Sequoia NP: Muir Grove Hike

This morning brought more RV power issues.  I gave up on trying to keep the battery charged (I can’t run my generator in my loop in the campground and driving it uses too much fuel) and it died completely.  Not even the water pump would work this morning! This was going to put a major crimp in my plans since I’d planned to shower (no water pump means no water!) before we drove to Fresno so I could dump and so the bathroom would drain as we drove! I solved the problem by driving over to the loop where Mom and Dad are and there was an empty site over there so I could park there after Dad and I got back from our hike and take run the generator!

Since we were planning to drive to Fresno this afternoon Dad and I were up and out early to hike to Muir Grove.  It was only 4 miles, but sometimes we get to looking at stuff and taking pictures and 4 miles ends up taking a lot longer than it should!

The trail was located right in our campground, but it was in a far loop (this campground is HUGE - 200+ sites!) so we drove my RV over there, I was attempting to charge the battery by driving. 

We were hiking to a remote-ish sequoia grove that I guess John Muir frequented, it’s named after him (then again almost everything in the park is named after him!).   This grove is off the beaten path so most people don’t see it!  As we headed out at 8 am, there was no one else on the trail.  In fact we didn’t see anyone else until the way back! The trail was nice because it was more rolling as opposed to straight up and then straight down. The ups and downs were mixed up which is easier on the legs!  In just 2 short miles this trail had pretty much everything you could want in a hike: forest, meadow, rocks, wildflowers, views, streams, a cool destination, and wildlife.  We saw a deer in a clearing and then Dad saw the butt of a bear! We started making noise right after Dad saw it so the bear ran away and I never saw it!

About a mile in we came to a big rock outcropping with views of Big Baldy, again though it was obscured by smoke.  We could also see the tops of the sequoia trees we were hiking to! The sequoia grove was pretty cool! The trees were huge! We had a snack and took some pictures and then headed back.

Typically when I do “out and back” type hikes the way back goes much faster than the way out, but that’s still usually when the constant walking (especially if it’s all downhill) starts to get to me, so today I brought my iPod! This hike was short and interesting enough that I didn’t really need it, but I pulled it out anyway! It definitely helped me keep my mind off the fact that my left sock was bunched up by baby toe and hurting with each step!

We were back from our hike about 10:30 and I got started on my RV chores.  I got parked in the campsite and popped the generator on and got a shower (it was a very efficient shower since my grey tank was almost full!), then drove over to the dump station to dump the grey tank.  I’d also discovered that the toilet was out of water to flush with so I had to fill that up. This was more difficult because the toilet tank is on the wrong side of the RV to use the dump station water, so I had to use 2 containers my parents had to ferry water from the spicket to the toilet. 

Once my chores were done we had lunch and then headed down the mountain.  It had gotten cloudy and cold but I still drove with my window down (and the heat on) because it was so nice! We pretty coasted down the mountain, losing 6000+ feet of elevation as we descended into the valley!

We were looking for a Wal-Mart, hoping to stay for free since we’d already paid for our site in Sequoia that we gave up.  Luckily we found a very nice Super Wal-Mart in Sanger, CA that allows RVs to stay overnight.  I actually think this is pretty cool! Sleeping at Wal-Mart! We’ll talk in the morning about how much sleep I actually got!  It is cool because you can go shop at anytime!  No need to remember everything the 1st trip!

As soon as we got here and got clearance from the manager that we could stay overnight I went off to call Amazon about my Kindle. As soon as I explained what had happened they told me that they’d have to replace it.  The guy sounded like I should be upset by this, but actually I’m happy!  Not only are they replacing it, but they are mailing me a new one 1st then I’ll mail the defective one back in the box the new one arrives in. AND….not only that BUT…BUT…they are mailing my new Kindle to the campground we are staying at and it will be here Tuesday!!!!!  YAY!!!!!  I’ll have it for the plane ride home! :-)  GO AMAZON!

After my success with Amazon I made the rounds of Wal-Mart picking up all kinds of odd things I can’t find at home: chocolate marshmallows, Cremesicle Oreos and Cherry Nutri-Grain bars! I love those and can’t buy them anywhere so I got two boxes so I could take one home!

It’s quite hot here in the valley but it’s supposed to get cool as soon as the sun goes down which should be any minute now! Spending the evening uploading pictures, posting blogs and reconnecting with the outside world! Four days away was kinda nice! I didn’t miss the internet as much as I have in the past!

Tomorrow we are off to Yosemite!  Here’s hoping there aren’t too many people there! (Yeah, right!)

Sequoia: Muir Grove Hike