Travelogue

I had spent quite a bit of time researching Sequoia and Kings Canyon and determined that the best approach would be to spend one night at the John Muir Lodge, just inside the Big Stump Entrance to Kings Canyon, from which to explore the Sequoia section, and then move on to the Cedar Grove Lodge at the end of Kings Canyon for two nights to allow us to do a long day hike into the canyon.

The following is a description of how we spent a very wonderful three and a half days in Sequoia and Kings Canyon.

Day 1 – John Muir Lodge, Panoramic Point, and General Grant Tree

View from Panoramic Point - TJGThe drive from the airport to the John Muir Lodge took us about five hours, bringing us past the beautiful San Luis Reservoir and through the rich agricultural landscape of central California.

Although it was already 6:30 when we arrived, and probably time to think about feeding ourselves, we decided instead to take a quick run up to Panoramic Point, which the guide books described as having a breathtaking view of Kings Canyon. Herb was a bit skeptical about my plan and accused me once more of trying to “pack 10 pounds into a 5 pound bag.” After all, he had driven the whole way and wanted to just relax and have a beer. As usual, he lost the argument and we set off up the steep, winding 2.3 mile road to the Point. This was one time I was glad that we didn’t have the RV, because I’m not sure if it would have made it up this road; in fact, I don’t think it was even allowed. The boys decided they needed the exercise and hill training, so they chose to run (or more correctly race) to the top.

Lolo enjoying her IPA - TJGOnce on top, we took out our movie camera and awaited the boys’ arrival. Unfortunately, I wasn’t ready with the camera when Andrew appeared a few yards ahead of Tommy to declare victory in the grueling uphill race. I was so mad that I missed what would have been really good footage that I asked them to repeat the final stretch so I could get it on film. Andrew was so exhausted from his actual victory that Tommy cruised past him in the reenactment, immortalizing his victory at Panoramic Point. Andrew cried foul, but the tape is the tape.

The view of Kings Canyon and Hume Lake below was well worth the trip, and I rewarded Herb’s flexibility with a cold IPA (or two) from the cooler. At this point we had two choices: rush back down to have dinner before the only restaurant in the village closed at 8:00, or stay to watch the lighting change over the canyon as sunset approached. This time, we unanimously voted to stay, and I went and got what remained of the delicious sandwiches Celeste and her mother had made out of the trunk – definitely the right decision.

General Grant tree at dusk - TJGAlthough it was now 11:00 east coast time and we had been up since 3:00 this morning, we were on an irresponsible roll and decided to squeeze another 5 pounds into that already overstuffed 5 pound bag and hurry over to the General Grant tree while there was still a wee bit of daylight. So, it was back down the narrow, windy hill, past the John Muir Lodge where we were staying, and over to the General Grant Grove where we practically sprinted the ½-mile trail to find the Big Fella while we could still see it. As we gazed in awe as the 3rd largest living tree in the world faded into darkness, Andrew whispered, “It’s glowing…like an angel,” and in our collective delirium from lack of sleep (and a few IPAs) we burst into laughter. From that point on, “it’s like an angel” became our metaphor for any sight that impressed us.

Finally, at what was now midnight east coast time and 21 hours since we had awoken this morning, we decided to call it a day and return to our room at the John Muir Lodge. The lodge was actually quite cozy with that rustic national park feel that I have come to love, and a perfect base camp from which to explore both Sequoia and Kings Canyon. It would have been nice to have been able to spend a little time just relaxing in the rocking chairs on the porch, but alas that was not to be.

Day 2 – Sequoias and more sequoias, Moro Rock, Crescent Meadow, Hume Lake, Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, and Cedar Grove Lodge

Siamese twin Sequoia treesMuch of Sequoia and Kings Canyon is inaccessible by road. There are two major roads in the park and they are shaped sort of like a backwards 7 with Grant Grove Village, where the John Muir Lodge is located, at the vertex. South of Grant Grove is the Generals Highway which takes you deep into Sequoia country with such notable stops as Giant Forest and Moro Rock (about a 2 hour drive from Grant Grove Village). North and then east of Grant Grove is the spectacular Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, a 31-mile rollercoaster road, which descends deep into the canyon, connecting Grant Grove and Cedar Grove. There are also a few additional out and back side roads off the two major roads.

Today, we would do them both: the Generals Highway to Giant Forest for the major part of the day and then later that afternoon the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway to get to our accommodations for the night at Cedar Grove. Since we only had about eight hours to explore the Sequoia part of the park, I had to be somewhat selective in our choice of stops. In an attempt to get an overall representative sampling of this amazing park, I chose a meadow, a rock, and, of course, lots of giant trees.

Sequoia Tree HuggersOur first stop along the Generals Highway was a pullout in the midst of a beautiful sequoia redwoods forest. I found my favorite sequoia tree here (actually it was two Siamese twin trees), because it wasn’t fenced in like a zoo exhibit or surrounded by throngs of people. It was just there for us to marvel at – “it was like an angel.” As we were doing this tree photographic justice, a gentleman from Texas suggested we do what his Aunt Clovis always had them do – hold hands and try to encircle the tree, kind of like group tree hugging. With arms fully outstretched, we still were only able to make it about halfway around – and this was not even one of the park’s designated giants, but just some old random tree along the highway.

Then it was on to the Lodgepole Visitor Center where we watched an interesting film about bears in the park. Once we were back on the Generals Highway, there was an anguished cry from the backseat as Andrew realized that he left his very expensive camera on the seat next to him in the dark Visitor Center theater. We frantically raced back to the Visitor Center and were delighted to find that a kind and honest fellow traveler had turned it in to the ranger at the desk. Crisis averted, we continued on down the Generals Highway.

Moro Rock ApproachWe passed the parking lot for the landmark General Sherman Tree (we would hit that on the way back) and continued on to the turn off onto Crescent Meadow Road to get to both the Crescent Meadow and Moro Rock hikes.

We tend to be partial to rocks and expansive views, so the hike to the top of Moro Rock was a highlight. The trail was fun – 400 steps carved into the side of the dome. As promised, the 360 degree view of the surrounding snow-capped mountains of the Great Western Divide from the top was breathtaking.

