Redwood Creek, Kings Canyon National Park

I took the afternoon off today (Friday) to look for Fall Color in the Sequoia/Kings Canyon area. A friend told me about the dogwoods, some of which turn red along Redwood Creek in the Redwood Mountain Grove in Kings Canyon National Park. On the drive up I came around a bend on the windy 180 to see a pickup hauling a recreational trailer, awkardly stuck off the side of the road. The front of the trailer and the hitch mechanism was damaged. A few small trees and shrubs had kept the truck from going over the edge of the cliff. If you've driven this road you know that some of the drop-offs are of the no return kind. This was one of those.

To get to the Redwood Creek Trailhead I turned off of 180 (right/East) onto the General's Highway towards Sequoia NP and Hume Lake. Then I took the bumpy dirt road (right/South) a couple of miles down to the trailhead. There is small bathroom, two large bear boxes and a trashcan at the large trailhead parking lot. I threw all of my trash in the can and all of my food in my pack. There are number of routes to take from this trailhead, the longest of which is a 10 mile loop. I opted to take the Northern route to the Redwood Creek trail and follow it down close to the stream to get to some of the dogwoods. I had asked a ranger on my way up about places to get Fall colors and they said that the main Kings Canyon was the best place and all of the dogwoods higher up were already past their prime and had lost a lot of leaves. I decided to chance it anyway because most of the dogwoods in Yosemite weren't peaking yet the previous weekend and often the rangers at visitor's centers don't get out in the field much. Plus I didn't have time to drive down into the better parts of the canyon towards Road's End on a half day trip.

It is only a half-mile or so down the trail to the junction with the Redwood Creek Trail (right/South turn). As I descended the trail I noticed the ranger was dead-on. The dogwoods were not looking great. They were on the browner side of yellow and missing half their leaves. I was regretting my inflexibility but it was too late to turn around and make it home before dark. I stopped to focus on some of the dogwoods in better shape and the leaves on the ground.

Once I got to the Redwood Creek trail I began to notice that some of the dogwoods were in better shape and more colorful. I made several stops to photograph the dogwoods with sequoia. I found what looked like a paper wasp nest on the ground and thought about doing some photos. Being on the ground it must not be occupied anymore, right? I thought back to some of my encounters with wasps in the past. Let's see, there was the time one stung me on the neck and that side of my face was hot and puffed up for a couple of days. Then there was the time I got three stings all at once in my ankle (still probably the sharpest pain I've felt) and clicked into some kind of hyperstate where I cleared about 5 piles of logging slash running downhill before I realized what I'd done. I decided to pass on the wasp nest photos.

I finally ran into some dogwoods that contained not only red but a mix of green, yellow, orange and red on the same tree. I got a few photos of the dogwoods and one of myself sitting in front of what appears to be a rock cliff but is actually the side of a downed sequoia log.

On the way back uphill I noticed a single hiker walking slowly. He asked me in a German accent if I had seen bears. I said no. It took me a few second to realize he meant he was looking at bears and wondered if I had noticed them yet. There was a female about 50 feet away watching us from the top of a log with two cubs further back on the log. A few seconds later a third cub joined them. It was a perfect picture opp as the tops of the bears had sky in the background making them stand out in contrast. When photographing bears in the forest they usually blend into the background because of their coloration. I turned on my camera, cranked up the ISO and shutter spead and took a shot. Being more of a nature/landscape photographer than a wildlife photographer and generally an absent-minded fool I had left it in the usual timer mode. The loud beeping of the timer immediately sent the bears retreating over the log. At least if I had disabled the beep I just would have had to just setup another shot. Oops. Bear photos would have been nice but at least I got to see them. The last several times I have been in the mid elevations of that area where KCNP and SNP come together I have also seen bears. In several cases including this one they were either within 100-200 yards of the trailhead or in a campground. Good thing I took the trash and food out of the car.

I would definitely return to Redwood Creek next year but maybe a week earlier in the season. It would be a great spot for Spring Blossoms as well. I imagine the mosquitos are pretty bad in the area during the late Spring and Summer.

I'll post more of these photos as I process them over the next few days.