A Quarter Century

Let me first start by saying that I originally had intended on posting a lot of text that I had written previously about boring stuff that I did in training day in and day out last week, but as I sit here in a Starbucks in Visalia, CA (40 miles away from Sequoia National Park) I decided to change things up.

It's kind of funny that today I am a quarter century old and that today I came face to face with trees that are 25 centuries old. Just think- the trees that I saw today are 100 times older than I am. I think this is what prevented me from having a quarter life crisis today. Before I begin to tell you about the trees I saw today, I want to give you some facts about Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks so that you can appreciate all that I experienced today.

• Sequoia National Park was established in 1890 before the National Park Service was even established. It was the second national park ever, Yellowstone being the first. 
• 2015 makes the 125^th anniversary of Sequoia National Park and the 75th anniversary of Kings Canyon National Park.
• Kings Canyon National Park was originally General Grant National Park, but was expanded in 1940 and changed to Kings Canyon.
• Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks share the same border, so they are almost always referred to together.
•  Next year (2016) will mark the 100^th anniversary of the National Park Service. Prior to becoming part of the Department of the Interior, NPS was governed by the Army, which is why Sequoia National Park is older than the NPS we know now.
• Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Park are approximately 92% wilderness land, which means that the area most guests visit only makes up 6% of the park. Backpackers and backcountry workers are the only ones to travel into the wilderness.
• The General Sherman Tree (the huge tree that most people know Sequoia for) is the largest tree in the world and is approximately 2200 years old. General Sherman is located within the Giant Forest which is 6500 feet up on the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Within the groves that make up the sequoia groves there are over 200 giant trees.
•  Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the lower 48 continuous United States, is also part of Sequoia National Park; however, it is not visible from where I am because of the Great Western Divide.
• Many people think that there are sequoia trees that they can drive their cars through; however, that does not happen anymore because when you cut out the middle of a tree for a car to drive through, the tree is now dead and will fall. However, there is a fallen sequoia tree in the park that has a tunnel carved out of it.
• The original CCC boys- Civilian Conservation Corps- built numerous parts of the Sequoia National Park as well as Kings Canyon, including the iconic sequoia chief head sign that greets guests as they enter the park. (I like this fact because I just finished working for the California Conservation Corps, which is modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps)

So there you have some basic facts about Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. I'm sure I will pepper in other facts along the way, but for now I will leave it at those.

The meadow in the middle of the Big Trees Trail

This morning I woke up feeling no different than I did when I went to bed. This birthday was nothing special, I had no BFFs to spend it with, no family dinner waiting for me, no crazy party to attend late at night. I didn't have much of a plan, but I did have the day off so I felt it necessary to head up the mountain to finally check out the Giant Forest in person. As I made my way up the hill, around all 140 sharp turns, passing through several different climates, I couldn't help but realize what a huge smile I had on my face. Upon entering the Giant Forest, I was greeted by 4 mighty sequoias all in a row- these are referred to as the Four Guardsmen and are considered the official entrance into the Giant Forest. I drove a little further and parked my car in a lot where I had access to the great General Sherman tree. I walked about three quarters of a mile and was finally face to face with the General.

Can you see me?! And yes, that is snow!

It was truly incredible. There is no way to grasp the concept of how massive these trees are until you're standing next to one, dwarfed by the size of the gigantic trunk. I walked all around these huge trees, took many photos of other people who looked like ants next to the trees and continued to embrace the fresh, cool air. I made my way all around these trees, jumped back in my car and drove a little bit further. I finally made my way to the Giant Forest museum where I was able to sort of grasp the concept of just how large the trunk of these trees are.

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks" - John Muir

One exhibit in the museum said that if you planted a giant sequoia on the free way, it would take up at least 3 lanes of traffic. Another said something along the lines of, "if you feel like a mouse standing next to these trees, it's because you are. A 6 foot human looks up to a giant sequoia the same way a mouse looks up to a 6 foot human." THAT'S BIG. 