The road to Crescent Meadow was awesome, with giant sequoias lining both sides of the road. There was even one spot where you could drive through a tunnel cut out of a fallen one, appropriately named Tunnel Log. However, since there was a backlog (no pun intended) of cars hogging it, we took the bypass road around it, hoping to get our chance on the way back out.

Lolo and Boys at Summit of Moro RockThis was bear country, so the parking lot for the Crescent Meadow hike had signs warning visitors to not leave any food in their cars, but to store them in one of the nearby bear boxes. Not wanting to risk the unlikely but unpleasant possibility of having the trunk lid of our rental car ripped off, we spent a bit of time emptying the very ample contents of our trunk into a bear box before hitting the trail.

The hike was an absolutely lovely stroll through a meadow surrounded by firs and giant sequoias. Here, one could get up close and personal with the trees, and even in some cases, enter their fire-hollowed trunks – much more intimate than viewing the more famous landmark trees from behind a fence. The lack of other hikers on the trail made the experience even more peaceful and serene.

Tunnel Log - TJGAmidst all the natural wonders of the meadow, we came across was an interesting man-made landmark – a tiny cabin built from a fallen, fire-hollowed sequoia, complete with stone chimney. Named Tharp’s Log, it was built back in the 1860s by a cattle rancher named Hale Tharp. He was the first non-Native American settler to live in the area. John Muir, who was a frequent visitor to the area, referred to it as a “noble den.” It must have been quite peaceful living here in solitude amongst these silent giants.

After our hike, we collected our goodies from the bear boxes and made a picnic lunch before returning to the Generals Highway to begin retracing out route north. This time, we did get a chance to drive through Tunnel Log, and I must confess we jammed it up to with our need to get out and take a picture.

Tommy with General Sherman TreeOur final stop in Sequoia, and by far the biggest (both literally and figuratively) attraction in the park, was the General Sherman Tree, the largest living tree on earth--a distinction based on volume, as it is neither the tallest nor the widest tree, but the heftiest, producing the equivalent of another 60-foot tree each year. After our more intimate experiences with giant sequoias—the Aunt Clovis tree that we had hugged and the ones that had invited us in to gaze up through their hollowed-out trunks to the sky—the crowds and fenced in trees here really turned us off. After a brief paying of our respects to this truly awesome tree and the obligatory photo in front of it, we hit the road once again to head towards the Kings Canyon section of the park.

Rather than retrace our route back through Grant Grove, we took a shortcut towards Hume Lake to provide a little variety. Hume Lake was the lake we had gazed down on from Panoramic Point the first night, so we thought it would be nice to see it from eye level. The road was pretty winding and twisty, but nothing our little Toyota rental car couldn’t handle. The lake and sandy beach were too tempting to pass up, so the boys stripped down to their boxers and jumped in.

We were getting pretty hungry by now, and the National Park Map showed only one possibility along the way – the Kings Canyon Lodge about 12 miles further along the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway. I liked the sound of it. I love National Park lodges with their cozy décor, high beamed ceilings, and stone fireplaces. I only hoped we were dressed nicely enough. After all, the boys were still sitting on towels in their wet boxers in the back seat. Anticipation rose as the GPS showed us inching our way closer and closer to the Lodge. We had been living on sandwiches for the past two days, so the thought of a hearty meal in a lovely setting was very appealing.

Boys in Hume LakeAs we pulled into the parking lot for Kings Canyon Lodge, a jaw-dropping silence fell over us. Rather than the grand park lodge I had visualized perched over an equally majestic canyon, we were greeted by a vision much less appealing: a few dilapidated cabins, a small office building, and a set of antique gas pumps posted with the very inviting welcome: “No Pictures Without Permission.” Despite my disappointment, I put on a brave face, turned to the others and said, “Okay, let’s go get something to eat.” I felt like Clark Griswold pulling into Wally World.

I think I started things off on the wrong foot when we walked into what I thought was the office and asked the somewhat surly-looking gentleman behind the counter where the restaurant was.

“You’re looking at it,” was his rather curt response.

Oh boy. I looked up and noticed a menu board behind him. “I’ll be right back,” I told him as I motioned the boys to follow me back outside. After a brief conference, and the realization that this was the only place to eat in about 25 miles, we collected Herb and bravely went back to give it a try. The owner looked on disinterestedly as we scanned the menu board. I have this tendency of asking too many questions, which drives the boys crazy, so they cringed when I asked the nice gentleman if the Santa Fe sandwich had chicken on it, especially since it clearly did not mention chicken as one of the ingredients listed on the board. I just really wanted it to have chicken on it.

Herb the Videographer - LEG“We don’t have chicken.”

Another brief conference. “Okay. “We’ll have four cheeseburgers then.” I then continued with, “Do we eat at the counter or can we eat outside on the picnic table.”

“Doesn’t matter to me.”

This guy was a real gem. Not wanting to be in this man’s presence any longer than necessary, we went outside to await our burgers. I headed towards a small building behind the “restaurant” that was the restroom, but quickly exited when I saw how disgusting it was – and being a camper, I have a pretty high tolerance for bathrooms.

In a reasonable amount of time, our friend brought out our food and plopped it down in front of us without a word. If we weren’t so hungry, I think we would have been afraid to take a bite, but we did and it was actually pretty good.

Road to Kings CanyonWhen we were done, my cowardly men voted to send me back in to pay. By now two of his equally surly friends had joined him at the counter. I quietly handed him the check and my credit card, and he brought our hospitable dining experience to a close with:

“You wanna add a tip to that?

“Not particularly,” I thought, but feeling quite intimidated, I tipped quite generously and then got out of their as fast as I could.

Just out of curiosity, when we had internet coverage later, I looked for reviews of the Kings Canyon Lodge and found that I was not the only one that had had a bizarre experience. The funny part was the gentleman that I dealt with was actually the charmer of the family. His wife actually cursed at a family and grabbed their food back because they had their own juice boxes at the picnic table. Sounds like we got off easy.

Kings Canyon Road ViewpointThe rest of the drive into Kings Canyon was spectacular. While the drama of the drive was the steep granite walls and the sheer drop offs into the canyon, one of my favorite sights were the yucca plants whose feathery fronds sprang incongruously from the near vertical canyon walls, where you would think no plant could take hold.

