Road Trip Series, Chapter 1

Day 1

August 22, 2018

So. Here I am in my tent at the end of Day 1. Finally, this is it! I got up early this morning, said goodbye to my mom before I left, texted my dad and some of my friends. I said my good bye to my sister the night before since I knew she wouldn’t be awake until late in the morning. Last night, in my head, I was already anticipating missing them—family, friends. I wasn’t able to focus most of my time and attention to them the last couple of weeks before I left for my trip—that was what I had hoped to do. But alas, my procrastinating with planning and preparing left me cramming and somewhat stressing out. Oh well.

I started my drive early and headed to Sequoia National Park, my first stop on this trip. But first, coffee. I stopped by a random coffee shop along the way. The ritual of a nice long drive on my first day of road tripping isn’t complete without a cup of coffee to accompany me on the road. I got to Sequoia at around 4pm. I went to see the General Sherman Tree, the largest (in terms of volume of trunk) tree in the world. My first impression when I saw it was: Impressive, but I thought it would be taller. But that disillusion was quickly washed away after stepping closer and walking around the grove of giant sequoias—no one can deny the majestic aura they hold, those trees in the Giant Forest, even the relatively younger ones.

              A fleeting moment left an imprint in my mind, that moment when I encountered these giant Sequoias clustered together just off the trail. Seeing them, I couldn’t help but wander off trail and proceed to walk toward those standing giants. That moment now engraved in my mind: Stepping up to the base of their trunks, walking in the middle of the congregated pillars with skin of wood, heavy and solid like those in ancient halls or ruins, their majesty magnified by the greeting of the golden afternoon light. I felt like a kid in awe next to these wise old fellows. It’s an experience I’m glad to have had on my first day.

I got to my campsite around 6pm, set up my tent, and ate sandwich for dinner. No campfire tonight as I am still getting used to this routine of camping. I took a short walk after dinner; it was already dark, and the stars were showing. Now I’m back in my tent, hoping to get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.

August 23, Day 2

Sequoia National Park, CA

I love this—I love the simple life. It was about 9:30pm just a few minutes ago and I was already lying down on my sleeping bag, in the dark, tent-door open, watching the jet-black silhouetted trees against the dark blue sky, and the full moon illuminating the night. I was watching all these through the opening in my tent and I thought: I love the simplicity of this kind of lifestyle—there are no urgent matters, no tasks that should be done, that need to be done. A thought came to mind, one that presented itself earlier today while I was walking through Moro Rock Trail and observing the varying plants and creatures along the way. It seems that—when I think about it, and recall what has been said by observers and thinkers and nature writers whose years, and mind, are far beyond my own—the only true necessity of everything in nature, plants and animals big and small, is to be alive, to live and breathe and learn how to sustain life. No other task is of greater importance, and how effective and efficient they are at it. As I lay there in the dark in my tent under silhouetted trees, I felt as though I was emulating nature’s lifestyle, where my only true task was to sustain a rhythm of breath after slow breath.

Today I learned a little bit more about Sequoias: the course of their life spanning thousands of years, their anatomy, which helps them to be almost indestructible, except for extreme forces of nature, or human nature, about the Sequoia belt, the goldilocks zone where they grow and prosper. It is all so interesting, and I hope to learn more.

If it is possible to ask a giant Sequoia, one who has lived 3,000 years or more, I would like to know what it has been up to the past couple of thousand years or so. Who knows what it’ll say? It seems to me that they have been set down here just to simply be here. And I think they’ve figured out how to do just that.

I’ve been reading John Muir’s My First Summer in the Sierra, his account on his first travels through the Sierra region of California in 1869. His passion for the natural world and his writings are what largely moved for the creation and protection of Yosemite National Park; his legacy has sparked the creation of the National Park Service two years after his death, and with it the conservation of hundreds of National Parks we now enjoy today. In the book, he was consistent with writing a journal entry every day for the whole duration of the summer. So right now I am inspired to write an account of my day to day excursions, as he once did, and as consistently as I can. It’s also good writing practice.

Also, I saw a deer today. It was the first thing I saw when I opened my tent in the morning. And so there it was—the first merit of the day.

