2025-09 Sequoia & Kings Canyon

9/2/25: Travel Day

Bill and I woke up Max at 5am to leave for the airport. She was not happy about that. Our first flight was from Honolulu to San Francisco. Max was originally going to be my lap infant on a full airplane with 3 passengers per row, which meant we’d be sharing a row with a stranger. I was dreading making it through a 5 hour flight with a squirmy 20 month old on my lap so at the last minute, I bought Max her own seat. I was thankful for the extra space. At one point, she was able to lie down across her seat and sleep for about an hour which gave all three of us a much needed break.

Mom met us in San Francisco and showered Max with love. She had last seen Max about 6 months ago, when I turned 40. We all flew into Fresno together, rented a car, and stopped by a gas station to pick up Indian food take out, snacks, and beer. The 101 degree weather hit me in the face. It had been many years since I had encountered that kind of heat. We drove to our bed and breakfast at The Branded Calf in Squaw Valley, where we were greeted by two very friendly dogs.

Reunion

Max & Missy

9/3/25: King’s Canyon National Park

Mom and I woke up early and sat outside watching hummingbirds. There must have been over 30 hummingbirds hovering around 7 bird feeders. I was relieved that the weather was a good thirty degrees cooler than the day prior. Bill and Max joined us a little later and we all ate a big breakfast that our host Connie made from scratch.  Then we set off for our day in Kings Canyon, following an itinerary that Connie laid out for us. 

Hummingbird!

Our B&B in Squaw Valley

Kings Canyon Day, marked by red stars

First we took a short walk to Panoramic Point, which was a little anticlimactic due to decreased visibility from a recent fire. Then we took a short trail to the General Grant Tree, which by contrast was nothing short of magnificent! The trail took us through a forest of amazing sequoias and we even walked through the trunk of a fallen sequoia. The General Grant Tree itself was worth the hype; it’s ~1650 years old, 267 feet tall, and has a circumference of 107 feet.

Panoramic Point Trail

Entrance of the fallen Sequoia

Inside the fallen Sequoia

The General Grant Tree

My pictures don't do it justice!

Max taking in the General Grant Tree

The bulk of the day was spent driving the beautiful windy Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, stopping along the way at 4 places:

1. Boyden Cave. We could only see the cave itself if we did a one hour guided tour, but we would have had to carry Max (no backpack carriers allowed) and she was far too restless at that point to be carried. So instead we took a quick bathroom break, admired the Kings River, and continued onward.
2. Grizzly Falls. Just a few steps from the parking lot brought us to 75 foot waterfall which Max called “shower!”
3. Roaring River Falls. A short walk to a 40 foot waterfall. Roaring River was shorter, fatter, and more powerful compared to Grizzly.
4. Zumwalt Meadows. Max had fallen asleep so Bill stayed in the car with her while Mom and I hike part of a short trail that lead across a suspension bridge and over some rocks to a meadow.

Kings River (we skipped the Boyden Cave tour)

Grizzly Falls

Our Group

Roaring River Falls

Mom

Suspension Bridge

Trail to Zumwalt Meadows

Zumwalt Meadows

Nap time

We drove back on the Kings Canyon Byway and onward to Hume Lake. Max woke up from her one hour nap in time to see the lake and point out “ducks!” We stopped for gas and I wondered where in the world all the adults were until Bill pointed out we were at a Christian Camp. 

Hume Lake

3 Generations

Our last stop would be our home for the next three nights: Montecito Lodge. The main road was closed so we had to take a rather long gravel road detour to get there. When we turned onto the road, Max thought we had already arrived and announced “yay!” while clapping her hands. She was disappointed when I didn’t stop the car.

Speed limit at the lodge

Montecito Lodge provided us with meals 3 times a day as well as always-available snacks. The highlight of our dinner was a baked pear crisp for dessert. Afterwards, we hung out in a hot tub and then ate s’mores by a campfire. Both the s’mores and the fire were firsts for Max. Bill and Mom originally were going to stay up together with a couple beers while I put Max to sleep, but we decided to all go to bed early after a full day.

