June 2, 2025 • 44 mins
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are home to two of the largest trees in the world. The parks host large-scale conservation efforts and offer incredible recreational activities.
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(00:01):
This Dynamic Duo of Parks ishome to two of the oldest trees
in the world.
If you're looking to give it ahug, you'll need to bring around
80 of your closest friends tosurround it.
Join us as we explore Sequoiaand Kings Canyon National Parks.
I'm your host, Missy Rentz, andthis is the Parks podcast.
Missy Rentz (00:24):
On today's episode, we have Holly Strike, who is the
Public Affairs specialist forSequoia in Kings Canyon National
Park.
Holly, welcome to the Parkspodcast.
Holly (00:34):
Hi.
Thanks, Missy.
I'm happy to be here.
Missy Rentz (00:36):
As always, we start with some park stats and these
two parks are incredible.
The parks are located in theCentral Valley of California in
Three Rivers, California.
Sequoia was the second nationalpark, and Kings Canyon was the
32nd National Park created.
They were dedicated on September25th, 1890 for Sequoia and March
(00:58):
4th, 1940 for King's Canyon.
We've got more to go into onthat when we get into the
episode.
The presidents, when the parkswere created.
Benjamin Harrison for Sequoiaand Franklin d Roosevelt for
Kings Canyon.
The size is 865,964 acres.
The highest elevation is at14,494 feet, and that's Mount
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Whitney, and the lowestelevation is 1,370 feet at the
Kaa River.
You'll correct me on that, ifI'm wrong on that.
Pronunciation.
Visitors.
Okay.
Okay.
Visitation last year was arecord visitation with 1,309,573
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visitors to Sequoia and 699,389visitors to Kings Canyon.
These parks are incredible andeverybody wants to see them.
Some fun facts.
The parks were created toprotect the giant Sequoia tree
from logging.
General Grant National Park wascreated four days after Sequoia.
(02:04):
That's what became King'sCanyon, and we'll tell you more
about that later.
97% of the land is mill ismanaged as wilderness.
It's the home of the largest andsecond largest trees in the
world.
That's General Sherman andGeneral Grant, and the parks are
home to 11 species of fish.
203 species of birds, 73 speciesof MA mammals, 21 species of
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reptiles, and 13 species ofamphibians.
Holly, I love this park.
Holly (02:34):
Oh, you are not the only one.
Missy Rentz (02:37):
Clearly with those numbers.
So let's get into a little bitfirst, because it can be very
confusing sometimes you see itas Sequoia and Kings Canyon
National Park.
Sometimes you see SequoiaNational Park and Kings Canyon
National Park.
Is it one park or is it twoparks?
Holly (02:56):
Yeah, it is actually two different parks, but they are
managed as one and bothspectacular.
So it can be confusing, butbecause the boundaries touched
and it's managed as one, a lotof times we just refer to it as
Sequoia and King's Canyon.
Missy Rentz (03:11):
And why is it important that these parks are
part of the National ParkService?
Holly (03:16):
I think possibly every person who has visited these
national parks can probablyshare a personal story of the
significance of their visit andlet's multiply that by 2 million
people and that's just thedirect impact of these visitors
last year.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon havebeen offering their natural
beauty.
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Inviting expedition andadventure, having hosting a
natural habitat for countlesswildlife and flora and so much
more as protected lands for thepast 135 years.
So let's think about this just alittle bit further.
Some of the oldest sequoiassurpass 3000 years old.
So just talking about not onlythe joy that it brings to
(04:00):
people, but also the habitat andthe space that it has for all of
our wildlife as well.
And then those Sequoia treesthat have been along around for
so long.
And something else to mention isthat we've seen what can happen
to these magnificent trees whenthey aren't protected.
So Converse Basin is a reallygood example of that history of
(04:22):
what logging giant Sequoiaslooks like.
And it's pretty sad to see someof those old stumps.
Missy Rentz (04:28):
Yeah, and I think one of the things I've mentioned
in some previous episodes isthat how impressed I am at the
National Park Service and howthey are willing to talk about
the mistakes we've made in ourpast and how we're humans and
humans learn and evolve.
And typically that theconversations have been around
things like slavery or the waywe remove people from their
(04:51):
land.
But in these parks it's reallyabout environmental
conservation.
Because when you talk about whatyou were talking about, just to
see all of these stumps of thesemassive trees that, I don't
know, were they thousands ofyears old when they would've
been cut down?
Holly (05:08):
Some of them likely were, like the Mark Twain stump is
pretty big, so I'm guessing thatone was a giant monarch and
thousands of years old, whichyou know, is a long time to be
around and then just taken downin a matter of days.
Missy Rentz (05:24):
Thank goodness that, people stepped in and
said, this isn't right.
And that it was decided thatthey would protect it.
And early on it wasn't theNational Park Service.
It was the army that wasprotecting them.
WII would love that.
I would love it.
Holly (05:44):
Okay, great.
So Buffalo Soldiers like theirwhite counterparts in the US
Army regiments were among thefirst park rangers.
So in general they were backcountry rangers and in
particular they patrolled partsof the west.
So African American armyregiments formed just after the
Civil War were dispatchedwestward where the.
Black soldiers fought in theIndian Wars and were eventually
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given the name Buffalo Soldiersby the Cheyenne and other Plains
Indians.
They saw a resemblance betweentheir dark, curly hair and the
matted cushion between the hornsof the buffalo, and they were
just fierce.
So it was meant to be anhonorable title.
And as background, the armyserved as the official
administrator of Yosemite andSequoia National Parks between
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1891 and 1913.
So in that capacity they helpedcreate a model for park
management as we know it today.
So these the Buffalo SoldiersArmy troops were garrisoned at
the Presidio of San Franciscoduring the winter months, and
then they served in the Sierraduring the summer months.
Missy Rentz (06:50):
Because I have heard, I feel like I've heard
about Buffalo Soldiers in otherplaces.
So they didn't just serve here.
They were in other places aswell.
Holly (06:58):
That's right.
Yep.
Missy Rentz (07:00):
Why'd they make the shift from the Army to the
National Park?
I.
Holly (07:04):
From the Army to the National Park, it was actually
civilians started gettinginvolved before World War I, but
the big shift happened in WorldWar I because the troops left
and then civilian managementtook over.
And then when the National ParkService was created, then we had
National Park Service.
So like the park is actuallyolder than the National Park
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Service.
Missy Rentz (07:28):
One of the stories I love about the park and I
don't know why it hit me withthis park.
I know that there, there are somany people involved in the
creation of parks and there wasa woman named Susan th who was a
park advocate, and this is likein the early 19 hundreds, a time
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where women were at home.
They didn't play major roles inthings.
She is credited for theexpansion of the parks.
Her story I found to be reallyamazing and I just would love it
if you would share a little bitof who is Susan and what role
did she have in the creation orexpansion of these parks?
Holly (08:16):
Susan th is just incredible.
Like you said, she's creditedfor the expansion of the parks
and it's because of the workthat she did in the Sierras.
So Susan th came to this areawith her husband and she just
took a trip up to the giantForest, was immediately just
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captivated by the Sequoias, anddecided that she was going to be
very active in helping with theongoing efforts to.
Preserve and protect some of theland out here.
So she made, she acquaintedherself with the superintendent
who was John White at the time,and found out all of the efforts
that they were doing to grow theparks to protect more natural
(09:01):
resources.
And so she on horseback, wentout into the high Sierras.
She was 40 years old.
She went out into the highSierras and photographed and
mapped a lot of the areas thatwe now know as Sequoia and Kings
Canyon National Parks.
And this wasn't like a smalleffort, right?
Like she's out in really ruggedterrain.
(09:22):
She's being very descriptive.
And she created this littlegazette that ended up being sent
to Congress as they were tryingto expand the borders of the
parks.
And because of the.
Photography.
The description, the work thatshe did on July 3rd, 1926, the
parks expanded greatly and thatincluded the Sierra Nevada
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Crest, Kern Canyon, MountWhitney.
All of those areas were creditedto her.
And then what's also interestingis the method that she used to
portray this beautiful nature toCongress and establish why it
was so important is also howAnsel Adams helped establish
other areas to be protected.
(10:06):
And so it was this, it know,really effective tactics that
she used.
Missy Rentz (10:13):
And maybe I'm more sensitive to it now because this
is being recorded in April of2025.
And, there are so many peoplethat talk about, what voice do
we have?
And this is just a prime exampleof how citizen, just a normal
civilian citizen did somethingthat made a massive difference
in the park service.
(10:33):
And I find it to be so beautifulif we just do what we're
passionate about and realizethat gift can make a difference
in this world.
Holly (10:42):
Yeah.
Yeah, that's a really great wayto look at it.
Missy Rentz (10:46):
Okay, so up until this point we have the decision
that we need to protect theSequoias.
Holly (10:52):
This is a really long timeline for Sequoia and Kings
Canyon.
So I'm just gonna backtrack andtalk about what we've talked
about so far.
Sequoia National Park wasestablished in 1890.
This is before the actualNational Park Service was
created.
So it was being protected by theArmy at this time.
And it also, at that time, wehad the General Grant National
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Park, which was a tiny littlenational park, established
solely to protect the generalgrant tree, which is the second
largest Sequoia.
After that, the Buffalo Soldierscame in and did, made some
significant contributions toSequoia National Park, and that
was in 1903.
One of the significantcontributions that we can see
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from the Buffalo Soldiers, orthat the Buffalo Soldiers did
was they created the firstreally accessible road to the
giant forest.
And that's where a lot of ourvisitors still come today.
So the Buffalo soldiers showedup.
