Kings Canyon, jewel obscure

In California's Sierra Nevada, between the justly world-famous Yosemite and the more accessible Sequoia National Park lies a lesser-known but jaw-dropping geological spectacle dubbed Kings Canyon, a national park in its own right. Kings Canyon is more off the tourist trail than the heralded Yosemite or the closer-to-Los Angeles Sequoia. But Kings Canyon still presents the dramatic, steeply glaciated canyon type that has been referred to as a "yosemite." It is the towering walls; that's what gets you. Kings lacks Yosemite's highly recognizable signature granite structures such as Half Dome or El Capitan, but the overall chasm is every bit as spectacular and, some might say, more classic, eschewing the named, show-off excrescences, vulgar as they are to the north. And one vulgarity Kings Canyon decidedly lacks is the crowds of Yosemite that so often render its landscape a theme park for buses and Disneyland-esque hordes.

An appreciation

Herein lies an homage to Kings Canyon in the form of photographs taken in a two-day trip to the park. The photos were shot as fodder for a class in Photoshop. I'm using them here because they're handy and because, as inviting as it might be, another trip to the Canyon at this time is prohibitive. But I'll be back, as I've been there many times before. The place is magical. In going through the images again, I noticed a shortcoming: maybe because I was shooting mainly just to get a lot of pictures to doctor for class, I missed the canyon walls themselves. I also might have captured the more intimate climate of the inner canyon as one heads out to the east, through lush rushes and horesetails, ferns and incense cedar along the upper Kings where it is more stream than river. But since this is a website, we are constantly reviewable. Stay tuned.

Getting real

You may want some practical details regarding Kings Canyon, so check camping and the National Parks Service website.

And after your visit, share with me your impressions of this hidden wonder via email.

- Harold Stanford, Tehachapi, California, United States