A trip through Sequoia National park and forest :(

[MikeRuth]

[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]Good day folks, I'm sure some of you are wondering why the unhappy face. Sequoia is a beautiful place and it still is but....[/font]
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[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]Let me just describe my weekend of 500 miles. Saturday I had a client who recently moved to Clovis Ca, called and the short of it was I decided to go up spend the night with her, take care of her PC issues and then head up into Sequoia. Now before I go on I want to tell you that Sequoia is or was like my second home. I even worked there in the early 1980's. it was not uncommon for me to go up there three times a month for years! I really can't figure out why I like it so much compared to Yosemite or the eastern side of the sierra's. There's just some allure for me and the western sierra's. [/font]
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[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]So I left the San Fernando Valley at 6:30pm. I knew traffic would be a bit heavy but not stop and go from the 101 & 405 all the way out to Valencia! At a whopping 5 mph no less. Hey I was getting out of town for a day or so, so turn up the tunes and just roll with it. an hour later in Valencia traffic picks up and I'm now rolling along at 75 + . Just south of Bakersfield I pulled off and ran through an In & out, got my meal and hit the road eating on the way. As I just crossed in to Visailia I see the red lights and fire engines on the south bound side. Figure there's a accident or such. As I passed by I noticed not one car! They had closed the south bound traffic at the previous exit and I tell ya I counted of 6 miles of trucks and cars backed up. I was so glad that wasn't on the north bound side. So rolling on down the 99 was basically 75 80mph all the way,. Made it into Clovis at 10:30 and met my client/friend. [/font]
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[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]It's been a while since I have traveled that far or long in my van and I have to say it was a comfortable ride aside from the few really nasty rough spots along that stretch of highway. I hit a portion of a curve that was so flipping rough my van actually began moving down the sloe of the roadway into the next lane had I not corrected for it. WOW some really tough spots. [/font]
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[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]Saturday is going to be hot in Clovis, 100+ so I was up at 5:15 my friend about 7:00 and I got busy on the job by 7:30 no need for the details there but suffice it to say I took off from there about 1:30pm and headed east on 190 to Grants Grove. it was hot on the way up to the base of the mountains, I stopped about an hour out and filled up. Nice that gas was only $3.29. Back on the road and up into the mountains yay! The drive up was enjoyable and not to slow. The scenery really brings home how dry it is at the lower elevations. Not a blade a green grass anywhere and most of the shrubs are dried out as well. finally making some gain about 4000 feet things begin to cool down a bit and a little more greenery is appearing. [/font]
[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]As I got the the south entrance I had pulled out my wallet to pay the entrance fee. Turns out Saturday was a FREE day! yay again. [/font]
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[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]OK so I'm no inside of Sequoia National Forest and there's another 30 minutes until I hit the GENERALS HIGHWAY. I tell ya I had worked a little too hard in the morning and had a slight headache. Even though I was about to go into the happiest place on earth it was nagging me a bit. I continued on. Now I have to tell ya here that I have only entered Sequoia from the north maybe twice and this could have been the second time, I always go in from the south entrance east of Three Rivers Ca. So that means the first place I'm going to see is Big Meadows. That is one of my favorite camp areas in the whole region. Big Meadows is in the FOREST not the National park. There is dispersed camping all over along with a couple of organized(if u will) camp grounds. I mean if you see a place you like you can stop and camp there and folks do. First up is the horse camp and boy it was busy. And then you see it the big meadow. I stopped right there and got out and soaked it in. OMG I was home!. it felt so good to get out and see the mountains and fresh air, I just about melted into the country. [/font]
[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]I spent a little time looking around and then headed on down the road. I got to Big meadows camp unit #1 and pulled in to look around. Not much had changed and that's great. If I wanted there were a couple open spaces. I soaked in the camp ground for a bit and then went back out to the road, I needed to eat and I gave serious thought to going on down to Giant Forest. I needed some supplies to as I wasn't sure if I was going to spend the night or not, this part of the trip was strictly as I go. No plans. [/font]
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[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]I decided I head on down father south, rolling down the road was so nice, those big tree's, everything is GREEN,[/font][font=Tahoma, sans-serif] [/font][font=Tahoma, sans-serif]the deer crossing the highway and the bears in the meadows. Life for me doesn't get much better. Next stop Stony Creek. [/font]