At the time Captain Young was incharge of overseeing the
completion of the road to theGiant Forest, which was this old
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colony mill road.
They completed that, which wasreally impressive work in the
Sierras.
And it extended up to Mor Rock.
They also ended up makingagreements with some of the
landowners within the park sothat eventually the National
Park Service was able to acquiresome private lands as well.
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And they set the tone for hownational parks were managed,
which was really amazing.
So after the Buffalo Soldierswere here we talked about how.
World War I was a turning pointfor when it, it was no longer
the army that was guarding theseparks.
They had some civilianmanagement and then the National
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Park Service was created in1916.
And so that's when it got takenover by the National Park
Service.
And then Susan Thue comes in1926.
She assisted with that expansionof the parks for what we know
today.
And then it leads us to thecontributions from the.
Civilian Conservation Corps thatwe can see today, which is on
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the General's Highway.
So that old Colony Mill road,which used to be the entrance to
Sequoia National Park that theBuffalo Soldiers built was the
old road that people went on.
Now, the General's Highway iswhat the Civilian Conservation
Corps worked on, and we can seea lot of their work with the
stone work, the culverts.
They also created some of thehistoric signs for the park and
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they did a lot of trail work.
Just a ton of helping peopleaccess these beautiful spaces.
Missy Rentz (13:34):
So another superintendent of the park was
Walter Fry.
And I love learning about thecreation of the park.
And we talked about how the parkis an example of humans evolving
and their knowledge and theirlearning.
And Walter had this sameexperience himself because his
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first experience with theSequoias was cutting them down.
How do you go from cutting themdown to becoming the
superintendent of the park?
Holly (14:03):
Walter Fry was another incredible advocate and
protector of the giant sequoias.
So we talked about, he came outhere for work.
He started with longing thesequoias, and immediately did
not feel like that's somethingthat we should be doing.
So he.
Ended up signing a petition in1890, which Stablish was when
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Sequoia National Park wasestablished.
And then he started doing someroad construction and ended up
becoming a civilian park rangerin 1905.
He ended up being the Chief ParkRanger in 1912 and acted as
superintendent during the wintermonths.
So once the Army exited themanagement that we talked about
with the Buffalo soldiers andthen the Army Corps Walter Fry
(14:51):
then was appointed thesuperintendent of Sequoia and
General Grant National Parks forsix years and after, and then
John White became thesuperintendent after that.
He was still so active in theparks.
He ended up being the firstNature guide service at Sequoia.
He led Nature Walks.
(15:11):
He wrote Nature Bulletins and heorganized the first public
museum in Sequoia National Park,which was just a tent.
But he also spoke at campfireprograms and those are things
that we still do today, right?
Those are things that the parkRangers still feel enhances the
visitor experience when they'recoming to the parks.
And so it really laid thefoundation for a lot of the
(15:35):
things that we are still doingtoday.
Missy Rentz (15:37):
I a story I read and, I don't maybe you can or
can't validate that it's true,but a story I read was that he
cut a tree and then counted therings, and that tree would've
been 3,266 years old.
And that was one of the pointswhere he was like, I can't do
this.
And I think that's reallypowerful.
(15:58):
And to see what he then turnedaround and did, advocating for
this park and helping peopleappreciate what, where they were
standing, and what they wereexperiencing is pretty
beautiful.
Holly (16:09):
Yeah, I agree.
I think I, I have heard thatstory as well, and I can just
imagine being in that moment andhaving that sense of clarity
about your personal valuesaround nature conservation.
Missy Rentz (16:22):
Yeah.
So we talk about the trees,we're talking about these
sequoias, and I think when mostpeople hear Sequoia and King
Canyon, that's what they thinkabout are the trees.
And maybe I should have startedwith this, but I'm gonna say,
what is a Sequoia and
Holly (16:37):
Oh yeah.
Okay.
Sequoias are so incredible.
So first of all, I'm just gonnapaint a visual picture for
anyone who hasn't seen a Sequoiabefore.
Sequoias basically look like.
You can exactly imagine adinosaur walking through these
giant Sequoia groves.
They are humongous.
(16:58):
So they're just these big,beautiful trees.
They have this cinnamon coloredbark, and it looks like fuzzy.
The bark on a sequoia tree isadapted to be in a wildfire
environment.
So the bark itself is spongy andit has a lot of air pockets in
it so that when fire comesthrough the tree is protected.
So it continues to grow outward.
(17:20):
So we've got this big, we've gotthis beautiful cinnamon colored
bark, and then the canopy isjust hundreds of feet into the
sky.
And also sequoias are reallycool in the groves you can see
like baby sequoias, middle agedsequoias, and then these giant
monarch sequoias.
And so you can see like howthey're different.
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And the ones that have beenaround forever are just
magnificent.
They have these tiny littlecones that have like hundreds of
little oatmeal sized seedsinside of them that the Sequoia
trees actually hold onto untilthe conditions are right to
pollinate the seeds anddistribute them on the ground.
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And so there's a lot of reallycool, I guess interaction with
wildfire and how Sequoiasactually really thrive in a fire
environment.
And they're really justincredible.
They're in a mixed coniferforest, so there's other giant
trees around them, so it'sreally hard to gauge the size of
things because the giantsequoias are so giant, but
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they're also around a lot ofother really big trees.
So you're just this, visitor inthis giant space.
That's why, it's called thegiant forest.
Missy Rentz (18:32):
You could certainly look on the website, the
National Park Service website,but I'm also gonna have a lot of
pictures of my visit to Sequoiafor people to see you bring up
the fires.
And obviously, we hear a tonabout fires around the country
and it's super scary.
But then you also talk about theway sequoia's handle fires.
(18:52):
You all had a large fire lastyear and I think it closed the
park for a while.
What does a fire do?
It's still devastating, correct.
Holly (19:04):
Yeah, so it really depends on the fire.
And I think the fire that maybemost people are familiar with is
the KMP complex.
And that fire was in 2021.
It was a massive fire a highintensity fire.
It spread through so much of thepark and it did cause a lot of
devastation.
We lost a lot of sequoias duringthat fire and it was a pretty
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scary time.
That fire was, I will say, apretty scary fire.
But there are other fires thatare very beneficial to Sequoias,
so it's complicated.
But Sequoias really do need afire because it's a natural
occurrence.
So maybe people who aren't from.
This area like myself, before Icame out to this park, I didn't
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realize that wildfire in thisarea is a natural occurrence.
It's got like a, between a 10and 15 year interval when you
expect fire to happen again, andit clears the ground.
The, how it impacts sequoias isthe fire comes through normally
it clears the ground.
It's a little bit, it's supposedto be a little bit lower
intensity.
(20:08):
So all of the duff and like the,little smaller plants get burned
up and it clears the way for theSequoia trees to then release
their seeds.
Sequoias need a ton of space.
They need those nutrients in theground to actually grow and
survive.
And so it is part of theirnatural ecosystem and what's
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been happening.
In previous fires is we did alot of fire suppression as a
whole in the past, and so a lotof those fuels didn't get
naturally burned.
And so that's why we're seeingthese bigger fires that are
spreading more rapidly,especially during drier summers.
(20:54):
When everything is really driedup and the fire can spread
through ladder fuels there's alot going on there and it's
complicated and, we've got a lotof people who are studying this
and trying to make the bestdecisions to help protect these
spaces.
Missy Rentz (21:07):
Yeah.
And while the trees arecertainly the star, the park has
a lot of other things to exploretoo.
Can you tell me a little bitabout the conservation efforts
in the park?
Holly (21:18):
This is a great question and one that really speaks to
the National Park Service andits mission to preserve
unimpaired, the natural andcultural resources and values of
the National Park System for theenjoyment, education, and
inspiration of this and futuregenerations.
So Sequoia and Kings Canyon areincredibly special.
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Their boundaries hold over850,000 acres of protected land.
We have two very prominent disdesignated wilderness areas
which would be the Sequoia KingsWilderness and the John Krebs
wilderness and these areas.
We're established by Congressand managed according to the
Wilderness Act as federal law.
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So aside from that, the ParkService also employs scientists
who study the flora and fauna ofour parks, taking care of to
understand human impacts,identify species that might be
facing challenges like ourbighorn sheep which are
federally endangered, thePacific fisher, the mountain
yellow legged frogs, and thewhite bark pine and meadow
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restoration is anotherinteresting area of work for our
parks.
Missy Rentz (22:27):
Meadow Restoration I think it was Herbert Hoover
that did some stuff, and that'sone of those things that I was
completely ignorant to.
And I just looked at it andthought, oh, it's a meadow.
It's just there.
But there's a lot of benefitfrom a meadow and I didn't
realize that.
I love to hear that you guys aredoing that too.
Holly (22:44):
Yeah, and this is actually an interesting way to
tie, tie this back to the storthe conversation we were having
earlier is one of the greatcontributions of the Buffalo
soldiers was protecting the landfrom grazing.
And so Meadows were, impactedsignificantly from cattle
grazing.
And so they really protected alot of these areas just from
(23:07):
that.
And the Meadows are a delicatesystem and they are important
and they, I don't a lot ofpeople, love to see Crescent
Meadow.
I think that's a reallybeautiful meadow that people can
access pretty easily to seeexactly like how wonderful a
meadow space is.
And a lot of times people areable to see bears in the meadow
(23:29):
too.
It's a place for wildlife toreally enjoy.
Missy Rentz (23:33):
Oh, that's so cool.
I'm gonna have to come back'cause I did not go see that.
I'm gonna have to come
Holly (23:38):
Yeah,
Missy Rentz (23:38):
Okay.