We intentionally passed the turnoff for the Cedar Grove Lodge and drove the remaining 5 miles to Roads End, where the Scenic Byway ends and pure wilderness begins. There was still a bit of daylight left, although not much, so we thought we would get a preview of what was in store for us tomorrow before checking into our motel for the night. We found the trailheads for tomorrow’s two hikes: Mist Falls and Zumwalt Meadow and then took the short, and very rewarding, hike to the Roaring River Falls.

Andrew by Roaring River Falls - TJGIt was getting late, and we were tired from our long day of exploring so many wonderful and diverse sights, so we headed back to the Cedar Grove Lodge. As usual, I ran ahead to check in, while Herb organized stuff to bring in. When I got to the office, I became quite concerned to find that it was dark and closed up for the night. I pressed my nose against the glass, but saw no one inside. What were we going to do? We were out at the end of nowhere with the nearest civilization back 30 miles at the (dare I say it) Kings Canyon Lodge. Seeing lights on in the store/restaurant next to the office, I ran there and began tugging on the door, only to find that it too was locked for the night. Noticing a young man mopping the floor inside, I began pounding on the glass window and waving my arms to get his attention. He looked frightened. “What are you doing?’ Herb asked as he handed me an envelope with room keys left for us in the box by the office door. Oops.

A short while later, while sitting on the deck of the lodge overlooking the river, a frantic woman came running up to us with a look of total panic on her face – very similar to the one I had been sporting about an hour ago – and asked us if we knew how she could find someone to check in. Feeling her pain, we calmly told her to look in the box for an envelope with her name on it. She was so relieved and grateful I thought she was going to cry. They really need a more obvious system for late arrivals.

The next morning, however, all was forgiven when we wandered down to the store and found that they served Starbuck’s coffee.

Day 3 – Mist Fall Hike, Zumwalt Meadow Hike, and Cedar Grove Lodge

Bubbs Creek - TJGThe next morning we set out early for our hike to Mist Falls, one of the most popular hikes in the park. We drove the 5 ½ miles back down to Road’s End to get to the trailhead. Since most of Kings Canyon is inaccessible by car, this is the starting point for the hundreds of miles of the wilderness backpacking trails in the park. In fact, if you are ambitious enough, you can even hike to Mt. Whitney from here. However, today our goals were much more modest - the 8 mile RT Mist Falls hike.

The hike was an instant all-time Gaidus favorite, and within ½ mile of the trailhead, Andrew had already declared, “at this moment in time, this is my favorite national park!” The trail was quite level for the first two miles or so, passing through a lovely meadow bounded by granite walls before reaching Bubbs Creeks at about 2.6 miles and beginning the uphill climb. From this point, the trail meandered along the south fork of the Kings River through forest and swamp areas before coming out on a big open rock slab with tremendous views out over the canyon. There was no question that this would be a spot for lunch on the way down as well as the annual Christmas photo—it was spectacular.

However, the hike was not yet complete, so we continued on and upward to Mist Falls. This part of the hike was a bit steeper and rockier, but we were pleasantly distracted by the numerous small cascades and clear, deep pools along the river. It would have been great to take a quick dip, but the water was much too chilly, and ample signs warned of the dangers of swimming in the fast current. However, we were soon treated to the refreshing spray of the aptly named Mist Falls, a series of cascades dropping 100 feet over a granite incline. Once refreshed, we continued a short distance past the falls to a series of flat granite boulders where there was a great view of the canyon and waterfall below. This was our turnaround point for the day, but the trail does continue on to Paradise Valley and eventually to meet up with the Pacific Crest Trail. It would be a wonderful place to backpack someday. I will have to add that to our ever growing bucket list.

Mist Falls Hike Canyon ViewBack at our rock slab, the tripods came out, the family lined up and smiled, and we captured what I think is one of our best Christmas photos to date. Of note is that the boys coincidentally wore the same color shorts and t-shirts, just the way I used to dress them up in matching outfits for Christmas photos when they were little.

We also immortalized the first annual (and hopefully last) Gaidus “catching air” contest, in which we leaped as high as we could in the air, while doing some fancy moves. Mine looks like I just escaped from a mental hospital.

After a bit more lunching, lounging, and just taking in the expansive views of the canyon below, we retraced our steps back to the trailhead. Back at the homestead, we got take-out from the Cedar Grove Lodge and ate at a picnic table right on the banks of the south fork of the Kings River. The table was literally 10 feet from the river and the roar from the rapids was so loud that we had to practically shout just to hear each other. The food was just okay, but it was the only game in town and the scenery certainly made up for it. This was not exactly a culinary tour, but thankfully, we all think of food primarily as fuel to hike and have fun—except for Andrew, who is developing a taste for finer foods now that he is dating a culinary wonder.

Mom Catching "Big Air" - AJGThe day was not over yet though. The sun was getting low, making it a perfect time to visit Zumwalt Meadows and walk the 1.5-mile loop around the meadow. The trailhead was back down the road towards Road’s End about 4 ½ miles from Cedar Grove Lodge.

This was one of those hikes that has a brochure you can purchase at the trailhead describing each of a series of numbered stops along the way. I was so used to reading these while the kids totally ignored me in years past, that I was pleasantly pleased to have Tommy take over my job and read each stop with interest—after all, he is a geoscience major and this valley has to be a geologist’s heaven. Despite Andrew’s major in environmental policy, he still felt it necessary to not give his brother the benefit of his full attention. One thing I did learn that I didn’t know before is that meadows are meadows and not forests, because they are too wet and frequently flooded to support much other than grasses and flowers. So, the brochure had already paid for itself.

Zumwalt Meadows HikeAfter leaving the parking lot, we strolled along the banks of the Kings River before crossing a suspension bridge. At the junction for the loop, we chose to go left (clockwise), so that Tommy could do his brochure readings in the proper sequence. Unlike Yosemite, where one can wander freely across the meadows, this meadow was moister, and walkers are restricted to the path that traces its perimeter and the wooden boardwalks that cross it. We soon came to a wooden platform with a lovely view of the meadow and the granite walls of Grand Sentinel and North Dome rising from the right. Herb chose to remain here taking photographs during the sunset while the boys and I continued along the loop. As we rounded the halfway point of the meadow, our level forest path gave way to a section of large boulders at the foot of Grand Sentinel that required some rock scrambling to traverse. It was almost dark by the time we reunited with Herb sitting contentedly beside his tripod.

