The mammoths of the forest

After a week without telephone or internet, there is news from the USA again.

From the glittering metropolis we went to Sequoia National Park, about 350 miles away. We left Death Valley to the north - we had enough of deserts and we won't miss the heat of the last two days.

It went up into the Sierra Nevada at over 2000 meters above sea level. We spent the first two nights in Kings Canyon NP, which forms a network together with Sequoia NP. Unfortunately, most of Kings Canyon's ancient sequoias were cut down in the late 19th century and only a few giant trees survived. Since the wood is very brittle, it was used to make pencils and sticks for vineyards, among other things. So sad. You can still visit the places where the stumps of these giants have not weathered even after more than 100 years.

Kings Canyon is home to the third largest tree in the world by volume - the General Grant Tree. At 1,600 years old it is still a young man, but with a diameter of 11 meters it is a very fat one. We got hold of idyllic campsites right in the national park.

Hikes and barbecues were on the agenda before we continued south to Sequoia National Park.

Thanks to committed conservationists, there is still the largest population of old Sequoias there, including the largest - General Sherman Tree, and the oldest - The President at around 3200 years old.

As with the whales, you feel so puny and insignificant when you stand face to face with the giants.

The hikes through the park on beautifully landscaped hiking trails were also wonderful. Always looking around a little to see if there might be a bear nearby - we had already discovered excrement.

Currently, it is no longer deforestation but climate change that is the Sequoias' biggest enemy. Between 2020-2021 alone, almost a fifth of the population was destroyed by extreme forest fires - although fires are fundamentally important for the reproduction and growth of sequoias. However, due to drought and too little meltwater, the trees are weakened and the fires are too strong. Therefore, the fires are lit as controlled as possible by the rangers.

All in all, a really wonderful experience in an uncrowded national park.

PS: the demolished car wasn't the only one on the streets in such a condition. Missing add-on parts, serious accident damage, additions and modifications that are life-threatening to pedestrians are more the rule than the exception. Unthinkable in Western Europe. Konstantin even saw a driver accelerate with a pair of pliers.