We, let's talk about planning atrip to the park.
This is one of those parks whereI needed to do a lot of planning
and research before I visitedbecause it's big and it's spread
out and there's so much to see.
Holly (23:52):
yeah.
Missy Rentz (23:52):
How do you even, I guess the first is how do you
even get to the park becauseit's not near much
Holly (23:59):
Yeah.
So it is a little, Out inwilderness, but people can get
to Sequoia Kings Canyon.
It's about an hour, just over anhour east of Fresno, California
to get into Kings Canyon orabout an hour and 15 minutes
from Visalia.
And the entrance to Sequoia isabout 45 minutes east of
Visalia.
(24:20):
So Fresno is the nearest airportfor people trying to fly in.
Missy Rentz (24:24):
and what's the best time of year to visit?
Holly (24:26):
Oh my gosh.
Okay.
So I get this question a lot andit's hard to answer because the
parks are so beautifulthroughout each season.
So it really depends on the typeof experience that people are
looking for.
Typically, our visitation ishighest from May to September,
and that's also when most of ourseasonal areas are accessible.
(24:46):
Like Cedar Grove and MineralKing areas don't open until,
later in this, they're closedfor a significant part of the
winter season because the roadsaren't maintained.
And so a lot of people come.
During that time also becausekids are out of school.
But also if you wanna come,enjoy the parks with less
congestion.
Springtime is really beautiful.
(25:08):
Down here in the foothills areonly green for a couple of
months out of the year.
The rest of the time they'rethat gold.
They, the Golden Hills becauseeverything's dried out.
So that's a time I wouldrecommend.
The wild flowers are amazing.
And then fall is reallybeautiful to see as well.
The thing that I would encouragepeople to consider when they're
(25:29):
planning their trip is really,if they are gonna drive up in
the winter, that is achallenging time because the
weather is so unpredictable.
We do have chain restrictions inaccordance with California state
law.
And so there are times whenpeople will have to use tire
chains or the road can be closedto access the giant forest in
(25:51):
the winter, which is a verybeautiful time to see those
magnificent sequoias.
But it is, you also need to beunfamiliar with tire chains and
driving in mountain roads whenthey can be a little slippery.
Missy Rentz (26:04):
I came at that cusp of winter to spring, and my
decision was because I justprefer parks without large
crowds and this is a park thatgets large crowds And there
isn't really a lot that's nearas we talked about, where can
people stay when they visit?
Holly (26:21):
So we do have some lodges in the park that are really
lovely.
We have the John Muir Lodge inGrant Grove.
There's a lodge in Cedar Grove.
The W Lodge is in a lodge pool.
And then we also offer somecampgrounds.
We have 15 campgrounds in theparks, but not all of them are
open at any given time, sopeople can check out our
(26:42):
campgrounds on recreation.govfor availability.
And that's also where ourreservation system is.
So we don't have.
In general, we don't have awalkup first come, first cur
serve situation.
So recreation.gov is the bestway to see what campgrounds are
around and to see what'savailable.
Missy Rentz (27:03):
And I found that, there are some parks that are
more remote that have veryrobust resources within the
park, and you guys are a parkthat has like the camp store and
has, Stratton.
So everything you need once youget in the park is in the park.
Holly (27:18):
Yeah, we do have the camp store, we've got restaurants
other things that are.
Helpful.
The lodgepole market is reallyexpensive, so that's a really
nice place if you forgetsomething.
Or if you're camping.
Our lodgepole campground ispretty big that serves a lot of
people and has a pretty goodvariety.
There's also a grill there andthe W Lodge has a grill too, so
(27:42):
you can definitely get some foodand anything that you might have
forgotten, but people should beprepared with gas in their
vehicle.
We don't have any gas stationsin the park there.
Sometimes there's, okay, so alsobetween Sequoia and Kings
Canyon, there's a section of theGeneral's Highway that goes
through the National Forest,which is a little bit different
(28:04):
than the National Park.
And there is a gas station thatis sometimes open there.
Missy Rentz (28:10):
The, I think the key there is sometimes
Holly (28:13):
that's right.
Yeah.
I really I'm like, we do haveall these amazing things, but
also come prepared.
Missy Rentz (28:18):
I know, fill your take before you leave.
Okay.
Let's talk about what there isto do.
It's endless.
So I think we're gonna be ableto just touch on the top things
that we like.
But let's talk about what thereis to do when you're at the
park.
Holly (28:32):
sure.
Missy Rentz (28:33):
I'm a big fan of the hiking.
Holly (28:35):
yeah.
Okay.
Me too.
I'm a big hiker there, butyou're right, there are a lot of
things to do.
Hiking is probably somethingthat comes to mind for a lot of
visitors.
And then just the distance ofthe hike is a personal
preference, right?
So whatever your ability is inhiking is really how you wanna
plan your trip.
And some common.
Hikes that people go on is, sopeople definitely come to see
(28:58):
the general Sherman tree, whichis the largest tree in the
world.
And that's also connected to theCongress trail, which is a two
mile loop that you can go onafter you see the Sherman tree,
before you see the Sherman tree.
And that's a great way to seesome of the named trees.
Some of the really cool Sequoiagroups, so like Sequoias can be
sequoias grow really cool.
(29:19):
They can either be likeindividual sequoia's, big,
giant, individual trees thatgrew in the perfect space.
Like the general Sherman is sobig because.
Of the area that it grew in.
It's got all the space, theaccess to the sun and like water
resources.
But some of them grow in likeclusters or groups.
And so those are really neat tobe in.
(29:39):
And then sometimes Sequoia treesgrow into each other and so it's
two sequoias in one.
So if you go on the congresstrail, you can see a variety of
Sequoia trees and how they grow.
Missy Rentz (29:51):
On the Congress show.
I just wanna take a pause for asecond because this is the, this
is a spot that has greataccessibility.
Holly (29:57):
Yes.
Yeah.
It is accessible, like thegeneral Sherman tree trail is
paved.
So that is, a little bit moreaccessible.
And there's also a Sequoiashuttle that can help people get
to the Sherman tree.
And there's an accessibleparking lot specifically
designated to accessible parkingduring the summer months.
(30:19):
And so that makes it a littlebit easier to get on that paved
trail and have, because ifyou're not parking in the
accessible parking, then youwould park in the upper Sherman
lot, and it's about a half miletrail, but it is pretty steep.
So it's paved but steep.
Missy Rentz (30:35):
yeah.
And I, and even that paved trailthat we're talking about down to
be able to see the tree and ittakes you, it's not like just
down to see the tree and back.
It's this great loop that takesyou through lots of trees, but
it's still steep.
It's got stairs.
It also has, if my memory servesme, some benches to rest,
Holly (30:52):
that's right.
Missy Rentz (30:53):
but it's, yeah.
But I just think that I thinksome people avoid parks thinking
they can't do it.
Their abilities don't allowthem.
And I think that you all havedone an amazing job at making
the big the big moments in thepark accessible for everybody.
Holly (31:12):
Yes.
And you know what, I do wannatell people that another really
great accessible trail in theGiant Forest is the big Trees
Trail, and that's around RoundMeadow.
Tying it back to our history,that's where the Buffalo
Soldiers had their kind of endof season meal on a sugar pine
(31:32):
tree.
It's a really cute story, butthat's a really lovely place to
see some giant sequoias that'saccessible and it's a short
little hike around the roundmeadow.
Missy Rentz (31:42):
Yeah.
So you can go, no matter yourability, you can enjoy this
park.
Holly (31:47):
Yes.
And we do have a page on ourwebsite that points out all of
the really accessible areaswithin the park.
Missy Rentz (31:54):
And the other thing I learned, just to stick on
hiking for a second, I learned alot about myself and while I was
in this park, but one thing Ilearned is that.
You can take just a bunch ofshort hikes.
I don't know why.
In my head, mentally I wasthinking, oh, in order to do a
hike, I have to go out and do afour or six mile hike.
But here there's so much to seewhere you're just doing like a
(32:14):
two mile loop or a mile out andback, and I think that's so
great about this park is there'sso much to see, but you're not
hiking 10 miles to get to whatthere is to see.
Holly (32:26):
Yeah, that is a really great way to explain it.
And also something that I liketo tell people is.
You can choose your own, likejust pay attention to your body
and what it feels like.
So you can, if you're like, oh,I don't know what I can do, turn
around.
You don't have to do the wholething.
You can do whatever amount youwanna do.
That's the whole beauty of beingin parks is you really choose
(32:47):
your own adventure and youchoose how much you feel like
you can do.
And I think it's, you're right,it is just, it's nice that it's
accessible to a lot of people.
I think Crescent Meadow isanother great place where you
can just walk, however, there'sa parking lot right there.
So you can park and then justwalk however long you feel
comfortable walking.
Okay.
Missy Rentz (33:07):
Now, I didn't see horseback riding while I was
there, but that's something thatcan be done.
As well as like some fishing.
Yes.
Holly (33:15):
So there is some horseback riding that is through
a concessionaire service.
And so some of those trips thatyou would make a reservation for
online, and I think they have.
Missy Rentz (33:28):
Do you know if you have to get like a permit or a
fishing license through thestate in order to do that?
Holly (33:33):
Yes, you do need a fishing license.
And a lot of people go down toCedar Grove for fishing,
actually is a great fishingspot.
Missy Rentz (33:40):
One that you touched on this, but one thing I
wanna talk about in planning atrip to the park is the weather
because it can change on a dime
Holly (33:49):
Yeah.
That's right.
Missy Rentz (33:50):
everything.
Holly (33:51):
It, yes, absolutely.