After a short drive back to Cedar Grove Lodge, we settled comfortably on the porch overlooking the Kings River, quite content with a very successful day of hiking.

Day 4 – Departure (with a quick stop at Muir Rock)

Mon and Dad by Waterfall - TJGWell, it was time to leave Kings Canyon, but before doing so we had one last stop to make. Yesterday, after we finished our Mist Falls hike, we had totally forgotten our plan to stop at Muir Rock afterwards. Being great admirers of John Muir and all he has done to help create the National Park System, we thought it worth the drive back down to Roads End to pay him some well-deserved homage.

The rock, which is just a short walk from the Roads End parking lot, is a large flat boulder jutting over the river from which John Muir used to give talks on Sierra Club field trips. The rock was a perfect place to sun and jump into the river, and if it had been a wee bit warmer, I’m sure we would have given it a try.

But alas, we had places to go and people to see (Andrew’s girlfriend and family), so it was back in the car for the drive out of the park along the beautiful Kings Canyon Scenic Byway.

Description

Descent from Moro RockSequoia and Kings Canyon are two very distinct parks administered as a single entity. Its combined 1,350 square miles make it larger than Yosemite, its more famous and visited neighbor a three-hour drive to the north. These two parks are home to the largest Giant Sequoia trees in the world, the largest mountain in California – 14,494-foot Mount Whitney, as well as one of the deepest canyons in the country.

Although John Muir made his first visit to the Kings Canyon in 1873, it took a bit longer for this area to be protected. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes recognized its uniqueness and fought to preserve it, even hiring Ansel Adams to photograph its beauty. Through their efforts, Kings Canyon was designated a National Park in 1940. The separate, tiny General Grant National Park was made part of Kings Canyon National Park.

Family from Inside of a Burnt Out SequoiaThese two parks are well-kept secrets, with less than half the visitors that Yosemite receives each year. It is a place where one can find solitude from the crowds in a setting equally inspiring.

There are two main entrances to the parks, both located on the west side of the parks. There are no roads entering from the east. The Big Stump Entrance is reached via Highway 180 from Fresno and the Ash Mountain Entrance in the south is reached via Highway 198 near the town of Three Rivers.

Much of Sequoia and Kings Canyon is inaccessible by road. There are two major roads in the park. South of Grant Grove is the Generals Highway which takes you deep into Sequoia country with such notable stops as Giant Forest and Moro Rock (about a 2 hour drive from Grant Grove Village). North and then east of Grant Grove is the spectacular Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, a 31-mile rollercoaster road, which descends deep into the canyon, connecting Grant Grove and Cedar Grove. There are also a few additional out and back side roads off the two major roads.

The following is a list of highlights along the parks’ two major roads.

Generals Highway (from Grant Grove to Giant Forest)

Hiking the Cresent Meadow trail

• Panoramic Point – at the end of a 2.3 mile steep and twisty spur road (no RVs allowed) is a overlook with incredible views of Kings Canyon below
• Grant Grove – paved ½ mile trail past a number of giant sequoias, including the General Grant Tree, the 3rd largest living tree in the world
• Giant Forest – the most famous grove of sequoias in the world. The General Sherman Tree, the largest living thing on the planet, stands at the northern edge of the grove. The 2-mile Congress Trail leads past the General Sherman Tree as well as several other well-known giants.
• Crescent Meadow – 3 miles off the Generals Highway on Crescent Meadow Road is this lovely meadow, ablaze with wildflowers in the spring. Another interesting stop along the trail is Tharp’s Log, a tiny cabin built from a fallen, fire-hollowed sequoia, complete with stone chimney. Named Tharp’s Log, it was built back in the 1860s by a cattle rancher named Hale Tharp. He was the first non-Native American settler to live in the area.
• Moro Rock – also along Crescent Meadow Road is Moro Rock, a large granite dome with 360 degree views of the surrounding snow-capped mountains of the Great Western Divide. The top of the rock is reached by climbing 400 steps carved into the side of the dome.

Kings Canyon Scenic Byway

Hume Lake BeachThe Kings Canyon Scenic Byway is a 31-mile rollercoaster road connecting Grant Grove and Cedar Grove, which descends 2,000 feet deep into the canyon, It takes about an hour to drive and ranks among the most magnificent in any national park. The following are a few stops along the way:

• Cedar Grove Village – the only civilization in the wilderness – contains a small lodge and snack bar
• Roaring River Falls – a half-mile out and back walk to a magnificent view of the lower falls
• Zumwalt Meadow – a 1.5 mile loop hike around a lovely meadow with great views of Grand Sentinel and North Dome. The trailhead is 4.5 miles east of the turnoff for Cedar Grove Village and 1 mile before Road’s End.
• Road’s End – located at the very end of the Scenic Byway, Road’s End serves as the starting point for hundreds of miles of wilderness backpacking trails. A short walk from the parking lot is Muir Rock, a large flat boulder along the river from which John Muir delivered many of his Sierra Club talks. The trailhead for the very popular, 8-mile RT hike to Mist Falls is also here.

Although many try to see these two parks in just a day, it is best to stay a few nights to see all the parks have to offer.

For RVers, there are several campground choices.

Along the General Grant Highway:

• Azalea (114 sites) near Grant Grove
• Dorst (218 sites) 14 miles northwest of Giant Forest
• Lodgepole (250 sites) 5 miles northeast of Giant Forest Village

At the end of the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway near Cedar Grove:

• Sentinel – open whenever highway 180 is open
• Sheep Creek, Canyon View, and Moraine – open when overflow is needed

For those looking for lodging, there are also several choices

Along the General Grant Highway:

• John Muir Lodge – cozy 36-room lodge located near Grant Grove
• Grant Grove Cabins – 50 rustic cabins located near Grant Grove
• Wuksachi Lodge- modern 102-room lodge is located in the Giant Forest area

At the end of the Kings Canyon Scenic Driveway there is only one choice:

• Cedar Grove Lodge – lovely 21-room lodge on the bank of the roaring Kings River.