August 24, Day 3

Kings Canyon National Park, CA

Woke up early today, around 6am. I needed to get to my next campsite early as it was a first come, first served site. I think I got a good spot, not too close to the other campsites and it’s next to a big smooth sloping rock which makes for a good spot to lay or sit on at night.

Today I explored Cedar Grove and walked the River Trail, which puts you right into the canyon. I walked along the trail gazing at the towering rock formations on each side. The views were spectacular. At the end of the trail was a small waterfall, which I guess contributes to the waters of Kings River. Small yet powerful waterfall, I should say, for you can see how it carved the rock from which it falls down from. I sat on the rocks in front of the fall. The air was cool; the wind was blowing, spraying cool mist to the rocks and people around, including me. It was a nice reward—a bonus to the views—after an hour of walking under the hot sun.

Then there was Zumwalt Meadow. I have seen a fair amount of meadows these past couple of days and they, to me, are like little pockets of stillness in nature, where the winds play and tall blades of grass dance softly to their passing. After the meadow, I would like to believe that I did in fact find Muir Rock—that big boulder at the side of a stream, about 6-8ft high, with a flat, smooth, sloping top, and was also right next to a still, clear, blue-green water as a result of the boulder blocking part of the stream. It was a nice place to relax. I wonder if it was in fact the same rock John Muir stumbled upon more than a century ago, and where he sat and laid down, contemplating the grandeur of nature.

At night I laid down on the big rock next to my tent, observing the stars. A shooting star passed, like a fastball thrown from nowhere to nowhere, a vivid tracing of blazing light, silent and fleeting but real nonetheless. And then another one. They must still be part of the Perseid meteors, which peaked around August 12 – 14. I wondered, how much more are there passing by the night sky, swift, blazing, but unseen.

August 25, Day 4

Kings Canyon, CA

Last day in Sequoia and Kings Canyon. This is the first stop in my road trip across the US and it seemed like I wanted it to be the last; not because I wanted to go home, but because I just wanted to stay there. There is just so much to see and learn about.

Woke up early; the sun already rising. Had coffee as I watched the sun beams pierce and retreat through the trees. I’m glad I bought the Java Drip coffee maker, and that my friend told me about it. It’s really more just like a collapsible filter that sits on top of your cup for pour over brewing. Still, for ten dollars, it allows for some good, leisurely brewing. I think sometimes, I make coffee more for the coffee making ceremony than for the drink itself. The rest of the morning was spent wandering, awe-struck, in one of the groves of Sequoias. One particular tree was named General Grant: the widest known tree on earth, about 40 feet wide (3x the length of a Honda Fit!) in diameter at the base, third largest tree in the world by volume, and towers to a height of 268 feet.

If you allow yourself, it is very easy to lose your sense of time, when walking about these thousand-year-old giants. The fullness of their presence—standing still, tall, and undeniably here—and their mystery, demand a kind of attention that leaves little or no room for matters concerning time. I told myself I must learn more about these trees. So I went back to the museum to learn more about them and about the park in general. After which, I went on my way.

Now, I am thinking about the things I saw and did and learned about during my stay in the park; in nature, I should say. I walked along the same path glaciers once passed, carving the gorgeous and majestic Kings Canyon; I sat and laid down on the same boulder John Muir stumbled upon more than a hundred years ago, praising its solitary life so full and still, and the beauty of its surroundings. It is the same rock where he once sat, contemplating and praising the grandeur and generosity of nature and its creator, each reflecting the other; I traversed the Sequoia Belt—that goldilocks zone in the Sierra ecosystem where Sequoias thrive—ending my walk on top of Moro Rock, a granite dome towering at almost 7,000ft, marking the southern rim of the Sequoia Belt, and giving its pilgrims a view of the High Sierra where you can see the contrast of the Alpine peak region and the Montane region where the Sequoia Belt lies. This is also probably the first time that I camped in nature, and not on a soccer field at our school grounds. I hope to return and learn more about the place. Maybe I’ll visit Yosemite Valley next time, which is just north of here. For now, on to the next adventure.