Okay.
So the weather, it can varygreatly, and that's because of
the amazing elevation range thatis within these parks.
We already talked about thehighest elevation.
The lowest elevation, but reallya lot of people, what they're
experiencing is elevation fromthat 1400 feet to about 6,000,
(34:12):
between six and 7,000 feet.
That's what people generallyexperience when they're going to
like the giant forest or grantgrove.
And so it can be like 10 to 20degrees cooler up in the forest
than it is down in thefoothills, which is a big
benefit in the summer.
That's why a lot of people go upto the forest because it's just
that cooler weather.
(34:32):
But I bring a ton of layers.
You being prepared is veryimportant.
Checking the weather.
We do get a lot of questionsabout.
Especially this time of the yearoh, we're planning to come out.
What is the weather gonna looklike?
It's the Sierras, it can bereally last minute changes and
winter lasts a little bit longerup in elevation than it does
(34:52):
down in the Foothill.
So we do have forecasts for eacharea of the park that people can
look at on our website to helpplan for that.
Missy Rentz (34:59):
that's great.
I think I would answer it withsomething like, we're expecting
snow and 80 and
Holly (35:05):
Yeah, exactly.
Missy Rentz (35:06):
The other thing just, I, safety is something I
always try to talk about in thispark.
There's not a lot of cellservice.
And I know I had, I was,traveling alone.
And so I had my buddy was mybrother, and anytime I would do
a trail, I would, we had thisdeal where, I had a Garmin
watch, but I also would text himwhat my trail plan was before I
(35:27):
would go out.
When I was visiting there,nothing was open.
So if any lodges or anything hadwifi, they wouldn't have been
open for me anyway.
But I would drive like almostsometimes an hour away to get a
cell signal, to be able to text,here's my plan, and then come
back in, do the trip, and thengo back out and say I'm off the
trail.
(35:47):
And so just, I think it islimited, it makes it even more
enjoyable because you have to beso present.
But I think it's important forpeople to understand what
they're going into.
Holly (35:59):
Yeah, that's a really good point.
And, before I was the publicaffairs specialist, I was
actually a park dispatcher, andso I answered calls for
emergency services.
And people can often be afraidif they don't hear from someone
who's been in the parks.
And it does take a lot,sometimes, first of all, people
(36:21):
stay on trails a lot longer thanthey expect because they're so
beautiful and you're just havingsuch a great time.
But then it, you do have todrive quite a ways.
It's just a couple of miles intothe park when you lose cell
phone service.
And it depends on what carrieryou have.
So I know that cell phoneservice has gotten a little bit
better in some of thosepopulated areas like Lodgepole
and Grant Grove, depending onyour provider.
(36:42):
But people should come preparedto not have a connection.
Missy Rentz (36:46):
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Okay.
I do wanna talk a little bitabout the scenic overlooks, and
this, what I wanna ask you aboutis not a scenic overlook, but
it's the iconic, I don't evenknow what it's called, but it's
the iconic picture where you seepeople driving through slash
under a tree.
Holly (37:05):
Oh yeah.
Okay.
You're talking about tunnel log,so that, yes, that is something
that people can see on their wayto Crescent Meadow.
There's a little drive through.
A lot of people like to stop andget a photo of their car
underneath tunnel log.
And so it can get a littlecongested there.
And those roads are tiny.
So be prepared also to wait foryour photo, if that's what
(37:26):
you're there for.
Missy Rentz (37:27):
These two parks are, are parks that have iconic
moments or iconic, places wherepeople can, it's like the
Instagrammable moment.
'cause you've got the tunnel andyou've got, there's, I have
pictures where I'm standing likeinside of a tree.
And it's just so many greatspots like that.
And you also do have amazingscenic overlooks.
Holly (37:47):
Oh my gosh.
Yes.
Okay, so this is another chooseyour own adventure, where I will
talk about my favorite photoesque places.
So there's definitely all okay.
People come in through the parkand one place that they like to
stop is also the tunnel rock, sodifferent than the tunnel log.
So the tunnel rock used to bewhere the General's Highway went
(38:10):
underneath a rock.
And so that's one of the firstplaces where people stop and
there's a parking area and youcan stand underneath this giant
rock formation.
And then there is, there are aton of scenic overlooks on the
way up the General's Highway.
It was very specificallydesigned to be a scenic route.
So people can stop along the wayand get some really great photos
(38:30):
of just the foothills, you cansee so much on a clear day.
You can see from like MorrowRock, the the coastal mountain
range as well.
If it's a super clear day, whichis crazy, that's a couple of
hours away, but you're so highup, you can see that.
And like the Western divide.
So Morrow Rock is another greatplace.
(38:51):
That one's a very steep trail.
So it depends on your abilityand also if you're scared of
heights because it's prettyexposed.
And then like you said, tunnellog is a great one.
Of course General Shermangetting a photo with General
Sherman and General Grant is ato-do list, but one of the
really epic places if you're alittle bit, more experience in
(39:12):
hiking and you wanna dosomething a little bit more
strenuous is there is a lakestrail that goes there's two
different routes.
So the watchtower is if you goleft or if you go straight, then
you go over the hump, right?
And these are going out to somereally beautiful alpine lakes
pear Lake specifically, which isa great, like way to see an
(39:34):
alpine lake on a day hike.
Like you can get there in oneday, which is incredible.
But the Watchtower has thisincredible view.
It's this beautiful o open viewof the canyon not the king's
canyon.
It's where I think it's the, oneof the forks of the runs
through, but it's so deep, verysteep, and it's just, you can
(39:57):
see forever and you can reallysee a bunch of the geology and
like the glacial formations,which is, or the glacial impacts
to the rock formations, which isreally cool.
Missy Rentz (40:07):
Oh, that's so cool.
I love it.
Okay, so just so everybodyknows, if you go to the Parks
podcast website and look on thisepisode page, I'm gonna put
links to everything that hasbeen mentioned here, because it
will be a good resource for youas you start your planning to
visit Sequoia in Kings Canyon.
Holly, one of the things we doat the end of every episode is
(40:27):
we do a speed round of questionswhere you just answer with
whatever first comes to mind.
What is your earliest parkmemory?
Holly (40:37):
Okay.
So my earliest park memory isactually here at Sequoia Kings
Canyon.
I had not gone to a nationalpark until I was in my thirties,
and I went on a backpacking tripout of Lodgepole, up to Ranger
Lake and around through JailPass.
And that was really alife-changing moment for me.
I moved out here within twoyears because it had such a
(40:58):
significant impact on me.
Missy Rentz (41:00):
What made you love the parks?
Holly (41:03):
I really love the solitude of the parks.
It's a good test of your bodyand your spirit and the
curiosity of nature.
For me, it inspires just a tonof curiosity.
I'm still curious.
There's so much to learn aboutthese wild and diverse
ecosystems, and the intention ofbeing in nature is really just a
(41:24):
gift to yourself in a modern ageof fast-paced lifestyles and
constant screen time.
Missy Rentz (41:32):
What is your favorite thing about Sequoia and
Kings Canyon National Parks?
Holly (41:37):
Oh, definitely diversity of the Ecosystems
Missy Rentz (41:40):
What's your favorite thing to do at Sequoia
in Kings Canyon National Parks?
Holly (41:45):
Explore.
I love hiking everywhere andlearning.
Missy Rentz (41:49):
What park have you yet to visit, but it's on your
bucket list and why?
Holly (41:54):
Any of the Alaska National Parks, I haven't been
there.
I really just wanna experiencethat huge wild nature,
Missy Rentz (42:03):
What are three must haves?
You pack for a park visit.
What
Holly (42:08):
all of the safety stuff.
So food, water, sun protection,map for aid kit, and then layers
with that weather that we talkedabout.
I need to be comfortable.
Personally, I am a layeringperson.
And binoculars, I really lovelooking at wildlife,
Missy Rentz (42:25):
is your favorite campfire activity?
Holly (42:29):
s'mores and stories
Missy Rentz (42:32):
And are you a tent, camper, or cabin person?
Holly (42:36):
primarily tent.
Missy Rentz (42:38):
Do you hike with or without trekking poles?
Holly (42:41):
I always have one attached to my pack.
Missy Rentz (42:44):
What is your favorite trail snack
Holly (42:47):
Fresh fruit.
Missy Rentz (42:49):
and what is your favorite or best animal
sighting?
Holly (42:53):
Oh my gosh.
I, like I said, I love wildlifesightings, so any sighting that
is at a safe distance.
Missy Rentz (43:01):
What is your favorite sound in the park?
Holly (43:04):
Okay.
I would say a running stream,but also bird song, they're
equally tied.
Missy Rentz (43:12):
And what is the greatest gift you think that
parks give to us?
Holly (43:16):
Definitely that connection to ourselves and the
connection to nature.
Missy Rentz (43:21):
Holly, I am so grateful to you for coming on
and sharing stories of Sequoiaand Kings Canyon National Parks.
It is, they both are suchbeautiful spaces and I think the
world should know about them andgo see them.
Holly (43:34):
Thank you for having me, Missy.
This has been really amazing.
I love telling people about theparks, and I hope everybody
comes to visit.
Missy Rentz (43:41):
That's it for today's episode.
Until next time, we'll see youin the parks.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed today's episode,please be sure to like and share
on your favorite podcastplatform.
Music for the parks podcast isperformed and produced by Porter
Hardy.
For more information, pleasefollow us on Instagram at the
parks podcast.
(44:02):
Or visit ourwebsite@theparkspodcast.com.
This Dynamic Duo of Parks ishome to two of the oldest trees
in the world.
