This was the day for Kings Canyon National Park! Although we could have taken the same path as yesterday for the first portion, we chose a different route, which sadly still required the use of multiple vomit bags by the same child. It took us almost two hours to get to our first stop on this day, but we enjoyed the very scenic drive while continuing our audiobook series with Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather saga (at this point in the middle of book 2).
Our first stop again was the most popular- the General Grant Tree, which was a 0.8 mile loop. It is fun to consider what all these ancient trees have seen in the many years they’ve stood in their places. We added on the North Grove Loop, which Mom said was maybe her favorite hike of the trip. You can also add the Dead Giant loop to this one, but we skipped it. This hike, more than any other, felt like we were off trail, and we literally saw no one until the very end of it. I worried a bit that we would stumble upon a bear or mountain lion, but we didn’t see any large wildlife. We did see the effects of the 2015 fire as we walked, and it’s crazy to think of how much damage still remains from something that happened 9 years ago.
After this hike we were ready to rest, and had about a 30 mile drive on Kings Canyon Scenic Byway to the Cedar Grove region. This drive is one of my favorites we’ve ever done- phenomenal views! we made it to Grizzly Falls for a picnic lunch, and enjoyed munching our sandwiches next to the water. We then kept driving to Zumwalt Meadow, and circled the parking lot multiple times before returning back to Roaring River for a quick walk to this set of waterfalls that I would definitely recommend. Our next attempt at Zumwalt Meadow yielded an open parking spot so we grabbed it to our final main hike of the day, which included moments in the sun, shade, over a river bridge, through rocks and trees and meadow grasses for quite the full experience of terrain on a single hike.
I had promised the kids that if everyone completed that final hike with good attitudes, I had a surprise waiting. We drove down the road just a bit to Road’s End, where I pulled out the girls’ swimsuits and let them change in the car before we walked a short way to Muir Rock, the perfect swimming hole after a summer day of hiking. My one regret here was not having water shoes/sandals. My feet tired quickly while following K around as she splashed and toddled in the shallow river water.
Before we left we passed by the reason for the name of the place – a large rock that provided a place for cliff jumping (not diving since it wasn’t deep enough). We later learned from someone that those jumping earlier in the summer have to have someone catch them when they jump so the river doesn’t carry them on down in the strong current.
Nick and I were halfway afraid of the rock, and halfway wanting the boys to attempt it. I followed his lead, and we waited to see what the boys wanted to do. They decided to jump off of it, and I got a video of each one. I was proud of their courage – I think my heart was beating faster than theirs was, ha! Behr even did it a second time. Beau claimed the worst part was how cold the water was when he hit.
We returned to the car, the kids wrapped in their BOGI towels (again, such a great purchase!), and began the two hour drive back home. Our final stop was for ice cream in the Kings Canyon scenic byway, the perfect treat before 3/4 kids crashed and slept the rest of the way home (following, of course, a few more vomit bags being used).
It was past 7:30pm when we got back to the RV, so we opted for a quick meal. I heated fajita chicken in the instant pot on a sauté setting, and warmed up some homemade sourdough pita bread that I had frozen, serving the chicken with cheese and guacamole in the pita. It was yummy!
jami lee gainey 