I walked around a bit more and then decided to head back down the hill. I was thinking about life and about those amazing trees on my drive when I turned the corner only to see a bear run onto the street and then hop over the fence onto back into the wilderness. YES A BEAR! It was unbelievable! What a way to start out my birthday!

That's me in front of a sequoia trunk!

As I sit here in this Starbucks thinking about my last 25 years of life and all the incredible adventures I have been able to have, I can't help but think about all of the incredible adventures those mighty sequoias have seen in their lifetime. Although I will most likely never live to be the age those trees are, I still plan to have adventures like they have had.

Tomorrow I will have my second day in the entrance station and although the work may not be the most adventurous, my time here in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks will not be wasted. 25 started off on a high note and I plan to keep that enthusiasm for life as I embark on the next quarter century of my life- maybe I can learn a thing or two from the trees.

A New Adventure

About mid-April, before I finished my term of service with the California Conservation Corps, I accepted a position with Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. At the time, I honestly didn’t think I would go through with it. After all, I could see many more challenges with the position than I could the benefits. First, it would mean living 4 hours away from Sacramento for 4 and a half months. Why would I want to leave Sacramento when Dana is there and all I’m ever complaining about is that she is deployed on disasters for the better half of a year?! And here I am considering leaving her! Secondly, I would be paying rent for our apartment in Sacramento AND paying $200 out of my paycheck each month to live at the Park. Thirdly, it would mean that come the end of September, I’d be right where I was at so many other points of my life- searching for a job and getting very few calls back. There were some obvious pros to taking the job at Sequoia and I couldn’t really let those fall to the wayside. I’d be working in a National Park, something I had been very excited about since my trip to Yosemite last September. I’d be an official government employee, if even only temporary seasonal work. I’d be getting paid real money! And I’d be able to live at the Park, allowing me to take in as much of the natural landscape as possible.

So like I said, I accepted the position with little intention of following through. But alas, despite my best efforts and my numerous job applications submitted between December and the beginning of May, I was only ever interviewed and offered one position- with Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. It’s an entry level position, paying only slightly over the California minimum wage, and doing some not-so-glamorous work in the park. I’m not guiding tours nor am I working on maintaining the trails and sites of the park. I barely interact with the guests, spending an average of 30 seconds with each visitor, but it’s a job and it’s not permanent, so I think I can manage it. After all, this is coming from the girl who learned to love cutting and gutting fish for 40 hours a week.

On May 10^th, I packed up my Mini once again, said a long and sad goodbye to Dana, and headed down highway 99 towards Fresno, CA. The trip took about 4 hours total with only one stop for gas and a restroom. I headed east from Fresno, through Visalia, and into a tiny town called Three Rivers. I swear there is only one road in all of Three Rivers and if you keep following it, you’ll just come to an end at the Ash Mountain entrance station- my new duty station for the next 4.5 months.

Currently, I’m sitting in my “cabin” which is really more like a three bedroom ranch style house. There are two couches in the living room, a fully loaded kitchen that has two refrigerators, two bedrooms with twin beds, a bathroom, and one master suite (which I claimed!). There is a washer and dryer in the house, a two-car garage, and a deck with a picnic table out the back of the house. It’s a really nice place and I think I’ll really enjoy my time here, although not having a TV and Internet is certainly going to take some getting used to. I have one roommate right now, but she will be leaving in about a week to hike into the backcountry of Kings Canyon and spend the summer being a Wilderness Ranger. I should be getting other roommates, but I don’t really know anymore than that.

I’m sitting on one of the couches looking out of the window and in front of me is a tall peak pretty much covered in trees. Out the back window is a very similar sight. I’m very grateful and lucky for the position I have been given and I hope to make the most of this summer. I think that working a summer for the National Park Service will give me a good idea if this is the field I want to be in and will help me gain the experience necessary for continuing in this profession. And if not… well, at least I’ll have some stories to tell!