If you're looking to give it ahug, you'll need to bring around
80 of your closest friends tosurround it.
Join us as we explore Sequoiaand Kings Canyon National Parks.
I'm your host, Missy Rentz, andthis is the Parks podcast.
Missy Rentz (00:24):
On today's episode, we have Holly Strike, who is the
Public Affairs specialist forSequoia in Kings Canyon National
Park.
Holly, welcome to the Parkspodcast.
Holly (00:34):
Hi.
Thanks, Missy.
I'm happy to be here.
Missy Rentz (00:36):
As always, we start with some park stats and these
two parks are incredible.
The parks are located in theCentral Valley of California in
Three Rivers, California.
Sequoia was the second nationalpark, and Kings Canyon was the
32nd National Park created.
They were dedicated on September25th, 1890 for Sequoia and March
(00:58):
4th, 1940 for King's Canyon.
We've got more to go into onthat when we get into the
episode.
The presidents, when the parkswere created.
Benjamin Harrison for Sequoiaand Franklin d Roosevelt for
Kings Canyon.
The size is 865,964 acres.
The highest elevation is at14,494 feet, and that's Mount
(01:22):
Whitney, and the lowestelevation is 1,370 feet at the
Kaa River.
You'll correct me on that, ifI'm wrong on that.
Pronunciation.
Visitors.
Okay.
Okay.
Visitation last year was arecord visitation with 1,309,573
(01:43):
visitors to Sequoia and 699,389visitors to Kings Canyon.
These parks are incredible andeverybody wants to see them.
Some fun facts.
The parks were created toprotect the giant Sequoia tree
from logging.
General Grant National Park wascreated four days after Sequoia.
(02:04):
That's what became King'sCanyon, and we'll tell you more
about that later.
97% of the land is mill ismanaged as wilderness.
It's the home of the largest andsecond largest trees in the
world.
That's General Sherman andGeneral Grant, and the parks are
home to 11 species of fish.
203 species of birds, 73 speciesof MA mammals, 21 species of
(02:28):
reptiles, and 13 species ofamphibians.
Holly, I love this park.
Holly (02:34):
Oh, you are not the only one.
Missy Rentz (02:37):
Clearly with those numbers.
So let's get into a little bitfirst, because it can be very
confusing sometimes you see itas Sequoia and Kings Canyon
National Park.
Sometimes you see SequoiaNational Park and Kings Canyon
National Park.
Is it one park or is it twoparks?
Holly (02:56):
Yeah, it is actually two different parks, but they are
managed as one and bothspectacular.
So it can be confusing, butbecause the boundaries touched
and it's managed as one, a lotof times we just refer to it as
Sequoia and King's Canyon.
Missy Rentz (03:11):
And why is it important that these parks are
part of the National ParkService?
Holly (03:16):
I think possibly every person who has visited these
national parks can probablyshare a personal story of the
significance of their visit andlet's multiply that by 2 million
people and that's just thedirect impact of these visitors
last year.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon havebeen offering their natural
beauty.
(03:37):
Inviting expedition andadventure, having hosting a
natural habitat for countlesswildlife and flora and so much
more as protected lands for thepast 135 years.
So let's think about this just alittle bit further.
Some of the oldest sequoiassurpass 3000 years old.
So just talking about not onlythe joy that it brings to
(04:00):
people, but also the habitat andthe space that it has for all of
our wildlife as well.
And then those Sequoia treesthat have been along around for
so long.
And something else to mention isthat we've seen what can happen
to these magnificent trees whenthey aren't protected.
So Converse Basin is a reallygood example of that history of
(04:22):
what logging giant Sequoiaslooks like.
And it's pretty sad to see someof those old stumps.
Missy Rentz (04:28):
Yeah, and I think one of the things I've mentioned
in some previous episodes isthat how impressed I am at the
National Park Service and howthey are willing to talk about
the mistakes we've made in ourpast and how we're humans and
humans learn and evolve.
And typically that theconversations have been around
things like slavery or the waywe remove people from their
(04:51):
land.
But in these parks it's reallyabout environmental
conservation.
Because when you talk about whatyou were talking about, just to
see all of these stumps of thesemassive trees that, I don't
know, were they thousands ofyears old when they would've
been cut down?
Holly (05:08):
Some of them likely were, like the Mark Twain stump is
pretty big, so I'm guessing thatone was a giant monarch and
thousands of years old, whichyou know, is a long time to be
around and then just taken downin a matter of days.
Missy Rentz (05:24):
Thank goodness that, people stepped in and
said, this isn't right.
And that it was decided thatthey would protect it.
And early on it wasn't theNational Park Service.
It was the army that wasprotecting them.
WII would love that.
I would love it.
Holly (05:44):
Okay, great.
So Buffalo Soldiers like theirwhite counterparts in the US
Army regiments were among thefirst park rangers.
So in general they were backcountry rangers and in
particular they patrolled partsof the west.
So African American armyregiments formed just after the
Civil War were dispatchedwestward where the.
Black soldiers fought in theIndian Wars and were eventually
(06:07):
given the name Buffalo Soldiersby the Cheyenne and other Plains
Indians.
They saw a resemblance betweentheir dark, curly hair and the
matted cushion between the hornsof the buffalo, and they were
just fierce.
So it was meant to be anhonorable title.
And as background, the armyserved as the official
administrator of Yosemite andSequoia National Parks between
(06:30):
1891 and 1913.
So in that capacity they helpedcreate a model for park
management as we know it today.
So these the Buffalo SoldiersArmy troops were garrisoned at
the Presidio of San Franciscoduring the winter months, and
then they served in the Sierraduring the summer months.
Missy Rentz (06:50):
Because I have heard, I feel like I've heard
about Buffalo Soldiers in otherplaces.
So they didn't just serve here.
They were in other places aswell.
Holly (06:58):
That's right.
Yep.
Missy Rentz (07:00):
Why'd they make the shift from the Army to the
National Park?
I.
Holly (07:04):
From the Army to the National Park, it was actually
civilians started gettinginvolved before World War I, but
the big shift happened in WorldWar I because the troops left
and then civilian managementtook over.
And then when the National ParkService was created, then we had
National Park Service.
So like the park is actuallyolder than the National Park
(07:27):
Service.
Missy Rentz (07:28):
One of the stories I love about the park and I
don't know why it hit me withthis park.
I know that there, there are somany people involved in the
creation of parks and there wasa woman named Susan th who was a
park advocate, and this is likein the early 19 hundreds, a time
(07:53):
where women were at home.
They didn't play major roles inthings.
She is credited for theexpansion of the parks.
Her story I found to be reallyamazing and I just would love it
if you would share a little bitof who is Susan and what role
did she have in the creation orexpansion of these parks?
Holly (08:16):
Susan th is just incredible.
Like you said, she's creditedfor the expansion of the parks
and it's because of the workthat she did in the Sierras.
So Susan th came to this areawith her husband and she just
took a trip up to the giantForest, was immediately just
(08:38):
captivated by the Sequoias, anddecided that she was going to be
very active in helping with theongoing efforts to.
Preserve and protect some of theland out here.
So she made, she acquaintedherself with the superintendent
who was John White at the time,and found out all of the efforts
that they were doing to grow theparks to protect more natural
(09:01):
resources.
And so she on horseback, wentout into the high Sierras.
She was 40 years old.
She went out into the highSierras and photographed and
mapped a lot of the areas thatwe now know as Sequoia and Kings
Canyon National Parks.
And this wasn't like a smalleffort, right?
Like she's out in really ruggedterrain.
(09:22):
She's being very descriptive.
And she created this littlegazette that ended up being sent
to Congress as they were tryingto expand the borders of the
parks.
And because of the.
Photography.
The description, the work thatshe did on July 3rd, 1926, the
parks expanded greatly and thatincluded the Sierra Nevada
(09:45):
Crest, Kern Canyon, MountWhitney.
All of those areas were creditedto her.
And then what's also interestingis the method that she used to
portray this beautiful nature toCongress and establish why it
was so important is also howAnsel Adams helped establish
other areas to be protected.
(10:06):
And so it was this, it know,really effective tactics that
she used.
Missy Rentz (10:13):
And maybe I'm more sensitive to it now because this
is being recorded in April of2025.
And, there are so many peoplethat talk about, what voice do
we have?
And this is just a prime exampleof how citizen, just a normal
civilian citizen did somethingthat made a massive difference
in the park service.
(10:33):
And I find it to be so beautifulif we just do what we're
passionate about and realizethat gift can make a difference
in this world.
Holly (10:42):
Yeah.
Yeah, that's a really great wayto look at it.
Missy Rentz (10:46):
Okay, so up until this point we have the decision
that we need to protect theSequoias.
Holly (10:52):
This is a really long timeline for Sequoia and Kings
Canyon.
So I'm just gonna backtrack andtalk about what we've talked
about so far.
Sequoia National Park wasestablished in 1890.
This is before the actualNational Park Service was
created.
So it was being protected by theArmy at this time.
And it also, at that time, wehad the General Grant National
(11:14):
Park, which was a tiny littlenational park, established
solely to protect the generalgrant tree, which is the second
largest Sequoia.
After that, the Buffalo Soldierscame in and did, made some
significant contributions toSequoia National Park, and that
was in 1903.
One of the significantcontributions that we can see
(11:36):
from the Buffalo Soldiers, orthat the Buffalo Soldiers did
was they created the firstreally accessible road to the
giant forest.
And that's where a lot of ourvisitors still come today.
So the Buffalo soldiers showedup.
At the time Captain Young was incharge of overseeing the
completion of the road to theGiant Forest, which was this old
(11:57):
colony mill road.