Bill with the Luggage

Max's first fire

Max's first s'more

9/4/25: Sequoia National Park

Breakfast at our lodge was delicious and we all ate large portions, especially Max. Montecito lodge provided us with packed lunches since we knew we'd be out for the whole day exploring Sequoia National Park. 

Our day in Sequoia National Park, marked by blue stars

Our first stop was Moro Rock, a short hike that consists of a 350 step staircase leading to a 360 degree view. On our way to our next hike we drove through Tunnel Log, which had been carved out of a sequoia that fell across the road in 1937. 

Moro Rock trail

At the top!

Mom

Tunnel Log

On top of the log

Our second hike was Crescent Meadow, a short loop trail that took us to Tharp’s Log (a cabin made from a hollowed out fallen Sequoia tree in 1858) and Chimney Tree (a sequoia hollowed out by a fire). The clear highlight of the Crescent Meadow trail, and perhaps of the entire trip, was seeing a black bear! After hiking, we had planned to picnic at the meadow but there was an uncomfortable number of bees swarming around us, so instead we ate lunch in the car.

Tharp's Log

Chimney Tree

Inside Chimney Tree

Mom was taking this pic when we spotted the bear behind her!

Bear!

Holding hands

Our third and final hike of the day was The General Sherman Tree trail combined with the Congress Trail. We saw tons of humongous sequoias, including of course The General Sherman Tree itself, which is the world’s largest tree by volume. It’s ~2200 years old and stands ~275 feet tall.

The person who took our group photo failed to capture the tree itself!

Tunnel on the trail

Another tunnel

So many giant sequoias!

This bundle of sequoias is called "The Senate"

Huge tree!

After making our way back to our lodge and getting cleaned up, we ate dinner (dessert was again incredible; this time the winner was a lemon shortcake), played in the hot tub, ate s’mores by the campfire, and walked around the lodge grounds. There were cows, marmots, and chipmunks on the premises. Max was a little startled when she heard how loud a “moo” actually is.

Fat little marmot

9/5/25: Montecito Lodge

It was a tough decision whether to hike Tokopah Falls versus Big Baldy, and I was the tie breaker. Mom’s choice was Tokopah Falls, which is often touted as one of the best hikes in Sequoia National Park. It’s a beautiful trail along a river that leads to a 1200 foot waterfall surrounded by granite canyon walls. However, the waterfall is mostly dried up this time of year.  Bill’s choice was Big Baldy. We could hike to it directly from our lodge which would save us 80 minutes total of driving. It’s a hot exposed trail that leads to a gorgeous 360 degree view, but it’s best at sunrise or sunset and we’d be doing it mid-morning. I went back and forth several times but ultimately chose Tokopah Falls. 

Morning at the lodge

As advertised, the Tokopah Fall trail itself was lovely, with frequent terrain changes and beautiful views to take in throughout. We saw lizards, chipmunks, a blue bird, and a woodpecker. Even though the waterfall was fairly weak (as expected), the view of the 1600 foot Watchtower Peak at the end was gorgeous.  Max fell asleep during the hike and slept on the way home. 

Tokopah Falls Trail

Chipmunk

End of the hike

Our Group

Nap time

We made it back in time for lunch at the lodge and took a paddle boat out for a short ride on the lake. Mom and I got excited when we mistook some cows for a bear along the shore. We took advantage of multiple kid play areas that our lodge provided; there were sand toys, car riding toys, puzzles/books, a giant trampoline, and of course Max's favorite: the hot tub. 

