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This is the first of a handful of hikes I completed in Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park during an extended Memorial Day Weekend.

It isn’t often that a place lives up to its name. Case in point: I’ve been in Los Angeles for almost two decades and haven’t found any angels. But the Paradise Creek Trail really does take one into a little bit of paradise. The Paradise Creek Trail is a 2.3 mile path under the cover of a dense forest cover. It is accessed from the Buckeye Flat campgrounds located in the low-elevation foothills of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. I hoped to get a good workout on this trail in preparation of the longer, harder hikes to come on this 5-day trip to the park, but that wouldn’t happen. Spring was in full swing and life was everywhere. Wildflowers, bumblebees, moths, butterflies, birds… they were all out on this beautiful day. Within the first 100 yards of the hike, I spotted a California Quail on the trail. Many stretches of the trail were flanked by yellow, white, blue, and purple wildflowers (I’m not yet up to par on my wildflower names, but I’ll get there.) I saw these strange little black moths with white stripes which had long antennae that were twice the length of their bodies. I turned over a fallen log and discovered a whole community of creatures, including a scorpion. The Paradise Creek Trail was well groomed but the draw of the creek was too irresistible.  I found myself exploring small wooded meadows where songs of birds could be heard over the murmuring of the creek.

I think the only way I could have done this hike at a quicker pace was to do it blindfolded or late at night.

At 11am, I turned around. It would have been nice to have traversed the entire length of the trail, but I had a late start and needed to get back to check out of my campsite by noon. I’m happy to have done the hike in the morning where the entire path was in the shade.

What I learned on the hike:

1. It’s a great feeling to be able to start a hike at your campsite. Just roll out of your tent, strap on your boots, and pick a direction. “Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate.” J.R.R. Tolkien.
2. I can’t resist stopping to look at the nature. The natural sights were just too beautiful to be passed without a good long look. Leaving my SLR in my car helped keep me from a lot more stops, but I still stopped and used my small point-and-shoot quite a bit.
3. I discovered that my camera (Canon 1100 IS) has a custom timer. It can take up to 10 shots in a row after a delay of up to 30 seconds. So no more running like mad to get into place!
4. My copy of the book Scats and Tracks of the Pacific Coast States has finally become useful: I identified bobcat scat and tracks along the trail. I’m not excited to look too closely at crap, but I think it’s good idea to know what it came from. Finding a fresh pile of mountain lion scat might make you react differently than seeing a pile of deer poo.

Hike #7 Trip Stats:

• Date of hike: May 21st, 2009
• Location: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, California
• Length: 2.6 miles (more like 2.4 miles)
• Duration: 2 hours, 36 minutes
• Average speed: ±1.0 mph (more like 1.8 mph)
• Altitude at start: 2,771 feet
• Altitude min.max: 2,771/3,187 feet

This map was made with the data my GPS captured on the hike.
For a more detailed trip report map, check this out.

Photos: