OUTSTANDING VIEWS
Two miles by road or trail from Giant Forest is Moro Rock, one of the great monoliths of the Sierra Nevada, others being El Capitan and Half Dome in the Yosemite, and Tehipite Dome in the Kings River Canyon.
Moro Rock is 6,719 feet above sea level and over 6,000 feet above the San Joaquin Valley. From the summit, which is easily reached by a rock and concrete stairway, to the silver streak of the Kaweah River at its base, is an almost sheer drop of 4,119 feet. The panorama of the Sierra Nevada, Alta Peak, the San Joaquin Valley, and the distant coast range is equal to that otherwise obtained only by long and expensive pack trips to the high mountains. Climbing Moro Rock is "mountaineering de luxe."
Hanging Rock, Moro Vista, Profile View, Echo Point, and Kaweah Vista are viewpoints on the rocky escarpment of the Giant Forest Plateau near Moro Rock. Each offers some special view or attraction. Hanging Rock is a huge erratic boulder poised for a 3,000-foot drop to the yawning canyon beneath. Echo Point and Profile View disclose unexpected profiles of Moro Rock, and at the former a resonant echo reverberates from the painted cliff across the chasm.
Beetle and Sunset Rocks, a few hundred yards from Giant Forest camps, are bold granite promontories overlooking the valley and the Marble Canyon. They are favorite spots for picnic suppers and sunset views.
Lodgepole Campgrounds and Tokopah Valley are 4 1/2 miles by road from Giant Forest. The former is the auto camp favored by those who want to live in an open pine forest and beside running water. The swimming pool here also attracts campers. Two miles above the campgrounds, by trail along the north bank of the Marble Fork, is Tokopah Valley, of cameolike beauty, hewn by glacial action from the ribs of the earth. It is a miniature Yosemite, a narrow valley with towering cliffs, waterfalls, talus, meadows, and moraine. It affords one of the favorite short hikes in the park.
Colony Mill and Admiration Point, a 9-mile side trip by road from Giant Forest, are often overlooked by visitors. The views from Colony Mill Ranger Station are superb, while the mile side trip by trail down to Admiration Point permits a view of the Marble Falls, a 2,000-foot cascade in seven distinct waterfalls.
[Ill.u.s.tration: _Hammond photo._
ONE OF SEQUOIA"S MANY UPLAND MEADOWS]
Marble Fork Bridge, 4 1/2 miles from Giant Forest, at an elevation of 5,000 feet, is favored by those who like to be near a stream and to fish. It may be reached by road or by the Sunset Trail. This is a favorite retreat with hikers as well as fishermen. The setting is beautiful and the views especially fine. A natural swimming pool adds to its attractiveness.
By parking at the Little Baldy Saddle on the Generals Highway a fine view may be had by hiking a mile and a quarter to the top of the dome.
The panorama spread out is a reward worth twice the effort expended.
THE GIANT FOREST DISTRICT
The Giant Forest is the name given the largest grove of sequoias, which is more than a grove. It is a Brobdingnagian forest. Here is found the General Sherman Tree, perhaps the oldest and largest living thing, 36.5 feet at its greatest diameter and 272.4 feet high. There are scores of trees almost as large as the General Sherman, hundreds over 10 feet in diameter, and many thousand from the seedling stage upward.
In his book, Our National Parks, John Muir says, "* * * I entered the sublime wilderness of the Kaweah Basin. This part of the Sequoia belt seemed to me the finest, and I then named it "The Giant Forest." It extends, a magnificent growth of giants grouped in pure temple groves, ranged in colonnades along the sides of meadows or scattered among the other trees, from the granite headlands overlooking the hot foothills and plains of the San Joaquin back to within a few miles of the old glacier fountains at an elevation of 5,000 to 8,400 feet above the sea."
Giant Forest is also the name of the village beneath the sequoias where the Giant Forest Lodge and the housekeeping and auto camps are situated.
Its summer population is about 3,000.
THE MEADOWS
The beauty of the Giant Forest region is much enhanced by the many upland meadows, flower-strewn from the first blossoming of the amethystine cyclamen, or shooting stars in May, to the golden autumn glow of the goldenrod in September. The best-known meadows are Round, Circle, Crescent, and Log, all within 2 miles of Giant Forest Camp.