They completed that, which wasreally impressive work in the
Sierras.
And it extended up to Mor Rock.
They also ended up makingagreements with some of the
landowners within the park sothat eventually the National
Park Service was able to acquiresome private lands as well.
(12:18):
And they set the tone for hownational parks were managed,
which was really amazing.
So after the Buffalo Soldierswere here we talked about how.
World War I was a turning pointfor when it, it was no longer
the army that was guarding theseparks.
They had some civilianmanagement and then the National
(12:40):
Park Service was created in1916.
And so that's when it got takenover by the National Park
Service.
And then Susan Thue comes in1926.
She assisted with that expansionof the parks for what we know
today.
And then it leads us to thecontributions from the.
Civilian Conservation Corps thatwe can see today, which is on
(13:04):
the General's Highway.
So that old Colony Mill road,which used to be the entrance to
Sequoia National Park that theBuffalo Soldiers built was the
old road that people went on.
Now, the General's Highway iswhat the Civilian Conservation
Corps worked on, and we can seea lot of their work with the
stone work, the culverts.
They also created some of thehistoric signs for the park and
(13:26):
they did a lot of trail work.
Just a ton of helping peopleaccess these beautiful spaces.
Missy Rentz (13:34):
So another superintendent of the park was
Walter Fry.
And I love learning about thecreation of the park.
And we talked about how the parkis an example of humans evolving
and their knowledge and theirlearning.
And Walter had this sameexperience himself because his
(13:54):
first experience with theSequoias was cutting them down.
How do you go from cutting themdown to becoming the
superintendent of the park?
Holly (14:03):
Walter Fry was another incredible advocate and
protector of the giant sequoias.
So we talked about, he came outhere for work.
He started with longing thesequoias, and immediately did
not feel like that's somethingthat we should be doing.
So he.
Ended up signing a petition in1890, which Stablish was when
(14:27):
Sequoia National Park wasestablished.
And then he started doing someroad construction and ended up
becoming a civilian park rangerin 1905.
He ended up being the Chief ParkRanger in 1912 and acted as
superintendent during the wintermonths.
So once the Army exited themanagement that we talked about
with the Buffalo soldiers andthen the Army Corps Walter Fry
(14:51):
then was appointed thesuperintendent of Sequoia and
General Grant National Parks forsix years and after, and then
John White became thesuperintendent after that.
He was still so active in theparks.
He ended up being the firstNature guide service at Sequoia.
He led Nature Walks.
(15:11):
He wrote Nature Bulletins and heorganized the first public
museum in Sequoia National Park,which was just a tent.
But he also spoke at campfireprograms and those are things
that we still do today, right?
Those are things that the parkRangers still feel enhances the
visitor experience when they'recoming to the parks.
And so it really laid thefoundation for a lot of the
(15:35):
things that we are still doingtoday.
Missy Rentz (15:37):
I a story I read and, I don't maybe you can or
can't validate that it's true,but a story I read was that he
cut a tree and then counted therings, and that tree would've
been 3,266 years old.
And that was one of the pointswhere he was like, I can't do
this.
And I think that's reallypowerful.
(15:58):
And to see what he then turnedaround and did, advocating for
this park and helping peopleappreciate what, where they were
standing, and what they wereexperiencing is pretty
beautiful.
Holly (16:09):
Yeah, I agree.
I think I, I have heard thatstory as well, and I can just
imagine being in that moment andhaving that sense of clarity
about your personal valuesaround nature conservation.
Missy Rentz (16:22):
Yeah.
So we talk about the trees,we're talking about these
sequoias, and I think when mostpeople hear Sequoia and King
Canyon, that's what they thinkabout are the trees.
And maybe I should have startedwith this, but I'm gonna say,
what is a Sequoia and
Holly (16:37):
Oh yeah.
Okay.
Sequoias are so incredible.
So first of all, I'm just gonnapaint a visual picture for
anyone who hasn't seen a Sequoiabefore.
Sequoias basically look like.
You can exactly imagine adinosaur walking through these
giant Sequoia groves.
They are humongous.
(16:58):
So they're just these big,beautiful trees.
They have this cinnamon coloredbark, and it looks like fuzzy.
The bark on a sequoia tree isadapted to be in a wildfire
environment.
So the bark itself is spongy andit has a lot of air pockets in
it so that when fire comesthrough the tree is protected.
So it continues to grow outward.
(17:20):
So we've got this big, we've gotthis beautiful cinnamon colored
bark, and then the canopy isjust hundreds of feet into the
sky.
And also sequoias are reallycool in the groves you can see
like baby sequoias, middle agedsequoias, and then these giant
monarch sequoias.
And so you can see like howthey're different.
(17:41):
And the ones that have beenaround forever are just
magnificent.
They have these tiny littlecones that have like hundreds of
little oatmeal sized seedsinside of them that the Sequoia
trees actually hold onto untilthe conditions are right to
pollinate the seeds anddistribute them on the ground.
(18:01):
And so there's a lot of reallycool, I guess interaction with
wildfire and how Sequoiasactually really thrive in a fire
environment.
And they're really justincredible.
They're in a mixed coniferforest, so there's other giant
trees around them, so it'sreally hard to gauge the size of
things because the giantsequoias are so giant, but
(18:23):
they're also around a lot ofother really big trees.
So you're just this, visitor inthis giant space.
That's why, it's called thegiant forest.
Missy Rentz (18:32):
You could certainly look on the website, the
National Park Service website,but I'm also gonna have a lot of
pictures of my visit to Sequoiafor people to see you bring up
the fires.
And obviously, we hear a tonabout fires around the country
and it's super scary.
But then you also talk about theway sequoia's handle fires.
(18:52):
You all had a large fire lastyear and I think it closed the
park for a while.
What does a fire do?
It's still devastating, correct.
Holly (19:04):
Yeah, so it really depends on the fire.
And I think the fire that maybemost people are familiar with is
the KMP complex.
And that fire was in 2021.
It was a massive fire a highintensity fire.
It spread through so much of thepark and it did cause a lot of
devastation.
We lost a lot of sequoias duringthat fire and it was a pretty
(19:27):
scary time.
That fire was, I will say, apretty scary fire.
But there are other fires thatare very beneficial to Sequoias,
so it's complicated.
But Sequoias really do need afire because it's a natural
occurrence.
So maybe people who aren't from.
This area like myself, before Icame out to this park, I didn't
(19:48):
realize that wildfire in thisarea is a natural occurrence.
It's got like a, between a 10and 15 year interval when you
expect fire to happen again, andit clears the ground.
The, how it impacts sequoias isthe fire comes through normally
it clears the ground.
It's a little bit, it's supposedto be a little bit lower
intensity.
(20:08):
So all of the duff and like the,little smaller plants get burned
up and it clears the way for theSequoia trees to then release
their seeds.
Sequoias need a ton of space.
They need those nutrients in theground to actually grow and
survive.
And so it is part of theirnatural ecosystem and what's
(20:33):
been happening.
In previous fires is we did alot of fire suppression as a
whole in the past, and so a lotof those fuels didn't get
naturally burned.
And so that's why we're seeingthese bigger fires that are
spreading more rapidly,especially during drier summers.
(20:54):
When everything is really driedup and the fire can spread
through ladder fuels there's alot going on there and it's
complicated and, we've got a lotof people who are studying this
and trying to make the bestdecisions to help protect these
spaces.
Missy Rentz (21:07):
Yeah.
And while the trees arecertainly the star, the park has
a lot of other things to exploretoo.
Can you tell me a little bitabout the conservation efforts
in the park?
Holly (21:18):
This is a great question and one that really speaks to
the National Park Service andits mission to preserve
unimpaired, the natural andcultural resources and values of
the National Park System for theenjoyment, education, and
inspiration of this and futuregenerations.
So Sequoia and Kings Canyon areincredibly special.
(21:39):
Their boundaries hold over850,000 acres of protected land.
We have two very prominent disdesignated wilderness areas
which would be the Sequoia KingsWilderness and the John Krebs
wilderness and these areas.
We're established by Congressand managed according to the
Wilderness Act as federal law.
(22:01):
So aside from that, the ParkService also employs scientists
who study the flora and fauna ofour parks, taking care of to
understand human impacts,identify species that might be
facing challenges like ourbighorn sheep which are
federally endangered, thePacific fisher, the mountain
yellow legged frogs, and thewhite bark pine and meadow
(22:22):
restoration is anotherinteresting area of work for our
parks.
Missy Rentz (22:27):
Meadow Restoration I think it was Herbert Hoover
that did some stuff, and that'sone of those things that I was
completely ignorant to.
And I just looked at it andthought, oh, it's a meadow.
It's just there.
But there's a lot of benefitfrom a meadow and I didn't
realize that.
I love to hear that you guys aredoing that too.
Holly (22:44):
Yeah, and this is actually an interesting way to
tie, tie this back to the storthe conversation we were having
earlier is one of the greatcontributions of the Buffalo
soldiers was protecting the landfrom grazing.
And so Meadows were, impactedsignificantly from cattle
grazing.
And so they really protected alot of these areas just from
(23:07):
that.
And the Meadows are a delicatesystem and they are important
and they, I don't a lot ofpeople, love to see Crescent
Meadow.
I think that's a reallybeautiful meadow that people can
access pretty easily to seeexactly like how wonderful a
meadow space is.
And a lot of times people areable to see bears in the meadow
(23:29):
too.
It's a place for wildlife toreally enjoy.
Missy Rentz (23:33):
Oh, that's so cool.
I'm gonna have to come back'cause I did not go see that.