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[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]Stony Creek is a small village in the northern part of the forest and has amenities for the tourist, like showers, hotel, dining, market and Gas Station. Well so much for a gas station. As I pulled in[/font][font=Tahoma, sans-serif] [/font][font=Tahoma, sans-serif]I noticed the station had been closed and probably has been for many years now. There were a couple of big generators sitting in front of what would have been the service bay doors with large cables going into the building. Then I saw the new Island pumps. Two pumps with four service hoses. OK, makes sense everything these days is self serve anyways. Went in and grabbed a sandwich and a drink. Came out and ate and enjoyed the surroundings as I did. surprisingly it was not as busy there as I thought it would be and I'm not complaining. So now to decide, go on down the road to Lodge pole and Giant Forest or just get some goods and spend the night in Big Meadows,[/font][font=Tahoma, sans-serif] [/font][font=Tahoma, sans-serif]decisions, decisions...[/font]
[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]It was about 3:30 now and the drive down to lodge pole would be about a half an hour. I said to myself, lets roll and south to Lodge poll I went. On the way my mind was racing through so many previous trips along this road. I have traveled it in the dead of winter and all other seasons night and day several times. Again as I passed the meadows it seemed the bears were very active as the tourist were wildly pointing LOL. Hey I enjoy seeing them but I don't need to stop and watch, I;ve seen them plenty over the years and met them up close and personal a time or two. So I have to remember it may be the only time in someones life they may see them and bear with them as it is! . [/font]
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[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]Finally I am arriving at Lodge pole, I turn left on the road and the first thing I expect to see is the gas station I worked at. Wholly shit!!! WTF happen here? The station is closed and a mess, the roadway parking lot is a disaster. It hasn't seen maintenance since whenever the station was closed. Not to mention it appeared to be a (gulp) shuttle parking/staging area! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? OMG My heart sank, I didn't like seeing that one bit. Even though it said authorized vehicles only I drove on in looking for someone that could tell me what happen. No Luck, not one sole had any idea when this changed. So I decided to go on down lodge pole road and see if I could find any of the local rangers. Once again no luck and or they were to busy with lines out the door. I poked my head into the store which was new! Lodge pole didn't have a store before, and OMG it was like Wal-Mart in the mountains . I did a quick look around and got the heck outta there. [/font]
[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]I went back out to the van and thought ok lets get on down to Giant Forest get some supplies and head back to big meadows. As I did I couldn't help but think why? Why this change and what's with all the freaking shuttle busses up here! Well a couple minutes down the road I saw a ranger parked in a turn out and room for me to pull in as well. I got out of my van and as I started to walk back to the rangers SUV two of them got out of their vehicle quickly and took defense stances. I'm thinking to myself are you serious? This was classic Los Angeles, oh shit we may have a Looney on our hands, take guard. I said hello and immediately asked when did the station close>? One of them looked at me and said what are you talking about? While the backup was sizing me up! So I told them my story about the station and working up there and they said, it's been closed a long time. I asked them about the employee cabins down the road and once again he says what cabins? I'm like are you kidding me there gone? He said there's never been any cabins for employees as long as I've been here! I just shook  my head in disbelief. He said, I think you're in for a big shock when you get to Giant Forest. I nodded and said, thanks. [/font]
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[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]I got back on the road and I was only two minutes out from where the cabins once were, as I approached all I saw were walking trails. Everything I remember was GONE! and then the big finally! the Giant Forest lodge was GONE FREAKING GONE!!! I could not believe my eyes. Only one of the original buildings was standing, the sequoia museum. The lodge and parking lot are gone in favor of...now get this... A FREAKING SHUTLLE PARKING LOT! Folks I'm sorry but my world was rocked right then and there. That lodge had been there for about 50 years or more, and was one of the coolest places in the park. Huge fireplace that was always roaring, a pool table off to the side, large couches to relax on and history on all the walls. A small diner in the back, kind of dinner cafeteria but homey. [/font]
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[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]Well I didn't even stop to get out and walk around, I realized right then what happen, it was all about MONEY! It was a tourist trap of the first degree. Not one further red cent of mine was spent there. I was really upset and that just brought on more of the head ache. At that point since I had no solid plan I decided that the best thing to do was head on back home. I will go back up soon, packed and ready for a couple days in the high camp at Big meadows. I'll drive in and grab my spot and do my best to ignore what my freaking government thinks is best. The rest of the drive down was nice, the lower elevations were again very dry and very busy. It was obvious that as the communities below the park have grown probably tenfold over the last 30 years that the lower elevation campgrounds and picnic spots were PACKED. [/font]
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[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]I made the trip back home and crashed out for the night. [/font]
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[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]there's plenty more I could say about all this but frankly even as I write this it just fires me up again, so no more for now. [/font]
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[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]A good read? IDK but it was my weekend and the reason for the UNHAPPY face [/font]
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[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]Mike R[/font]