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Travelogue

It was good to get back home and reacquainted with Lolo. It had been the best trip we could muster up to accommodate our off-springs' scheduling restrictions.

I guess I can consider this a transition trip. Instead of 3-4 weeks of family time camping with young boys, it was one week of camping with young men. As they grow up, and continue to develop independent lives of their own, Lolo and I will need to figure out the best balance going forward.

Description

Our home in Upper Saddle River, a suburb of New York City.

Travelogue

Hickory Run was one of those state parks that I always wanted to try out, but never really had a good chance. It's the closest park to the Lehigh River Gorge, which is a popular white water rafting river. The thought was that it might be a suitable base-camp for a future rafting trip. However, it's location is just far enough from NJ to make camping necessary for any activity, but close enough to home that we usually just bypass it in an effort to get back home a day early.

Anyhow, this time I decided to check it out. While the park was nice, I wasn't really in the best state of mind to appreciate it. It took me far too long to select a site,, return with the number,,, collect my pass,, and then set up camp at the sloping site adjacent to the site I reserved. When I figured out my mistake I had to move the rig over 50'. Trip fatique was definitely setting in, and solo travel wasn't as appealing when there weren't the distractions of the big sky, mountains, canyons, and rivers of the west. This felt like camping in my backyard, and I was missing Lolo.

I called it an night without even exploring the park and got ready for an early departure.

Description

This 15,990-acre park lies in the western foothills of the Pocono Mountains, just off Route 80 in the town of Kidder, PA. This large park has a sandy beach for swimming, excellent fishing for brook and brown trout, a 19-hole disc golfing course, two permanent orienteering courses, and 43 miles of hiking trails.

One of the more unique features of the park is a huge 16-acre boulder field, which seems to appear out of nowhere in the park’s dense woodlands. This unique geological landscape has been recognized as a National Natural Landmark.

There is also a 381-site campground with both a forested section and a grassy, more open section.

Travelogue

It's always fun to stop over at my brother-in-laws on the way back from a west coast RV trip. Usually we have a full family, but this was the first time as a solo traveler. Jim and his wife Bev are always gracious hosts, and I knew I would feel comfortable as always in their home.

In previous trips, we have always had permission to park the RV in a nearby Krogers parking lot, and then Jim would shuttle us to his residence. This was done to avoid any issues with the zoning regulations that are pretty strict for the houses on the golf course.

This time, however, we were denied overnight parking at the Krogers. Undaunted, I suggested to Jim that I could safely navigate his circular driveway and tuck in on the side of his house. The RV would be hardly visible from the 9th green, and I assured him that I would be back on the road before 9:00 the next morning. To my surprise, he agreed to give it a shot. With his direction I was quickly parked in his driveway and able to shower and change in time for evening glass of wine.

Dinner and conversation were great as always, and it was good to sleep in a real bed after 2 weeks in the camper.

Description

My brother's home in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio

Travelogue

At this point it was just barreling along the interstate listening to books on tape. As the afternoon light got low, Lolo started to propose a few camping options for the night. Since it was Sunday, traffic was not an issue, but I realized that come Monday morning, traveling though St. Louis during rush hour would not be prudent. Hence we decided on a campsite close to the highway, after passing through St Louis.

Cedarbrook RV Park is a nice little family campground, but when I arrived all I could think of was getting the rig plugged in so I could relax in air conditioning and get out of the oppressive heat and humidity. While enjoying the A/C and listening to my light jazz I could see through my windows, the largest horseflies that I have ever seen. Not being sure if they also liked to bite campers, I remained in the RV till the morning departure.

Description

Cedarbrook RV Park is conveniently located 1 mile off I70 in southwestern Illinois. Amenities include free Wi Fi, a general store, a swimming pool, and a lake for boating and fishing.

Travelogue

Since I had driven west via route 80, I thought it would be good to return via 70. This would also give me the option to visit my brother-in-law in Ohio and add some variety to the return leg.

Kansas is one of the few states that actually let RV's camp for free in their interstate highway rest areas. That fact, and the flatness of the road makes it easy to just use cruise control and head down the highway until it's time to settle down for the night.

I pulled into the rest area at mile marker 187 with about 45 minutes before sunset and got myself a cold beer. After a few sunset photos of the campsite (alas lost), I noticed 2 guys on big touring motorcycles settling down at another picnic table. Since I have always thought about crossing the country on my own motorcycle (a 1996 Honda ST1100), I walked over with a gift of a few cold beers to try and find out their story.

I learned that they were a little older than me, and had recently retired. One was a former policeman, and the other an airplane pilot. They had left from their homes in Kentucky, ridden west and were now on the return leg back home. They were just stretching their legs in the rest area before the final 2 hour ride to their motel reservation in Topeka. We got to talking about bikes, travels, and dreams of what you want to do once you've retired.

Just as I was going to excuse myself, I got an offer I couldn't refuse. "Have you ever had any genuine Kentucky moonshine?" said the former airline pilot as he pulled a mason jar half filled with a clear liquid from his saddlebag. Now I didn't want to refuse his hospitality, but I think he could see that I might be a bit reluctant to dive into the home-brew of a stranger without a little more understanding. He assured me that while you might go blind from drinking the "bad stuff", this was high quality as evidenced by the clearness of the liquid. As a final proof he took out a few dixie cups and proceeded to pour all of us a tall shot.

After finishing my drink (which was actually quite smooth, despite it's obvious high proof), and maybe another, I wobbled back the 200' to my rig wondering how these guys were going to make it to Topeka on their bikes. I was comforted the next day when I heard nothing about any motorcycle accidents on the morning news.

Description

Rest area at mile marker 187 in Kansas along I70.

Travelogue

After saying our good-byes and dropping Lolo off at the airport, I was once again a solo traveler.

I had no plans at this point, and wasn't really sure what I should do next. Between the mixed feelings of Lolo and the boys' departure, and the lack of a restful sleep at the Flying J, I didn't think I was capable of making any major decisions. In fact, I didn't even want any minor decisions, so I pointed the RV to the nearest Walmart and settled down for an attempt at a few hours sleep.

Between the morning sun, and the rumbling of diesel trucks any sleep I achieved was fitful at best.