I'm gonna have to come
Holly (23:38):
Yeah,
Missy Rentz (23:38):
Okay.
We, let's talk about planning atrip to the park.
This is one of those parks whereI needed to do a lot of planning
and research before I visitedbecause it's big and it's spread
out and there's so much to see.
Holly (23:52):
yeah.
Missy Rentz (23:52):
How do you even, I guess the first is how do you
even get to the park becauseit's not near much
Holly (23:59):
Yeah.
So it is a little, Out inwilderness, but people can get
to Sequoia Kings Canyon.
It's about an hour, just over anhour east of Fresno, California
to get into Kings Canyon orabout an hour and 15 minutes
from Visalia.
And the entrance to Sequoia isabout 45 minutes east of
Visalia.
(24:20):
So Fresno is the nearest airportfor people trying to fly in.
Missy Rentz (24:24):
and what's the best time of year to visit?
Holly (24:26):
Oh my gosh.
Okay.
So I get this question a lot andit's hard to answer because the
parks are so beautifulthroughout each season.
So it really depends on the typeof experience that people are
looking for.
Typically, our visitation ishighest from May to September,
and that's also when most of ourseasonal areas are accessible.
(24:46):
Like Cedar Grove and MineralKing areas don't open until,
later in this, they're closedfor a significant part of the
winter season because the roadsaren't maintained.
And so a lot of people come.
During that time also becausekids are out of school.
But also if you wanna come,enjoy the parks with less
congestion.
Springtime is really beautiful.
(25:08):
Down here in the foothills areonly green for a couple of
months out of the year.
The rest of the time they'rethat gold.
They, the Golden Hills becauseeverything's dried out.
So that's a time I wouldrecommend.
The wild flowers are amazing.
And then fall is reallybeautiful to see as well.
The thing that I would encouragepeople to consider when they're
(25:29):
planning their trip is really,if they are gonna drive up in
the winter, that is achallenging time because the
weather is so unpredictable.
We do have chain restrictions inaccordance with California state
law.
And so there are times whenpeople will have to use tire
chains or the road can be closedto access the giant forest in
(25:51):
the winter, which is a verybeautiful time to see those
magnificent sequoias.
But it is, you also need to beunfamiliar with tire chains and
driving in mountain roads whenthey can be a little slippery.
Missy Rentz (26:04):
I came at that cusp of winter to spring, and my
decision was because I justprefer parks without large
crowds and this is a park thatgets large crowds And there
isn't really a lot that's nearas we talked about, where can
people stay when they visit?
Holly (26:21):
So we do have some lodges in the park that are really
lovely.
We have the John Muir Lodge inGrant Grove.
There's a lodge in Cedar Grove.
The W Lodge is in a lodge pool.
And then we also offer somecampgrounds.
We have 15 campgrounds in theparks, but not all of them are
open at any given time, sopeople can check out our
(26:42):
campgrounds on recreation.govfor availability.
And that's also where ourreservation system is.
So we don't have.
In general, we don't have awalkup first come, first cur
serve situation.
So recreation.gov is the bestway to see what campgrounds are
around and to see what'savailable.
Missy Rentz (27:03):
And I found that, there are some parks that are
more remote that have veryrobust resources within the
park, and you guys are a parkthat has like the camp store and
has, Stratton.
So everything you need once youget in the park is in the park.
Holly (27:18):
Yeah, we do have the camp store, we've got restaurants
other things that are.
Helpful.
The lodgepole market is reallyexpensive, so that's a really
nice place if you forgetsomething.
Or if you're camping.
Our lodgepole campground ispretty big that serves a lot of
people and has a pretty goodvariety.
There's also a grill there andthe W Lodge has a grill too, so
(27:42):
you can definitely get some foodand anything that you might have
forgotten, but people should beprepared with gas in their
vehicle.
We don't have any gas stationsin the park there.
Sometimes there's, okay, so alsobetween Sequoia and Kings
Canyon, there's a section of theGeneral's Highway that goes
through the National Forest,which is a little bit different
(28:04):
than the National Park.
And there is a gas station thatis sometimes open there.
Missy Rentz (28:10):
The, I think the key there is sometimes
Holly (28:13):
that's right.
Yeah.
I really I'm like, we do haveall these amazing things, but
also come prepared.
Missy Rentz (28:18):
I know, fill your take before you leave.
Okay.
Let's talk about what there isto do.
It's endless.
So I think we're gonna be ableto just touch on the top things
that we like.
But let's talk about what thereis to do when you're at the
park.
Holly (28:32):
sure.
Missy Rentz (28:33):
I'm a big fan of the hiking.
Holly (28:35):
yeah.
Okay.
Me too.
I'm a big hiker there, butyou're right, there are a lot of
things to do.
Hiking is probably somethingthat comes to mind for a lot of
visitors.
And then just the distance ofthe hike is a personal
preference, right?
So whatever your ability is inhiking is really how you wanna
plan your trip.
And some common.
Hikes that people go on is, sopeople definitely come to see
(28:58):
the general Sherman tree, whichis the largest tree in the
world.
And that's also connected to theCongress trail, which is a two
mile loop that you can go onafter you see the Sherman tree,
before you see the Sherman tree.
And that's a great way to seesome of the named trees.
Some of the really cool Sequoiagroups, so like Sequoias can be
sequoias grow really cool.
(29:19):
They can either be likeindividual sequoia's, big,
giant, individual trees thatgrew in the perfect space.
Like the general Sherman is sobig because.
Of the area that it grew in.
It's got all the space, theaccess to the sun and like water
resources.
But some of them grow in likeclusters or groups.
And so those are really neat tobe in.
(29:39):
And then sometimes Sequoia treesgrow into each other and so it's
two sequoias in one.
So if you go on the congresstrail, you can see a variety of
Sequoia trees and how they grow.
Missy Rentz (29:51):
On the Congress show.
I just wanna take a pause for asecond because this is the, this
is a spot that has greataccessibility.
Holly (29:57):
Yes.
Yeah.
It is accessible, like thegeneral Sherman tree trail is
paved.
So that is, a little bit moreaccessible.
And there's also a Sequoiashuttle that can help people get
to the Sherman tree.
And there's an accessibleparking lot specifically
designated to accessible parkingduring the summer months.
(30:19):
And so that makes it a littlebit easier to get on that paved
trail and have, because ifyou're not parking in the
accessible parking, then youwould park in the upper Sherman
lot, and it's about a half miletrail, but it is pretty steep.
So it's paved but steep.
Missy Rentz (30:35):
yeah.
And I, and even that paved trailthat we're talking about down to
be able to see the tree and ittakes you, it's not like just
down to see the tree and back.
It's this great loop that takesyou through lots of trees, but
it's still steep.
It's got stairs.
It also has, if my memory servesme, some benches to rest,
Holly (30:52):
that's right.
Missy Rentz (30:53):
but it's, yeah.
But I just think that I thinksome people avoid parks thinking
they can't do it.
Their abilities don't allowthem.
And I think that you all havedone an amazing job at making
the big the big moments in thepark accessible for everybody.
Holly (31:12):
Yes.
And you know what, I do wannatell people that another really
great accessible trail in theGiant Forest is the big Trees
Trail, and that's around RoundMeadow.
Tying it back to our history,that's where the Buffalo
Soldiers had their kind of endof season meal on a sugar pine
(31:32):
tree.
It's a really cute story, butthat's a really lovely place to
see some giant sequoias that'saccessible and it's a short
little hike around the roundmeadow.
Missy Rentz (31:42):
Yeah.
So you can go, no matter yourability, you can enjoy this
park.
Holly (31:47):
Yes.
And we do have a page on ourwebsite that points out all of
the really accessible areaswithin the park.
Missy Rentz (31:54):
And the other thing I learned, just to stick on
hiking for a second, I learned alot about myself and while I was
in this park, but one thing Ilearned is that.
You can take just a bunch ofshort hikes.
I don't know why.
In my head, mentally I wasthinking, oh, in order to do a
hike, I have to go out and do afour or six mile hike.
But here there's so much to seewhere you're just doing like a
(32:14):
two mile loop or a mile out andback, and I think that's so
great about this park is there'sso much to see, but you're not
hiking 10 miles to get to whatthere is to see.
Holly (32:26):
Yeah, that is a really great way to explain it.
And also something that I liketo tell people is.
You can choose your own, likejust pay attention to your body
and what it feels like.
So you can, if you're like, oh,I don't know what I can do, turn
around.
You don't have to do the wholething.
You can do whatever amount youwanna do.
That's the whole beauty of beingin parks is you really choose
(32:47):
your own adventure and youchoose how much you feel like
you can do.
And I think it's, you're right,it is just, it's nice that it's
accessible to a lot of people.
I think Crescent Meadow isanother great place where you
can just walk, however, there'sa parking lot right there.
So you can park and then justwalk however long you feel
comfortable walking.
Okay.
Missy Rentz (33:07):
Now, I didn't see horseback riding while I was
there, but that's something thatcan be done.
As well as like some fishing.
Yes.
Holly (33:15):
So there is some horseback riding that is through
a concessionaire service.
And so some of those trips thatyou would make a reservation for
online, and I think they have.
Missy Rentz (33:28):
Do you know if you have to get like a permit or a
fishing license through thestate in order to do that?
Holly (33:33):
Yes, you do need a fishing license.
And a lot of people go down toCedar Grove for fishing,
actually is a great fishingspot.
Missy Rentz (33:40):
One that you touched on this, but one thing I
wanna talk about in planning atrip to the park is the weather
because it can change on a dime
Holly (33:49):
Yeah.
That's right.