THE SEQUOIAS
The California Big Trees must ever remain the supreme attraction of the park, although for many the mountain scenery and the fishing are added allurements. The Big Tree (_Sequoia gigantea_) is sometimes confused with the redwood (_Sequoia sempervirens_), the smaller species of Sequoia found only in the Coast Range of California. While _gigantea_ approaches 40 feet in base diameter, _sempervirens_ rarely exceeds 20 feet. The wood is similar in color and texture, but the foliage is distinct, and the bark of the Big Tree is much thicker and of a rich red color, instead of a dull brown. The most distinctive characteristic is that the Big Tree is reproduced only from the seed while the redwood when cut down sprouts from the stump.
There are many world-famous Big Trees in the Sequoia National Park, of which the General Sherman is the largest and best known. But there are scores or hundreds unnamed and almost equal to the General Sherman in size and majesty.
In addition to those noted for their size, the National Park Service has named and signed many of singular form, burned by fire, struck by lightning, or fallen in strange fashion. The trees which should be seen by all visitors are:
=_The General Sherman Tree._=--The largest, and perhaps the oldest living thing. Discovered by James Wolverton, a hunter and trapper, on August 7, 1879, at which time he named the tree in honor of General Sherman, under whom he had served during the Civil War as a first lieutenant in the Ninth Indiana Cavalry.
The age of the tree is unknown. It is estimated by those who have made a study of the subject as between 3,000 and 4,000 years. During this time it has withstood the ravages of countless fires, and, though greatly damaged, it has continued to flourish, and today produces thousands of cones bearing fertile seed from which many seedlings have been grown.
The results of the fire damage are seen in the great wounds at the base of the tree. Through repeated fires the sap-pumping system has been damaged, and portions of the top have died; only 40 percent of live wood is in contact with the ground. The Sequoia, however, has such recuperative power that in time these fire scars will be completely healed.
The dimensions of this tree are as follows:
_Feet_ Height above mean base 272.4 Base circ.u.mference 101.6 Greatest base diameter 36.5 Mean base diameter 32.7 Diameter 60 feet above ground 17.5 Diameter 120 feet above ground 17.0 Height of largest branch 130.0 Diameter of largest branch 6.8
For years there have been rival claims by various localities for the honor of possessing the largest tree in the world. To settle these claims the California State Chamber of Commerce and Fresno County Chamber of Commerce conducted, in 1931, a tree-measuring expedition in Sequoia and General Grant National Parks and vicinity.
[Ill.u.s.tration: GENERAL SHERMAN, THE KING OF THE SEQUOIAS]
The result of the work of several engineers gave the following comparative volumes of the trunks of the four largest trees measured, exclusive of limbs:
_Board feet_
General Sherman Tree 600,120 General Grant Tree 542,784 Boole Tree 496,728 Hart Tree 410,952
The General Sherman Tree was shown to contain 57,336 board feet more in volume than its nearest compet.i.tor and the King of the Sequoias retained his crown.
=_The Chimney Trees._=--There are two well-known Chimney Trees, one being on the east side of Sherman Creek close to the trail from Sherman Tree to Alta Peak, which is now the best preserved. The other Chimney Tree is at the northeast end of Crescent Meadow and was badly burned several years ago through the carelessness of somebody who left a campfire burning. The Chimney Tree near Sherman Camp is a remarkable example of vitality, as it is thrusting out new branches despite the fact that its vitals are eaten away by fire.
=_The Black Chamber._=--This is probably the most notable example of vitality on the part of a Sequoia in the forest. About one-thirtieth of the bark remains, and the whole interior has been eaten away by fire; nevertheless, the tree still lives and thrusts out new branches each year. It is located along the Crescent Meadow Road.
OTHER FAMOUS TREES
=_Washington._=--Very impressive as to size.
=_Abe Lincoln._=--Thirty-one feet in diameter, 259 feet high, a rugged, ancient-looking tree.
=_Auto Log._=--A huge fallen giant upon which an auto may be driven with ease and safety.
=_William McKinley._=--Twenty-eight feet in diameter, 291 feet high.
=_The President._=--Twenty-nine feet in diameter, 250.2 feet high, wider at 120 than at 60 feet.
=_Keyhole._=--Burned out "keyholes."
=_Room Tree._=--Cavernous room within a standing tree.
=_Stricken Tree._=--Rent by lightning, but still alive.
=_Window Tree._=--Filigree appearance and many windows.
=_Chief Sequoyah._=--Old with huge burls.
=_Black Arch._=--Trail leads through charred, living giant.