I was torn. I could head down to the desert southwest and once again enjoy some of the most incredibly beautiful natural attractions in the world.... Or, as Lolo had mentioned, if I started back east within a few days I would still be able to help Andrew and Lolo move into Andrew's new apartment in New Haven. I knew they could do it without me,,, but also that there would be quite a few issues where my presence would be appreciated.

I split the difference, and found Chatfield State Park a few hours south where I would rest and regroup. The park was fine, but unfortunately I have no photos. (All photos from this point on were lost when I inadvertently synchronized the photos with the home server in the wrong direction. By the time I found out, even the previous backups were overwritten. Since then I've changed my backup methodology.)

After a few days rest I realized I had reached that point in the trip where there were no really compelling choices. To continue onto the Grand Canyon, or Lake Powell as a solo traveler would only have stirred up the "ghosts" of the previous trips there I had shared with my family. Anything I could do by myself at this point would pale in comparison.

Also Lolo had continued to "hint" that it might be nice if I could help with Andrew's move into New Haven.

It was not without considerable ambivalence that I once again pointed our Lazy Daze east, and headed back to my role as a responsible spouse and father.

Description

Chatfield State Park is a 400-acre state park nestled next to the foothills, an hour southwest of Denver. The park surrounds Chatfield Reservoir, which the Army Corps of Engineers created by damming the South Platte River in response to the disastrous flood of 1965.

The lake has several marinas and four campgrounds, each within walking distance to the lake. Activities in the park include boating, bicycling, hiking, and horseback riding.

Travelogue

Not much to say here. Spirits pretty glum. Just a place to sleep before the 5:00 am drop-off at the airport in the morning. So sad...

Description

Flying J's are Travel Plazas that cater to truckers and RV's. Their numerous services include gas, a dump stations, propane, fast food restaurant, limited groceries, and even showers and a barber shop. However, the best feature of all is the RV section that allows overnight parking.

They are conveniently located on most of the interstates (except for the East Coast)

Travelogue

Lolo with Jeep Liberty on Deer Creek RoadWe awoke to cloudy skies. Fortunately, we had had such glorious days for our hikes. Today was pretty much just a driving day anyway, but, unfortunately, we still had not decided just where we were driving to or what we wanted to do.

Herb came up with the idea of renting a jeep to go off-roading. This was not exactly a moment of playful spontaneity, but something he had been plotting over the long cold, wet winter and spring in New Jersey, when there is often nothing better to do than dream of better times. I would frequently catch him ogling Jeep Wranglers on his computer—as if we needed another toy in the driveway. He even purchased a Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails. Well, this would be something new, so I was in.

We stopped to inquire about jeep rentals at both the National Park visitor center and the one in Grand Lake. Neither had much information to offer about jeeping opportunities in the nearby vicinity, so as soon as we got cell phone coverage, Herb used his droid phone to Google “Colorado jeep rentals”. One of the first entries that came up was Mountain High Jeep Rentals in Breckenridge. hmm...Breckenridge. I could deal with that.

While Herb called the jeep rental place, I called Tiger Run RV Resort and booked a spot for the night. Tiger Run, which we had been to twice in the past, is not your typical campground, but more of an RV land for the rich and famous, with million dollar RVs on sites with manicured lawns, a 12,000 square foot clubhouse, complete with indoor swimming pool, two hot tubs, game room, and TV lounge, and magnificent view of snow-capped mountains from every site. If the weather didn’t improve, at least I knew we could plop our butts in the hot tub for the afternoon.

Lolo inspecting steep hill to Saints JohnHerb had a little less luck with Mountain High Rentals. There were no Jeep Wranglers available for tomorrow, but they did have a Jeep Liberty we could rent. Herb was a little disappointed because he really wanted to try out a Wrangler to see if it was something he would consider purchasing in the future, but figured the Liberty would at least get us out there to see if we even liked four-wheeling. So we reserved the Liberty and arranged to pick it up 8:30 the next morning.

Now that we had our plan in place for tomorrow, we felt better about just meandering our way down to Breckenridge. We stopped in the town of Grand Lake just to see what it was like, because someone we met back in Boulder told us how much they preferred it to the overcrowded and over-touristy Estes Park. It definitely was a lot quieter and quainter, but I have to say that I really kind of liked the liveliness and vibrancy of Estes Park

We continued on Route 34 south to the town of Granby and then on 40 south to Winter Park. We considered mountain biking on one of the many trails in Winter Park, but the weather was pretty gloomy and it was starting to drizzle. So, we continued on through Berthoud Pass down to I70 west. It was while driving on I70 that are two GPSs started to argue—that’s right two GPSs. Herb likes to use the navigation tool on his droid phone in addition to the GPS we have on the dash. I refer to them as his two girlfriends (actually I have a worse word for them). Both of them started spouting different directions: one said to continue on I70 until Route 9 while the other one insisted that we get off earlier on Route 6. In confusion, Herb pulled onto the median by the exit ramp for Route 6. It wasn’t long before a state trooper pulled over as well. When we explained to him about the disagreeing GPSs, he sort of rolled his eyes, told us an anecdote about his elderly father and a GPS, and strongly suggested that we turn both of them off and just continue along until Route 9. We thanked him and continued on our way, but rather than turn the GPSs off as suggested, Herb just gave the erring one a good scolding. We arrived at Tiger Run without any further disagreements between the girls.

By now the weather was really lousy—cold and damp—so any thoughts about biking the trail into the village were forgotten. If this had been our first time to Breckenridge, we would have felt compelled to do so, but fortunately, we were seasoned visitors to the area and felt no need to force the situation. Instead we sat in the hot tub while doing three loads of laundry. The weather in Colorado is so changeable--not just between places, but even time of day. Herb loves hot weather, which we fortunately had for the past week, but now, here we were bundled up in jeans and jackets barbequing our salmon in the rain. Hopefully, tomorrow would be better for our big jeep adventure.

Lolo approaching "virtual" geocache at Wild Irishman MineWe spent the evening poring over the Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails book to figure out where to go tomorrow. The trails in the book were rated similarly to the way ski trails are rated: green circles for easy, blue squares for intermediate, and red (rather than black) for suicidal. We kind of got our hearts set on doing the Deer Creek, Saint Johns loop up near the town of Montezuma. It was rated blue and described as having it all: stunning scenery, historic buildings, and real adventure. We tried to ignore the sentence about not recommended for novice drivers.

