Enough to make you misty-eyed

Only one paved road delves into the heart of Kings Canyon National Park, and it ends where the Kings River thunders along beneath mile-high, glacier-carved canyon walls. The scene is one of the Sierra’s most awesome spectacles.

Most visitors, though, never get this far. They drive California 180 to the park’s western border and, after just three miles, stop at Grant Grove, with its visitor center and friendly village of shops and large campgrounds.

Not us. Last month we headed for the national park equivalent of a rollicking roller coaster, cruising past Grant Grove and plummeting down the winding road to the canyon bottom and remote Cedar Grove. Our goal: to experience the raw beauty of Kings Canyon — the waterfalls, the meadows and the mountains — without the crowds.

My son, Dylan, 16, and daughter, Courtney, 13, are veteran campers and backpackers. They helped me load the car with enough food and supplies for four days and three nights, plus sleeping bags, a tent, cooking equipment, lanterns, a fishing rod, flashlights, a deck of cards and my son’s guitar. We drove north from Los Angeles, up Interstate 5 and California 99 to Fresno, then east on California 180 — a five-hour journey to Kings Canyon’s Big Stump entrance.

The park is relatively young compared with its Sierra neighbors, Yosemite and Sequoia, both established as national parks in 1890. Kings Canyon was created in 1940 and since World War II has been managed jointly with adjacent Sequoia, though both still are considered separate entities.

John Muir called Kings Canyon “a rival to Yosemite,” but you wouldn’t know it from visitor statistics. Last year Yosemite logged nearly 3.4 million visitors, Sequoia had almost a million, but Kings Canyon had just 556,000. Fewer than a third of those people made it all the way to Cedar Grove.

Journey to the canyon floor

The unpopularity was the draw for us. After paying the park entrance fee, we wound through a part of Sequoia National Forest that lies between the upper and lower sections of Kings Canyon. Here, two forks of the Kings River merge, and the canyon reaches its deepest point. Fortunately, abundant turnouts allowed us to stop and admire the view. Hawks and what looked like a peregrine falcon swooped overhead and dived into the canyon depths.

About halfway down the canyon, a roadside sign said, “Last Chance Gas.” Then, as we neared the canyon floor, another sign caught our eyes. It beckoned us to Boyden Cavern, a water-carved cave with stalactites and stalagmites. A 45-minute naturalist-guided tour let us stretch our legs, starting with a steep five-minute walk to the cave entrance.

Inside the temperature hovers around 55. The cavern is about five miles deep, but most of it is blocked off. The tour sticks to a trail, equipped with helpful handrails, that passes mineral deposits and rock formations thousands of years old. One looks like a taco shell. Another resembles a wedding cake. One casts a shadow reminiscent of Jay Leno.

Back in the car, we soon dropped to the same elevation as the river, and its roar echoed off the canyon walls as we made our way to Cedar Grove. The village is usually open April to November, though precise dates depend on the weather. Visitation is so light that even in summer, the park rarely opens all four campgrounds. Two were open during our visit, and neither was full.

We pitched a tent at Sentinel Campground. It has spacious campsites with tables, fire rings and large, bear-proof containers for food and supplies. Bathrooms with running water and flush toilets were nearby. Faucets provided fresh water. As national park campgrounds go, this one bordered on luxury.

Cedar Grove also has a rustic lodge with 21 guest rooms ($105 to $115 a night, plus tax) and a small but good restaurant. We gave a thumbs-up to its Santa Fe chicken burgers and chili burger, a welcome break one day when we tired of camp food.

Not far away we found more facilities: coin-operated showers for those who weren’t content with a jump in the river, and the Cedar Grove Pack Station, run by Tim Loverin, a third-generation packer whose grandfather guided John Muir on horseback. (Rides run $30 to $100 a person, depending on the length.)

We marveled at how uncrowded the area was. Two cars at a stop sign constituted a traffic jam. But that’s just part of Kings Canyon’s appeal. Ranger Bill Tweed, a 26-year veteran of the park, said it contains more true wilderness than almost any other park in the Lower 48. Lakes, waterfalls and more than 20 mountain peaks that stretch higher than 13,000 feet make for “one big, beautiful church of wilderness,” he said.

On our first day, we joined a walk led by ranger Aaron Drendel, who guided us to the remains of Camp Kanawyer, used by Sierra Club members arriving by horse and mule in the early 1900s. Viola Kanawyer ran the camp by herself after her husband died, outfishing any man who dared to compete with her. John Muir once said he would hike the whole Sierra for one of her pies.

On the way back we paused by Muir Rock, which juts into the Kings River. Muir used to preach about conservation to visitors here, using the rock as a pulpit. The cold water makes an inviting pool, and we watched as two intrepid swimmers repeatedly dived off tall rocks into the water below.

Hiking to Mist Falls

Another hike took us around Zumwalt Meadow, colored with wildflowers in early summer and great for bird watchers. Deer, ring-tailed cats, foxes, mountain lions and black bears also live in the area. (Bears seemed less prevalent here than in Yosemite and Sequoia; we didn’t see any in the campground. Park wildlife biologist Rachel Mazur credited the campsites’ new food-storage lockers and Cedar Grove’s high percentage of repeat visitors, who have learned how to behave in bear country.)

Our big day hike was to Mist Falls and back, a trek of nearly nine miles. We loaded our backpacks with water and food because the trail can get hot and gains more than 500 feet in elevation. Dylan forged ahead while Courtney and I lagged a bit behind. At the junction with bubbling Bubbs Creek, we detoured over a bridge and, keeping a safe distance, watched a rattlesnake curled up in the shade.

We headed back up the trail, hiking under cedars, oaks and firs. As we crossed swaths of granite, the canyon below provided ever-changing views of the sparkling river.

After two hours, the thunder of cascading water broke the silence, and we saw the first inkling of the spray from Mist Falls, whose name was apt. Mist from the rushing water cooled the air and bathed us in fine droplets.

We munched leisurely on lunch and started back toward camp, in no hurry.

The park has two other waterfalls — Roaring River and Grizzly — that are well worth seeing. Much to the delight of youngsters in particular, both have pools that call out for a plunge.

We found happiness back at camp, playing cards by lantern light. My son later strummed his guitar. His sister sang along.

And I thought about photographer Ansel Adams and conservationist David Brower, who fought for the creation of this park, which is still a bit of a secret after so many years.

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Budget for three

Expenses for this trip:

Groceries and supplies

Four days $99.88

Entrance fee

Kings Canyon National Park

$10.00

Camping permit

Three nights

$54.00

Admission

Boyden Cavern

$27.00

Lunch

Cedar Grove restaurant

$22.38

Ice, firewood in park

$10.39

Meals on the road

$30.61

Gas

$114.61

Final tab $368.87

CONTACT:

Kings Canyon National Park, administered as part of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, 47050 Generals Highway, Three Rivers, CA 93271; (559) 565-3341 general information, (559) 565-3793 Cedar Grove office, https://www.nps.gov/seki . Cedar Grove Lodge, (559) 335-5500. Cedar Grove Pack Station, (559) 565-3464.