kings canyon + sequoia
10.10.25
Location: California
Type: Biking + Hiking
Distance: 16 miles
Elevation: 2,055 ft
Duration: 3 days, 2 nights
To hike? Or to bike?
We did both.
It was early October, just as the season began to tip into fall. After two failed attempts to visit the parks because of wildfire closures, we finally made it to Kings Canyon and Sequoia. At last: the big trees.
We started in Sequoia, on a mission to see the largest tree in the world. Not the tallest, but the largest by volume. The General Grant Tree was thicc, but so were all the trees surrounding it. I kept asking William, Is that one the biggest? What about that one? It felt unreal to stand among beings that have existed for thousands of years. We walked through the hollowed shell of a fallen giant and felt like small animals moving through an underground tunnel. We ended the day with a sunset over the Sierra from the top of Moro Rock.
The next morning was for bikes.
William and I debated who would get to take the descent while the other drove the car down into the valley. The drop from Hume Lake to Road’s End is a top-ten ride in Jay’s catalog. There are the great rides, and then there are the TOP ten.
In the end, William took the descent. Even from the car, winding into the canyon felt cinematic. We met at Boyden Cavern, pulled our bikes off the rack, and rode along the South Fork of the Kings River. About an hour in, we turned around and spun back to the car.
From there, we wandered toward Road’s End, stopping for waterfalls, meadows, and a short hike we cut early so we could return to Boyden Cavern in time for a lights-out tour. Inside, the formations took on familiar shapes: a dragon, a wedding cake, a stack of pancakes. Natural whimsy formed over millennia.