The next morning, we got up bright and early, all excited about our big adventure. Our first task was finding the rental place, whose address was 620 Village Road. We expected to find a shack with a parking lot full of jeeps; instead we kept circling the very developed, multi-storied buildings of the Beaver Run Resort. There were no jeeps in sight. This was not the quaint little Breckenridge that I had come to love. This was commercialism and tourism at its peak. We called our rental guy, who gave us a paragraph long set of directions for navigating our way through the complex. By the time we finally found him we were exhausted and somewhat embarrassed. If we couldn’t find the rental office, how were we supposed to survive in the wilderness.

We spent the next half hour reading and signing forms and going over the rules of the road. The gentleman strongly suggested we stay on the green trails, so we kept quiet about our real plans for the “not recommended for novice drivers” blue one. We were then passed over to another guy, whose job it was to lead us through the maze to the garage where our Jeep Liberty was parked and to explain the workings of the vehicle. He was much nicer, so we approached him with our plan for the day, and he said we should be just fine on that trail. He had just been on it the day before.

As we drove on regular roads to get to the trailhead in the town of Montezuma, I flipped the book open to the section on how trail ratings are defined. Under the Blue Trail description, I found such phrases as: “careful tire placement may be necessary,” “sideways tilt will require caution,” “undercarriage may scrape occasionally,” “rock stacking may be necessary,” etc. Rock stacking? This was going to be some day.

Camping at Tiger RunOur rental agreement gave us 100 free miles, 42 of which were spent getting back and forth to the trailhead. That was okay, because the entire Deer Creek / Saint Johns loop was only 12.2 miles. Well, that would keep us busy for about an hour or so, we thought, counting stops for pictures, but the guide book estimated a trip duration of 4 to 5 hours, which if you do the math is less than 3 mph. I found this hard to believe. I could walk faster than that. Boy, were we naïve.

Near the Keystone Ski Area, we followed the signs for Montezuma Road, which turned into a dirt road even before we got to the town of Montezuma, population 42. The dirt road eventually led to a junction with Deer Creek to the left and Saint Johns to the right. We decided to go Deer Creek, because that was the way the guide book was oriented. Also, the beginning of the Deer Creek trail was rated green, which would give us a few miles of getting used to off-roading.

The guide book was extremely thorough in its instructions. The mileage log was given in tenths of miles traveled since the trailhead, complete with GPS coordinates, and gave a description of every turn or change in terrain. It was impossible to get lost.

After about 3 miles (and 1 hour) of bumping and bouncing over the “easy” section of trail, we came to a sharp hairpin turn where we pulled over for a fabulous view. Unfortunately, the ATVs that had sped past us earlier must have frightened away the mountain goats usually seen here, but the view was spectacular anyway. The trail got increasingly difficult, but Herb was doing great maneuvering through and over the rocks of various sizes that covered the road. I understand now why Jeeps have such high clearance and metal skid plates protecting the undercarriage, because without that we would be leaving a trail of major engine parts along the way.

As we approached the turnoff for Radical Hill (a Red Extreme trail), we encountered a Land Rover coming at us. Fortunately, we were in a spot where we could pull over a bit to the side to let it pass, because in many sections meeting up with another vehicle would require backing up for quite a distance to a spot that would allow for the width of two vehicles. The Land Rover stopped alongside us to chat. They gave us one piece of information we definitely did not want to hear, that the Saint Johns portion of the loop was impassable about a mile from its end back in Montezuma, because heavy rains had washed even more boulders into the stream that crossed the trail, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to cross. They said that they would have considered it, but they had forgotten to bring their “boulder bar.” Boulder bar?? The only Boulder bar I knew was Mountain Sun Brewery. I was going to have to learn an entire new set of lingo if we were going to get into this jeeping thing.

We were very thankful that they told us about this because if we had gotten all the way to the stream and had to turn back, we would have to cover 22 miles of this rather than 12.2, and we would have had to do much of it in the dark.

One piece of good news they did give us, however, was that the first section of Radical Hill was actually rated easy and brought you far enough for the incredible views before turning into a death-defying difficult trail. We decided that we would drive on a bit further to the halfway point and another good mountain goat viewing spot before turning around and retracing our steps with a side trip up Radical Hill.

We continued on in 1st gear low, which we had been in for practically the entire trip. At the trail junction for the North Fork of the Swan River, we stopped again to enjoy the view. Also Herb knew that there was a geocache hidden nearby (for an explanation, see ?) and for once there were no muggles (other normal human beings that don’t geocache) around that we had to fear embarrassing ourselves in front of while hunting for the hidden cache. We found it. Probably our highest altitude geocache to date.

Our original intention was to turn around at this point and retrace our steps. However, the road ahead looked pretty cool and a photo stop called Sheep Hill was just a mere .4 miles ahead, so we decided to continue on a little further. At this point we were at about 12,000 feet and still climbing.

While we were out of the car taking pictures, another Jeep came barreling towards us from the Saint Johns direction at the impressive speed of about 8 mph. Seriously, that is quite fast for these roads. In the Jeep, which like ours was a rental, was a mother and father and two small children. We asked them if they had come from Montezuma via the Saint Johns road and they said yes. When we asked them about the impassable stream, they said, it wasn’t too bad. Now we had a dilemma. Who to believe? The experienced Brits in the Land Rover or this young family of hot shots in a rental jeep. Since actions do speak louder than words, and these people actually did come the Saint Johns route in their rental, we figured we could do it too. Besides, we hated the idea of repeating the same route back rather than completing the loop. I must say though that I was a bit apprehensive about the idea.

We then approached a section marked in the guide book as “Steep climb. Toughest spot of trail.” They weren’t kidding. The road ahead looked so steep that I feared we would flip over. Also, it was heavily strewn with rocks of many sizes which would make it difficult for us to pick up any speed—and I use the term speed loosely. Before starting up the climb, we took the opportunity to find another geocache that someone had hidden before the steep part began.

As we started up the ridiculously steep incline, Herb asked me to videotape our ascent from the passenger seat. Before writing this, I watched the video to help me remember what it was like, and I actually laughed out loud. The rocking of the dashboard and the groans and heavy breathing coming from the two of us made it seem more like a porn movie than an off-roading adventure.

