Today was taken up with a seven-mile hike through the forest. There is a grove of giant sequoias in the park at a place called Mariposa, so we drove to the nearest car park, at Wawona, and took a ride on the free shuttle bus up the hill to Mariposa Grove. If you walk straight back down to the car park, the book says it's six-and-a-half miles, but we first hiked uphill into the grove to see some of the famous trees, including the Fallen Monarch (it fell over 300 years ago), the Grizzly Giant (2,700 years old, 210 feet tall and 31 feet across at its base - the largest tree in the park), Bachelor and the Three Graces and the California Tunnel Tree, which had an opening cut through it in 1895 so that stagecoaches could drive through and, astonishingly, still survives.
At about noon we set off for the Wawona car park. I think the distance is greater than the book says, because the path winds from side to side as you descend the mountain, and it took us four hours, with only one 15-minute stop for lunch. The path is not really well defined in places, and there are few signposts, so it was a wing and a prayer job most of the time, although a truly lovely experience feeling that you are alone in a vast forest. We only saw about six or eight other people all afternoon, and apart from one they were all climbing from the car park to the grove (well, they were all younger than us) and they were all able to confirm that we were on the correct path for our destination, which gave us some comfort. We didn't see any wildlife, although we could hear birds and at one stage I heard a deep grunt which could have been a bear. The biggest scare of the afternoon was when another walker, who must have been very light-footed, suddenly appeared from behind us with a bright "Excuse me!" and frightened the life out of Jen!
Eventually, around 4 o'clock, the car park appeared through the trees. We bought drinks in the Wawona general store and sat in the shade for about 15 minutes to recover. Even though it had been mostly downhill (you occasionally find yourself going up in order to cross a hill on the way down) our legs were burning, but by the time we got back to the B&B we felt pretty OK.
Supper was a routine affair at the local Buck Meadows Restaurant and Lodge, and a good night's sleep is anticipated by all concerned!
Jen's bit: Yesterday I played at being Pocohontas, no mirrors around to ruin my fantasy, paddling the boat downriver, that is until old John Smith behind me (who was supposed to be steering) got us caught on a load of branches. Today it was Grizzly Adams, who cares that we never saw a bear? We could have done. Oh, and by the way, I didn't need 15 minutes to recover and my legs weren't burning! Jx
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