Mariposa Grove - The Land of Giants

We left the campground at 9:00 am today because we were driving to Mariposa Grove which was going to take us nearly 2 hours.  When we reached  Yosemite Valley, we turned off and headed south on Wawona Road. 

We reached a vista which we found out later is one of the most photographed vistas in the world.  We could understand why after we parked and looked out our front window.

Of course, we had to stop and get more pictures of Half Dome, El Capitan and the rest of Yosemite Valley.

Then we jumped back in the car and drove for an hour until we reached Mariposa Grove.  Many people parked at the Wawona Hotel and took the shuttle to the grove; but we got lucky and were able to get a parking spot right at the grove.  And look at the gentle giant that was standing there to greet us!  :)

Chuck and I were blessed to see the related coastal redwoods two years ago when we were traveling through California.  The sequoias do not grow as tall as the coastal redwoods but they are just as amazing to see. 

When the sequoias of Mariposa Grove and the Yosemite Valley were discovered by Galen Clark in the mid 1800's, he convinced President Lincoln, while in the midst of some of the bloodiest days of the Civil War, to sign a bill that set aside the Mariposa Grove and the Yosemite Valley as protected lands for everyone to enjoy.   Even though President Lincoln and the members of Congress who passed the bill never actually saw Yosemite in their lifetimes, they believed that its beauty and uniqueness was important enough to preserve for us today.

Although Yosemite was not the first national park (Yellowstone holds that title), its designation as protected lands to be preserved and enjoyed by future generations are what inspired the national park system.  Through the love of the land and the efforts of people like John Muir, the area eventually was enlarged and became a national park in 1890.  This year is Yosemite's 125th birthday!

As we began walking the trail through the Mariposa Grove, the first exhibit was the Fallen Monarch. 

Biologists suspect that the tree has been down for centuries but the tannic acid in the wood suppresses the initial growth of fungi and bacteria slowing the decay of the fallen sequoia for centuries to come.

A sequoia's roots are usually no deeper than about 6 feet but fan out to as much as 150 feet giving it the stable base to balance its massive trunk. 

After leaving the Fallen Monarch, we continued our walk through the land of gentle giants.

In the early years of its preservation, it was thought that these trees needed to be protected from any fire which allowed the forest floor to grow with more shade-tolerant trees and compete with the sequoias for water and minerals.  It was not until the 1960s that the sequoia's dependence on natural fires to reduce competition from other evergreens began to be understood.  At that point, the National Park Service began a series of prescribed burns to reduce the abnormal fuel supply of the other trees and to promote giant sequoia reproduction.  When the forest returns to a more natural state, these management fires will probably be discontinued and nature can resume its cycle of lightning-caused fires every seven to twenty years.

As we continued up the trail, the next exhibit we came to was the Bachelor and Three Graces.

Their trunks look like hoofed feet.

Then we came to one of the largest trees in the grove, The Grizzly Giant.

The Grizzly Giant is estimated to be over 1,800 years old.  What makes this giant so amazing is its huge limbs some of which are almost 7 feet in diameter!

The biggest limb on the Grizzly Giant is as big in diameter as the trunks of the other non-sequoia trees in the park.

These trees are SO BIG!!!

We next walked to and through a popular tree in the grove:  the California Tunnel Tree.

As we continued walking up the hill to see some of the other exhibits of trees, we looked back to get another look at that Grizzly Giant.

We walked up the tram road part of the ways looking for the path to the Faithful Couple.

We found the path and began walking up a fairly steep hill past some more sequoias.   We were not hiking because we did not have our hiking sticks -- just so you know the difference.  :)

What's interesting is the sequoias are not the only trees that grow big here.  The ponderosa pines grow big here too!

We spotted these bright red pine cone-looking things growing on the forest floor.

These bright red plants are snow plants that get water and nutrients from fungi that are connected to the tree roots.

We crossed through kind of a meadow on the side of the hill filled with low-growing shrubs.

Here is another big tree.  I think this was a sugar pine. 

We continued our climb up the hill.

Some of the sequoias have big burls growing out the side of the trunks.

We finally reached the Faithful Couple.

Across the road from the Faithful Couple was a much younger couple.

Both couples are sequoias that fused together at their bases but remain clearly separated above. 

Here's another faithful couple...

...that are having way too much fun.  :)

How big would you think a sequoia pine cone is?  I would think it would be huge.  But they are very small.  Notice their size in relation to my shoe.

It's hard to believe something so big can grow from something so small. 

We followed the path up just a little further and went by another giant sequoia. 

Pretty big, wouldn't you agree?

Something also unusual are these very thick stemmed grassed growing near the trees.  They almost look like miniature bamboo plants.

When we finally reached the last exhibit we were walking to, Clothespin Tree, we took a break and had a snack. 

On the way back down, I put my camera away and just enjoyed walking among these beautiful giants.  The crowds were less at the top of the hill and we could enjoy the quietness of the forest as we walked.  We stopped to feel their bark which is soft and spongy.  They are such amazing feats of nature!

As is typical for us, we didn't have our lunch until about 2:45 pm when we stopped at this picnic area on the way back.  Nice place for a picnic!

It was a long drive to Mariposa Grove but it was so worth it.  These giant sequoias are so amazing and Ken, Bonnie, Chuck and I are so blessed to have seen them!  :)