Finally, we came to a point that was so bad that Herb asked me to become a human “boulder bar,” running ahead of the Jeep moving big, inappropriately placed rocks out of its path. I was so thankful to get out of the Jeep that I didn’t even mind picking up and rolling large rocks. It seemed much safer. Herb did an amazing job keeping the Jeep upright and undamaged over this very rough, steep terrain. He looked liked he’d been through the wringer, and said that for him the experience was probably comparable to the way I felt traversing the snow on the hike to Chasm Lake—terrified. I can be a nudge sometimes and I also like to debate, so I tried to analyze the two experiences and concluded that they were not comparable, because I actually feared for my life, while Herb merely feared for the insurance claim when we damaged the Jeep. He felt that I was making a bit light of the actual physical harm that could have occurred to him if the jeep had lost traction and started sliding backwards, possibly sideways, and flipped over. Okay, point taken.

Although the guide book said the worst was behind us, there still were some pretty hairy hills to conquer, and we hadn’t even gotten to the possible impassable stream yet. Finally things calmed down a bit and we resumed our more controlled bouncing and swaying. We passed two deserted mines (one with a geocache) on our descent.

Finally, at exactly 11 miles from our start we saw a private cabin and what was likely its owner, barreling across a stream in a pickup truck before parking in the driveway. Okay, that was two people that had successfully crossed it, but both from the other direction, which was a downhill and then across rather than an across with enough momentum to get up the hill on the other side. One look at the stream kind of freaked us out. There were plenty of one to two-feet boulders in the stream, some pointing up ready to rip off the bottom of the jeep, or worse yet, get us hung up so we couldn’t continue. We spent a good half hour gathering rocks from other places to put in the stream to even it out.

After we had done all that we could, I got on the far side of the river to help yell and encourage him. I wanted to film it – if only for insurance purposes – but Herb refused and told me to just direct him across the river, because he couldn’t always see where the rocks were. I bet he regrets not having the footage now, because he was a pro.

We had done it, but I think the jury was still out as to whether this was an activity we wanted to direct our energy and finances towards. We had so many things we loved doing that we weren’t looking to add something new just for the sake of having something to do. We would have to let some time pass and digest this a bit.

In the meantime, we had time and mileage left on our rental, so we foolishly felt compelled to use it. We figured trying a green trail might be a good learning experience, so I looked through the guide and selected the nearby Keystone Gulch trail, a 7.6 one-way that was estimated to take 1 hour – wow! a highway compared to the last one.

The road was definitely much less challenging, but still bumpy enough to be unpleasant. I started questioning why we were doing this. After passing some lovely beaver ponds and crossing the ski slopes of Keystone, Herb and I both were getting antsy. I think we got the point of this 4-wheeling thing and didn’t think we wanted to spend the last few hours of our vacation together doing more of it. So, we aborted the mission after 6 miles and headed back to Breckenridge.

I think I figured out my position on jeeping. If an off-road vehicle is the only way to get to a place worth getting to, then the discomfort of bouncing around was worth it, but I didn’t want to be bounced around just for the sake of being bounced around. Herb, I think, enjoyed the “journey” a bit more, because he liked the challenge of maneuvering the jeep over difficult terrain. Maybe I should try driving it next time and see if my feelings change.

Back in Breckenridge, we brought the jeep to the fanciest fully automatic car wash I have ever experienced (car washing was required by the rental contract) and returned it to what was hopefully the correct parking spot in the Beaver Run Resort parking garage. It was already close to 6:00 and our destination that night was 2 hours away at a Flying J near the Denver airport.

We didn’t want to get to the Flying J too early, as there is not much to entertain oneself with in a parking lot, so we strolled the streets of Breckenridge looking for a place to have dinner. We selected the outdoor patio of the Whale’s Tail, which was fine, but our moods were quite glum. Neither of us was very happy with the thought of me leaving tomorrow morning. It just wasn’t the way things were supposed to be. I belonged by Herb’s side, even on the long-driving days through the plains. I felt a bit guilty about having shared the good parts of the trip and leaving the crappy parts on either end for Herb. It was just the only way I could do it this summer because of my elderly mom. I suggested we be thankful for the wonderful parts we did have together.

Description

Breckenridge is located approximately 75 miles west of Denver in one of the premier skiing areas in the country. Most of the surrounding area is part of the Arapaho National Forest. The town itself is located in the beautiful Blue River Valley at the base of the Ten Mile Range of the Rockies.

Before it became a premier ski resort, Breckenridge was a thriving mining camp. In 1859, when word got out that gold was discovered in the Blue River near current day Breckenridge, hundreds of miners flocked here from Denver and set up a mining camp. In an attempt to get their own post office, the miners named their camp after the current Vice President, John C. Breckinridge (note the difference in spelling). Flattery worked and soon they had their own mail service. When the Civil War began, the town of Breckinridge sided with the South. No longer feeling loyalty to the Federal Government, they changed the spelling of the town to Breckenridge.

In many ways, the village, with its crowded bars and restaurants along its funky main street has maintained that frontier feeling. It was also one of the first ski areas in Colorado to allow snowboarding.

Besides the spectacular skiing, Breckenridge is an outdoor lover's paradise in all four seasons with such adventure highlights as:

• Hiking the many trails in the Arapaho National Forest
• Bicycling the paved Blue River Bikeway along the river between Frisco and Breckenridge
• Biking the 20-mile Vail Pass Bikeway over the 10,600 foot pass into Vail
• Sailing and windsurfing in the Dillon Reservoir just north of Breckenridge
• Fishing for trout and salmon in the Dillon Reservoir
• Fishing for trout in the world-class trout waters of the Blue River
• Rafting the Blue River
• Skateboarding in the outdoor, free skateboard park at the recreation center
• Testing your kayak skills in the man-made rapids section of the Blue River near the recreation center

A few miles north of the town of Breckenridge is the Tiger Run RV Resort, one of the premier RV campgrounds in the country. Most of the sites are owned, but there are some sites available for transients. Some of the many amenities include: landscaped sites with patios, a beautiful clubhouse with fireplace, an indoor pool and hot tub, and lake and stream fishing.