Hiking in Central Cali!
After our eventful stay in Baja, we were pretty excited to spend 10 days in Tulare, CA. I chose the location for its proximity to Sequoia National Park, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite.
I had been yearning for some time in the woods and had not previously been to any of these parks so it seemed like the perfect place to hang out before a two-week stint in Portland filled with goodbyes, doctor appointments, and oh so many errands.
We got in quite a few hikes during our stay in central California.
Our first hike was in Sequoia National Park and turned out to be our favourite — Heather Lake, Emerald Lake, and Pear Lake. We opted for the Watchtower route both ways which we didn’t find as strenuous as others made it seem. If you are afraid of heights, this would definitely be challenging but there was no scrambling and the views were spectacular. We visited Heather Lake and Aster Lake and stayed at Emerald Lake for awhile and went for a very refreshing swim. We did not pack enough water and so decided to not continue to Pear Lake. The mileage on All Trails is a bit off — getting to Emerald Lake and back via the Watchtower route was about 12 miles roundtrip — adding Pear Lake would’ve tacked on another ~2 miles rt. As we were hiking in July during a heatwave, we started pretty early (8:30am) and were definitely feeling the heat on the way down. If you can only do one hike in Sequoia, this is the one, IMO.
Flowers on the way up 
Looking at the Watchtower 
Watchtower route 
Heather Lake 
Emerald Lake 
Aster Lake
As we hadn’t done much hiking in several weeks, our legs were feeling it the next day. We were craving more time in nature but wanted something a little flatter. This time we chose a hike in Kings Canyon — Hart Tree, Fallen Goliath, Redwood Creek Loop. This was such a different experience! Almost all of the hike was in the trees, there were moderate hills but nothing substantial, and it was practically empty on a Sunday in July. We saw HUGE sequoias, some pretty wildflowers, and cows.
Old growth forest with husband for scale 
Cows! 
Wild flowers 
Huge fallen sequoia with human-sized tunnel 
Hart tree
Our next stop was a day hike in Yosemite. It was a bit further from our Tulare Airbnb (about 3 hours each way) and we wanted to beat the heat so we left around 4:30am. On the way into the park, we saw the first signs of active forest fires on this trip. It was pretty hazy and we could smell the smoke. The further we went into Yosemite, the haze and smell dissipated.
We started hiking the Vernal and Nevada Falls Trail a little after 7:30am. This hike continues up to Half Dome which requires a reservation and more gear than we travelled with. There’s about a half-mile walk from the parking lot to the trailhead. Even with the early start, the first mile or so was heavily trafficked. It’s a paved path and reminded me a lot of the first section of the Multnomah Falls Trail in the Columbia River Gorge. However, once you get past that section and the trail forks, the crowds drop off a fair amount. The further along, the fewer people. We took the Mist Trail up which is steeper, has more stairs, and, we think, less crowded. The views at the top were spectacular. For a change of scenery and to spare our knees, we took the John Muir Trail down. Our legs could’ve hiked longer but we were glad we finished when we did due to the growing crowds and increasing heat. All in all, the hike took about 4 hours.
Vernal Falls 
Stellar Jay 
Top of Vernal Falls 
On the way up 
View from the top 
Half Dome from the back 
Nevada Falls 
Vernal Falls
We explored Yosemite a bit on the way out, got very close to a deer, and saw the devastation from last year’s wildfires. It was a long, uneventful drive back to Tulare, and were so long glad we made the trek!
Deer post-hike 
Damage from wildfires
We got in one last short hike in Kings Canyon before leaving the area. We chose Big Baldy Ridge Trail for our weekday early-morning outing. There was hardly anyone else on the trail, it was a pretty easy trail, and had some beautiful views. This hike didn’t stand out on our trip but I think this is mostly because the other hikes were outstanding.
Butterflies enjoying the wildflowers 
View from Big Baldy 
View from Big Baldy
Camping at any of these national parks would have been lovely and something we would have done if we weren’t travelling with our two feline friends. While Tulare is not worth visiting on its own, it is a well-located and affordable place to hang while going to some remarkable spots in the wilderness. Tulare is mostly comprised of chain restaurants, strip malls, and suburban sprawl. It was an easy place to decompress before the whirlwind of finishing packing up our lives and officially becoming nomads.