Missy Rentz (33:50):
everything.
Holly (33:51):
It, yes, absolutely.
Okay.
So the weather, it can varygreatly, and that's because of
the amazing elevation range thatis within these parks.
We already talked about thehighest elevation.
The lowest elevation, but reallya lot of people, what they're
experiencing is elevation fromthat 1400 feet to about 6,000,
(34:12):
between six and 7,000 feet.
That's what people generallyexperience when they're going to
like the giant forest or grantgrove.
And so it can be like 10 to 20degrees cooler up in the forest
than it is down in thefoothills, which is a big
benefit in the summer.
That's why a lot of people go upto the forest because it's just
that cooler weather.
(34:32):
But I bring a ton of layers.
You being prepared is veryimportant.
Checking the weather.
We do get a lot of questionsabout.
Especially this time of the yearoh, we're planning to come out.
What is the weather gonna looklike?
It's the Sierras, it can bereally last minute changes and
winter lasts a little bit longerup in elevation than it does
(34:52):
down in the Foothill.
So we do have forecasts for eacharea of the park that people can
look at on our website to helpplan for that.
Missy Rentz (34:59):
that's great.
I think I would answer it withsomething like, we're expecting
snow and 80 and
Holly (35:05):
Yeah, exactly.
Missy Rentz (35:06):
The other thing just, I, safety is something I
always try to talk about in thispark.
There's not a lot of cellservice.
And I know I had, I was,traveling alone.
And so I had my buddy was mybrother, and anytime I would do
a trail, I would, we had thisdeal where, I had a Garmin
watch, but I also would text himwhat my trail plan was before I
(35:27):
would go out.
When I was visiting there,nothing was open.
So if any lodges or anything hadwifi, they wouldn't have been
open for me anyway.
But I would drive like almostsometimes an hour away to get a
cell signal, to be able to text,here's my plan, and then come
back in, do the trip, and thengo back out and say I'm off the
trail.
(35:47):
And so just, I think it islimited, it makes it even more
enjoyable because you have to beso present.
But I think it's important forpeople to understand what
they're going into.
Holly (35:59):
Yeah, that's a really good point.
And, before I was the publicaffairs specialist, I was
actually a park dispatcher, andso I answered calls for
emergency services.
And people can often be afraidif they don't hear from someone
who's been in the parks.
And it does take a lot,sometimes, first of all, people
(36:21):
stay on trails a lot longer thanthey expect because they're so
beautiful and you're just havingsuch a great time.
But then it, you do have todrive quite a ways.
It's just a couple of miles intothe park when you lose cell
phone service.
And it depends on what carrieryou have.
So I know that cell phoneservice has gotten a little bit
better in some of thosepopulated areas like Lodgepole
and Grant Grove, depending onyour provider.
(36:42):
But people should come preparedto not have a connection.
Missy Rentz (36:46):
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Okay.
I do wanna talk a little bitabout the scenic overlooks, and
this, what I wanna ask you aboutis not a scenic overlook, but
it's the iconic, I don't evenknow what it's called, but it's
the iconic picture where you seepeople driving through slash
under a tree.
Holly (37:05):
Oh yeah.
Okay.
You're talking about tunnel log,so that, yes, that is something
that people can see on their wayto Crescent Meadow.
There's a little drive through.
A lot of people like to stop andget a photo of their car
underneath tunnel log.
And so it can get a littlecongested there.
And those roads are tiny.
So be prepared also to wait foryour photo, if that's what
(37:26):
you're there for.
Missy Rentz (37:27):
These two parks are, are parks that have iconic
moments or iconic, places wherepeople can, it's like the
Instagrammable moment.
'cause you've got the tunnel andyou've got, there's, I have
pictures where I'm standing likeinside of a tree.
And it's just so many greatspots like that.
And you also do have amazingscenic overlooks.
Holly (37:47):
Oh my gosh.
Yes.
Okay, so this is another chooseyour own adventure, where I will
talk about my favorite photoesque places.
So there's definitely all okay.
People come in through the parkand one place that they like to
stop is also the tunnel rock, sodifferent than the tunnel log.
So the tunnel rock used to bewhere the General's Highway went
(38:10):
underneath a rock.
And so that's one of the firstplaces where people stop and
there's a parking area and youcan stand underneath this giant
rock formation.
And then there is, there are aton of scenic overlooks on the
way up the General's Highway.
It was very specificallydesigned to be a scenic route.
So people can stop along the wayand get some really great photos
(38:30):
of just the foothills, you cansee so much on a clear day.
You can see from like MorrowRock, the the coastal mountain
range as well.
If it's a super clear day, whichis crazy, that's a couple of
hours away, but you're so highup, you can see that.
And like the Western divide.
So Morrow Rock is another greatplace.
(38:51):
That one's a very steep trail.
So it depends on your abilityand also if you're scared of
heights because it's prettyexposed.
And then like you said, tunnellog is a great one.
Of course General Shermangetting a photo with General
Sherman and General Grant is ato-do list, but one of the
really epic places if you're alittle bit, more experience in
(39:12):
hiking and you wanna dosomething a little bit more
strenuous is there is a lakestrail that goes there's two
different routes.
So the watchtower is if you goleft or if you go straight, then
you go over the hump, right?
And these are going out to somereally beautiful alpine lakes
pear Lake specifically, which isa great, like way to see an
(39:34):
alpine lake on a day hike.
Like you can get there in oneday, which is incredible.
But the Watchtower has thisincredible view.
It's this beautiful o open viewof the canyon not the king's
canyon.
It's where I think it's the, oneof the forks of the runs
through, but it's so deep, verysteep, and it's just, you can
(39:57):
see forever and you can reallysee a bunch of the geology and
like the glacial formations,which is, or the glacial impacts
to the rock formations, which isreally cool.
Missy Rentz (40:07):
Oh, that's so cool.
I love it.
Okay, so just so everybodyknows, if you go to the Parks
podcast website and look on thisepisode page, I'm gonna put
links to everything that hasbeen mentioned here, because it
will be a good resource for youas you start your planning to
visit Sequoia in Kings Canyon.
Holly, one of the things we doat the end of every episode is
(40:27):
we do a speed round of questionswhere you just answer with
whatever first comes to mind.
What is your earliest parkmemory?
Holly (40:37):
Okay.
So my earliest park memory isactually here at Sequoia Kings
Canyon.
I had not gone to a nationalpark until I was in my thirties,
and I went on a backpacking tripout of Lodgepole, up to Ranger
Lake and around through JailPass.
And that was really alife-changing moment for me.
I moved out here within twoyears because it had such a
(40:58):
significant impact on me.
Missy Rentz (41:00):
What made you love the parks?
Holly (41:03):
I really love the solitude of the parks.
It's a good test of your bodyand your spirit and the
curiosity of nature.
For me, it inspires just a tonof curiosity.
I'm still curious.
There's so much to learn aboutthese wild and diverse
ecosystems, and the intention ofbeing in nature is really just a
(41:24):
gift to yourself in a modern ageof fast-paced lifestyles and
constant screen time.
Missy Rentz (41:32):
What is your favorite thing about Sequoia and
Kings Canyon National Parks?
Holly (41:37):
Oh, definitely diversity of the Ecosystems
Missy Rentz (41:40):
What's your favorite thing to do at Sequoia
in Kings Canyon National Parks?
Holly (41:45):
Explore.
I love hiking everywhere andlearning.
Missy Rentz (41:49):
What park have you yet to visit, but it's on your
bucket list and why?
Holly (41:54):
Any of the Alaska National Parks, I haven't been
there.
I really just wanna experiencethat huge wild nature,
Missy Rentz (42:03):
What are three must haves?
You pack for a park visit.
What
Holly (42:08):
all of the safety stuff.
So food, water, sun protection,map for aid kit, and then layers
with that weather that we talkedabout.
I need to be comfortable.
Personally, I am a layeringperson.
And binoculars, I really lovelooking at wildlife,
Missy Rentz (42:25):
is your favorite campfire activity?
Holly (42:29):
s'mores and stories
Missy Rentz (42:32):
And are you a tent, camper, or cabin person?
Holly (42:36):
primarily tent.
Missy Rentz (42:38):
Do you hike with or without trekking poles?
Holly (42:41):
I always have one attached to my pack.
Missy Rentz (42:44):
What is your favorite trail snack
Holly (42:47):
Fresh fruit.
Missy Rentz (42:49):
and what is your favorite or best animal
sighting?
Holly (42:53):
Oh my gosh.
I, like I said, I love wildlifesightings, so any sighting that
is at a safe distance.
Missy Rentz (43:01):
What is your favorite sound in the park?
Holly (43:04):
Okay.
I would say a running stream,but also bird song, they're
equally tied.
Missy Rentz (43:12):
And what is the greatest gift you think that
parks give to us?
Holly (43:16):
Definitely that connection to ourselves and the
connection to nature.
Missy Rentz (43:21):
Holly, I am so grateful to you for coming on
and sharing stories of Sequoiaand Kings Canyon National Parks.
It is, they both are suchbeautiful spaces and I think the
world should know about them andgo see them.
Holly (43:34):
Thank you for having me, Missy.
This has been really amazing.
I love telling people about theparks, and I hope everybody
comes to visit.
Missy Rentz (43:41):
That's it for today's episode.
Until next time, we'll see youin the parks.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed today's episode,please be sure to like and share
on your favorite podcastplatform.
Music for the parks podcast isperformed and produced by Porter
Hardy.
For more information, pleasefollow us on Instagram at the
parks podcast.
(44:02):
Or visit ourwebsite@theparkspodcast.com.
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