Paddle boat

Not a bear

Trampoline

Giggles

Hot tub

Dada's shoes

After dinner (dessert was the highlight as usual; this time it was a tuxedo chocolate mousse cake), I suggested that Mom or I stay behind with Max so that Bill could hike Big Baldy. It turned out that Mom and I were actually the two who were most interested in doing a second hike of the day, so we ended up leaving Bill behind with Max. The trail to Big Baldy was nothing too remarkable but the view at the top was magnificent and we had the place to ourselves! At about 8200 feet, we had 360 degree views and felt like we were on the top of the world. What made the entire hike especially memorable was that the sunset was one of the most incredible ones I’ve ever seen. It looked like a big red ball floating through a haze of pink clouds, and on the opposite side was a nearly full moon. 

Pic so we didn't get lost on the way back in the dark!

Made it in time for sunset!

Mom posing with the sunset

Racing the iPhone 10 second timer

Surreal

Red Rubber Ball

Me with the moonrise

Mister Moon

We walked back in the dark and as we approached our lodge, a large black cow next to the trail scared me.  Mom only heard me get startled and thought it must be a bear. It was the second time in a day she mistook a cow for a bear.  We laughed so hard.  Mom and I made it back to the lodge in time to eat s’mores by the campfire. Montecito Lodge gets 5 stars in my book.

S'mores again!

9/6/25: Fresno

We enjoyed our eighth and final meal at Montecito Lodge and packed up to leave. On our way out of the park, we did one last hike, the Big Stump Loop. The trail features multiple sequoia stumps that had been killed due to logging in the 1800s. The main attraction was the Mark Twain Tree, which reaches 16 feet in diameter and was cut down in 1891 for the American Museum of Natural History. I had mixed feelings during the trail, and didn’t realize I’d feel so sad to see evidence of large sequoias that had been cut down. Fortunately, the loop trail ended on a high note with the Sawed Tree, a living sequoia that survived attempts in the 1800s to cut it down with a crosscut saw. We also saw a family of three deer!

Sequoia National Park Sign

Kings Canyon Entrance

Last hike

Bill & Max

Bill & Max & Mom

I'm getting too old for this

The Mark Twain stump

Big Rocks on Big Stump Trail

The Sawed Tree survived attempts to cut it down!

Deer

The end of the trail went under the main road

Our drive into Fresno went pretty smoothly, with just one quick stop to buy berries and feed goats. In Fresno, we ate lunch at a mediocre bratwurst joint and then checked into our hotel. Max pooped in her bath. After cleaning her up, she fell asleep on me for about an hour. Max woke up cranky and I felt bad that she hadn’t had enough time to run around freely that day. Bill and I took her to a nearby indoor playground which put her in a better mood. We picked up Mom at the hotel and stopped by a nearby Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. It hit the spot. 

Lunch

Just Kiddin' Indoor Playground

Our hotel had an outdoor pool and hot tub. It was very hot in Fresno so I tried to get Max to swim in the pool, but she insisted on the hot tub instead, "No Mama!  All done pool!  Hot tub?" Before bed, we all split a dessert of Thai pumpkin custard.

9/7/25: Last Day

Knowing it would be a long travel day, we did our best to tire Max out in the morning. After breakfast at our hotel, we packed up and went to the Fresno Discovery Center. It was more run down than other discovery centers we’ve visited but there were also some gardens next door that were pretty neat. 

Hotel Room

Children's Discovery Center

Big tree rings

Mom & Max

Space Shuttle

Water Fountain

Human Sundial

After stopping at a Vietnamese restaurant for lunch, we headed to straight the airport. We all took the same flight out of Fresno, and then said our goodbyes at the San Francisco airport.  Max was my lap infant on our way home, but we managed to make it home unscathed.

Highlights of the trip:

Liên - bear, Big Baldy sunset, and giant sequoias

Bill - bear and The Congress Trail

Mom - Big Baldy sunset and visiting Max

Max - hot tubs and desserts

Flight from Fresno to San Francisco

Goodbyes at the San Francisco Airport

Almost home!

'

Sunset from airplane

Back in Honolulu