Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Sequoia Nat'l Park

Since I will be attempting to hike Mt. Whitney this summer, I figured I would take a quick skip over to Sequoia National Park to see some of the giant trees. Anyways, I looked at driving directions, and it seems a bit ridiculous that there isnt much of a direct route.

this is what i found for directions using google maps:
http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs538&d=09164&f=unreal889.png

Is there a quicker way or is that pretty much the best way? I think google estimated it was a 4-5 hour drive! argh!

Nope there is no quicker way, I like going 178 over 58 though because it is more scenic and it takes about the same amount of time.

There are some great groves including "Trail of 1000 Giants" about 45 minutes outside of Kernville - about 2.5 hours away from Lone Pine.

That is one of the unique qualities of the Sierra, no E-W roads for many, many miles.

It's only about 50 miles to walk there from Whitney

Adrian

Sefrete, Please pardon our 'ridiculousness', but lack of roads keeps wilderness 'wilderness', longer. However, I am contemplating moving to a less populous state to enjoy their 'wilderness'. I don't think it will be yours....................steve

haha, your ridiculousness is excused

I think its great that there arent any direct roads and that the wildnerness is preserved without roads and other infrastructure everywhere. i guess its just a shock to me, since i come from the NYC surrounding areas, that there isnt a more direct route.

I still smile when I remember the tourist at a gas station in Independence looking for the road to Sequoia Natl Park. It was 5 pm and they planned on seeing the big trees that night. Their atlas showed a road from Independence to the park. Of course, that was Onion Valley Road.

Sefrete - I understand your shock as well spending all my life 30 minutes outside of Manhattan. I've been in San Francisco for 3 years - traffic in the bay area is just as crazy as the tri-state area - but easy to get everywhere. I will be heading to Whitney in July for a day hike. It will be really nice to get out of the city and into the wilderness for a few days. I understand there are 2 ways to get down there from here (one way going thru Yosemite)but I'm not sure which is the best way yet. We just want the quickest so we can get at least a 1/2 day of hiking in.

Jeep Trail:

http://www.myjeeprocks.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-2021.html

Stand at the Y in Kings Canyon a couple miles east of Road's End, to the north is Paradise Valley to the southeast is Bubbs Creek.

Tunnel from there, straight through to Independence.

I'm surprised LADWP didn't do this already!

Speaking of Highway 180...please someone give a head's up on that, I need a SEKI fix.

You could get to Yosemite in about 3 hours. You could check out the Tuolumne grove, and see the other sites as well. If you have never been to Yosemite, I would recommend doing that instead. It will save you a few hours of driving, and you can still see some big trees.

Personally I'll take SEKI over Yosemite any day of the week. If I wanted to be in a place with 2million other people I'd go hang out in one of the major mets.
That is, of course, unless I'm climbing, although SEKI kicks tail there too.

As far as 180 goes, how far up are you talking? I'm at 180 and 245 once a week on the bike, and could use some motivation to climb even further.

Sequoia and Yosemite like all other National parks are crowded within a half mile of any road. I suspect everyone that visits this board ventures a little more off the beaten trail. I think both are awesome, Yosemite is by far my favorite. I am there almost every weekend from May to November and rarely see other hikers unless I venture into the valley(2 million people?).
First 14

Even in Yosemite Valley it's not that hard to get far enough off the roads to be largely by yourself.
( not that I'm trying to compare it to true wilderness )

So many people just drive thru and never wander far from their car. And there are so many hidden gems. But then I guess the best gems are OUTSIDE the VALLEY, Tuolumne, Wawona, Hetch Hetchy, etc.