 

[cyndi]

Perhaps the lack of volunteers is one of the causes for the changes.

 

[ttpadilla]

Wow, it is so sad when "progress" ruins things.

 

[janncoo]

It is sad when a place that holds special memories for us is also just a memory.  Jan

 

[GotSmart]

I grew up in the Napa Valley.  

It is true you can't go home again.

 

[gcal]

Welcome to the future. We are 7 billion and counting, a major driving force (per the scholars who study such things) in the 6th Great Extinction, which is well underway. We are everywhere. Nowhere is safe. The consensus is, since we are destroying the underpinnings of the ecosystems we depend on, there's  no  guarantee our species will make it thru. enjoy it while you can. I don't see any sign that humans will voluntarily exercise much reproducetive sense.

 

[compassrose]

Make up your minds. Either the places have to be profitable or the prices have to be high. How often have the posters on this (and other forums) complained because a campground or park has been shut down due to lack of tourism and the accompanying lack of income? As for the shuttle buses... more cars or shuttle buses? Which would you choose.

You may want to visit the lesser known parks:
http://www.us-parks.com/lesser-known-parks.html
http://www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/download-center-registration (it's free)

 

[MikeRuth]

Actually in this case I did some home work. Still not real happy but the explanation makes more sense in as much as the NPS is doing what it could to preserve the area yet allow it to still be visited with less of an impact. Now I still think there is a big MONEY factor involved but that's me.
In some of the side by side photos in the link I put below there indeed is a benefit to the land. Mind you I said some.

It's my humble opinion that many of the cabin areas could have been left and continued to be usable. The treatment facility being moved and relocated was good.
Again, I'm like a lot of folks and that's change can be difficult to accept some times. I did read up on the master plan for the area and found that much of this has been in the works for 20 years. Now I will admit that 20 to 30 years ago I had no political concerns what so ever. I have more now, but some of us live and learn a little later in life than others.
I'm still torn over the main lodge being removed as I feel that had a lot of historical significance to the area

http://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/historyculture/before-and-after-photos-non-flash.htm

anyways I'm still heading back in ASAP to spend a few days in the high country. That remains the same

 

[akrvbob]

The NPS has a very limited dictate: Preserve the land for future generations. As time has gone on and the Parks are getting so heavily used they get narrower and narrower on what human activity they allow.

If you to a NP looking for nostalgic human activity, you are probably going to be more and more disappointed because that is the opposite of the Parks primary mission.
Bob

 

[maki2]

The answer is simple.The population in California has exploded since 30 years ago. It was crowded then it is even more so now.

I do not know if you created your message in a different program and perhaps used the emoticons it offered but whatever the cause.. something is making parts of your message show up as text garble. See the image capture I just took of part of your message on my iPhone.

 

[Gr8ful]

The only Constant in Life is Change. Better get used to it.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

 

[maki2]

https://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/historyculture/gfdemover.htm
Above is the link to the National Park Service article describing the removal of those old buildings as well as the aged out waste water treatment plant that could no longer health wise service that area. Budget issues for the cost of bringing things up to code. The impact on the area to establish a new waste water treatment facility. Plus the chance for restoration of natural areas. So the decision to remove the old structures made economic and environmental sense to the Park Service.

There are areas in the Grand Canyon National Park that are now shuttle bus access only. I would really like to go out that way to see the sights. But as an at risk senior it would be stupid to willingly insert myself into a packed sardine can full of tourist.