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Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 328 | How Wild

Looking up at tall Redwood trees at Redwood National Park. Photo by Rebecca Latson.

Today our guest is Marissa Ortega-Welch, a San Francisco-based freelance journalist who focuses on environmental issues. Last year she generated a series of podcasts surrounding the topic of official wilderness – the history of official wilderness and the idea of wilderness. It’s an interesting series that you can find by searching for How Wild wherever you download your podcasts.

Sequoia And Kings Canyon National Parks

Sure, there’s a Kings Canyon National Park and a Sequoia National Park, both in California, but the National Park Service only has a single webpage combining these two national parks. After all, when you visit one, you ought to go ahead and visit the other right next door, since both are home to some of the world’s largest trees. Of course, it’s not just about the trees.

A Day In The Park: Sequoia And Kings Canyon National Parks

Sure, there’s a Kings Canyon National Park and a Sequoia National Park, both in California, but the National Park Service only has a single webpage combining these two national parks. After all, when you visit one, you ought to go ahead and visit the other right next door, since both are home to some of the world’s largest trees. But it’s not just about the trees.

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 261 | Coming to the Aid of Giant Sequoias

A man standing in the hollow of a giant sequoia tree at Sequoia National Park

Stand before a giant sequoia tree in Sequoia or Kings Canyon national parks or nearby Yosemite National Park and you’re overwhelmed by their size, and assume they’re impervious to anything that might be thrown at them. But as we learned from wildfires in 2020 and 2021 in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, that’s not the case.

Sequoias Shooting For The Sky! Sequoia And Kings Canyon National Parks

Three sequoias shoot straight up into the sequoia and filling the frame at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

How about those trees! Taller than tall, "A forest with giant sequoias, the largest trees in the world, is a feast for the senses. The giant sequoias’ red/orange bark is distinct among the grey and brown bark of other trees. And if you stand beneath one of these giants, you can gaze all the way up its tall trunk and through its high branches to see sky above. The treetop is often hidden above the highest branches.

NPS/Kiel Maddox

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