I had a 2-week wait for a permanent bridge to be made to finish up my dental work, so i was beginning to get bored and ready to move on. I did do a couple of day trips during that time. The first was to visit Nelder Grove, a small grove of Giant Sequoias in the National Forest near Oakhurst, CA.
Thistle was allowed and we hiked 3 short trails here.
The first was called Shadow of the Giants trail.
Pacific Dogwoods were in bloom.
This grove was one that was partially logged in the 1880s, so you see many stumps from that process.
One that was spared and one that was not.
There are remnants and reproductions of logging materials used. This was a two-pole chute used to move logs to the mill.
Replica of a logging camp cabin.
The second trail led to a tree named "Big Ed."
This stump is next to the old logging camp.
And there's a photo of what it looked like before it was cut.
The sequoia cone is on the left, about the size of a chicken egg. The large cone is from a sugar pine.
Thistle checking out a hollow log.
A really large stump.
The 3rd trail led to Bull Buck tree, a contender for the largest tree in the world.
Bull Buck
Snow Plant growing up from under the pine needles.
I passed this little waterfall on the road out.
The road out was a little rough and muddy in places...would have been better with a high-clearance, 4-wheel drive vehicle, but I made it.
My next day-trip was back on the Sierra Scenic Loop, farther than I went before. The poppies were still blooming, but the surrounding grass has grown taller than the blooms, so you can barely see them.
Farther up I pass several acres damaged by forest fire.
Wildflowers are the first sign of regrowth in this area.
My destination this trip was Mammoth Pool, seen below from Mile-High Vista.
I was looking forward to kayaking there, but found out the reservoir is closed from May 1st to late June to protect migrating deer. You are not allowed to even hike in for a photo, so this is all you see.
View of the High Sierras from the vista.
I drove a little beyond Mammoth Pool, but the road is not open all the way yet, so had to turn around.
One more look at the mountains.
After that, I finished out my "sentence" at the campground taking pictures of wildflowers and ants. I won't bore you with the ants, lol.
