From Paradise Creek to Eli’s Paradise, this is my second hike in one day at Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park.
Rockin' the sunset at Sunset Rock
This might be the easiest hike out of the hundred. I had to get creative to turn a hike down the 0.8 mile-long Sunset Rock trail into a 2-mile trek: I took a lap around the parking lot and hoofed it around on another trail. I arrived a bit later at the trailhead than expected. On the drive from the Lodgepole campgrounds to the Giant Forest, I passed a meadow with a bear dining on flora. If you see a bear in a meadow in Sequoia, I believe it’s a requirement to stop and take photos. After all, the bear expects nothing less. As with most bears in Sequoia, this one didn’t mind me and my camera watching it eat. The late afternoon sun through the giant trees added to the magic of the moment.
My hike started at the empty parking lot near the Big Forest Museum at 7pm. At first I thought the lot was closed since there weren’t any other cars. Two California mule deer took advantage of the human-less asphalt to snack on the shrubs in the middle of the lot. It’s beautiful to see nature ignoring the unnatural additions we have added to the forest and making the best of it.
After a 2/10ths of a mile hike around the lot and down a paved path, I joined the Sunset Rock trail. The afternoon was quiet and the forest was void of other people. The couple I passed at the trailhead would be the last I would see for the evening. The trail has a slight drop down to the Little Deer Creek before a slow but steady gain all the way to Sunset Rock. Along the way is Eli’s Paradise, a small meadow with a fallen sequoia and a large granite boulder. I took a detour and trekked into the meadow, careful not to tread on the spring wildflowers.
Saying that Sunset Rock is just a rock would be a major understatement. It is in fact a large exposed granite dome almost flat enough on the top to play a game of soccer (don’t lose control of the ball!) If sports aren’t your thing, Sunset Rock makes a nice place to sit and watch the sun go down beyond the wooded hills across a large canyon. It’s not the most impressive views for a sunset (look for my post on Hike 11 to Moro Rock) but it was nice to share the rock with nothing else but my thoughts.
What I learned on the hike:
- I can carry my SLR without being too distracted from hiking.
- The world would be a better place if everyone took the time to hike during sunset in the woods. It is peace and beauty beyond words.
- I forgot to bring water or wear a bear bell. I obviously forgot my brain as well.
Hike #8 Trip Stats:
- Date of hike: May 21st, 2009
- Location: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, California
- Length: 2.2 miles (more like 2.0)
- Duration: 1 hour, 22 minutes
- Average speed: ±1.6mph
- Altitude at start: 6,534 feet
- Altitude min.max: 6,392/6,546 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:
- The bear in a meadow kept me from my hike because I had to stop to photograph it. Stupid cool bear in beautiful meadow. How dare Mother Nature stop me from my hike.
- Not 100 yards into my hike (the parking lot) and these two mule deer show up.
- Sunset Rock trailhead
- The crowded trail at sunset.
- Sequoias in the forest
- Standing in Eli’s Paradise. It sure was.
- Stoic poses are a requirement at Sunset Rock at sunset.
- Moments after sunset.