Day 3

The Big Trees
By Allison Jones
atj21@txstate.edu

Miles walked: 8.51
Time: 11 hours
Work produced: one Instagram post, 30 photos and two interviews
Earliest rising: 6:00 a.m.

Off to the Sequoias
The group got up bright and early this morning so we could hit the road. Although we left our campsite at Half Dome village at 7:30 a.m., our group was energetic and ready for a day full of sightseeing and more walking at Mariposa Grove.

Mariposa Grove is part of Yosemite National Park and is home to large sequoias. The drive from Yosemite Valley to Mariposa Grove lasted around an hour and a half and consisted of more curvy roads and sharp turns while we went up and down more mountains. Once again, no one got car sick - so we got lucky. Throughout this drive our group saw incredible sights. From looking down into deep valleys to seeing rows of burned trees struggling with regrowth. It was incredible. It was beautiful. It was breathtaking.

After our journey up the mountain, we raised our elevation to around 5,000 feet about sea level. Talk about having your ears pop during a drive! We had to arrive here by 9:00 a.m. so that we could get parking.

Seeing the Big Trees

Sequoia tree root
Photo by Allison Jones

Sequoias are sometimes referred to as the "Big Trees" because of their large sizes. The trees we saw today were close to 250 feet tall and had been around longer than the United States of America. The first tree I saw didn't seem as huge as I had expected. But I quickly changed my opinion. As we moved further along the trail to head up to the Grizzly Giant, the trees seemed to grow in size - both height and width. Now, they probably didn't. It was probably my imagination seeing this type of growth occur on the spot. The truth is, it was probably my realization hitting me that these trees were right in front of me. Close enough to touch. It was unreal.

Sequoia trees
Photo by Allison Jones

We spent a total of two hours at Mariposa Grove. Our group was able to take in the sights of the Grizzly Giant and hike the trails that wrapped around the sequoias in a beautiful way. A way that preserved the trees for their own benefit, yet allowed the public to enjoy them in a safe way. Once we saw the Grizzly Giant, we headed back down the trail. Seeing the trees as we headed back down allowed us to see them from a different perspective.

Often times throughout our visit, I noticed that some trees had fallen and were burnt to what looked like a crisp. Yet they were still standing. Other trees had fallen and pulled their roots out of the ground in such an incredible sight that lines of people stood and waited to photograph it. This was proof of how incredible these trees were.

We left to head back to the valley around 12:45 in the afternoon. Most of us fell asleep on the drive back, but Dale stayed awake (and he was driving, so that was good). We arrived back "home" and all headed off with our teams to work on our assignments. Tomorrow we'll see more of the park and get more in depth with our stories.

Each day brings a new challenge and a new opportunity. We can't wait to see what tomorrow holds!