Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias

Today was our "hiking" day off or so we thought.  Near the South entrance of the park is the Mariposa Grove and the Giant Sequoias and a great place to meander through the woods and view the more than 500 mature giant sequoias, visit the Sequoia museum, or enjoy a picnic lunch at the Wawona Point Vista.  Although it's a steady climb up-hill the grade is gradual, the trails are well groomed, easy terrain , and certainly do able by someone in reasonable shape.  A map of the forest and description of many of the largest and unique trees is available for .50 cents or free for download. I would highly recommend grabbing one of these at the start. Note: there is an optional tram that you can take as well.

On the right as you start out into the grove on the main trail is the Fallen Monarch. 

Fallen Monarch

Biologists suspect that this tree has been down for centuries.  Tannic acid in the wood suppresses the initial growth of fungi and bacteria, essentially arresting decay of fallen sequoia. Only when rain and melting snow have leached the tannin from the wood can decay begin.  Sequoias do not have deep tap roots, instead the roots speread out near the surface to capture water.  While the roots are usually no deeper than six feet, they can fan out more than 150 feet, providing a stable base to balance the massive trunk.

Bachelor and Three Graces

Grizzly Giant

Continuing on we passed the Bachelor and Three Graces, and the Giant Grizzly, which is one of the larges trees in the Mariposa Grove and is estimated to be 1,800 years old.  As you look up on the south side of the tree there is a huge limb which is almost seven feet in diameter.  

Grizzly Giant

 Some fifty yards beyond the Grizzly Giant is the California Tunnel Tree, cut in 1985 to allow horse-drawn stages to pass through.

Failthful Couple

Faithful Couple

In about another 1/2 mile is the Faithful Couple. ( It's here where there was a number of couples were posing, too cute).  Two large trees have fused together at their bases, but remain clearly separated above.

1 1/4 mile further is the Clothespin Tree.  Numerous fires have excavated a natural tunnel wider than a car.  Size is deceptive here, so Steve walked up and stood in the opening. 

Clothespin Tree

 

Clothespin Tree

The trail continues on to the Mariposa Grove Musuem where you can see many exhibits and the history of the giant sequoias.  From here you can venture on to Wawona Point where you have stunning views to the west and north and a great place to have a picnic lunch.  Unfortuntely our planning was not as good as normal and our lunch was tucked neatly in the cooler buck in the car so we decided to head back down and enjoy our lunch people watching on a log carved bench near the Ranger's station and summarizing that our day off from hiking actually turned into about 4 mile round trip trek, 2 miles being uphill.  All good; much needed massages scheduled for the afternoon.  Life is good!