largest tree in the world, the Capitan Sherman Tree, and many many more sequoias. Walking through the forest of sequoias, every other tree seems tiny and the people disappear. This is also hard to capture in photos or describe. In any case, we spent a great day with the giant trees, and since it was the last park we visited, we slowly said goodbye to the national parks.

On the very last short hike to a cabin built in a fallen tree, we finally had another highlight. After searching for weeks and wishing for an encounter without success, suddenly it was in front of us... a bear! After the initial shock, we realized the situation. It was a mother bear with two cubs (super cute) about 25 meters away. We cautiously tried to get a good look and observe the animals. The cubs were clumsily climbing around on trees, while the mother trotted alongside, annoyed. That was another extraordinary experience and a special highlight to encounter these wild animals in their natural habitat.

... the last picture is cheating... we weren't that close unfortunately. But maybe it's better that way ;-)