Friday 10th September
I left Bakersfield and headed for Sequoia National Park. Today was a day of accidental detours my -- talent for navigating seems to have left me. I missed a turning and had to double back about twenty miles.
It was worth the effort, though. The road into the park was spectacular, and as the landscape became more forested I was glad to see shades of green after the barren brown of Death Valley.
I headed straight for Giant Forest to see General Sherman, the world's largest tree. Strictly speaking it's the world's most voluminous tree as there are others that are taller or wider. One of the problems with such a tree is that it attracts a lot of visitors; when I arrived there was coach load of French tourists swarming around. But no problem, I got some of them to take my picture in exchange for taking theirs.
The tree was impressive, reminiscent of something Ewoks might live in. I walked along one of the nearby trails which was less travelled and managed to find some serenity and a rock to sit on to contemplate the forest. The other sequioas were smaller but just as impressive as it was possible to get up close to them.
I got back in my car and continued northwards along General's Highway. This road twisted and turned for miles, ever descending until it reached the 180. The gas situation started to look a bit desperate but thankfully it was all downhill and the trip computer showed I was getting about 100mpg! I managed to find gas well before running out.
I drove north on the 99 and missed the turning onto the 140. This cost another twenty miles. Once found the 140 soon became a narrow country road with sparse signage. And it was dark... I started to wonder whether I had missed the town of Midpines when I found myself in Merced, just a few miles from it. By more luck than judgement I found the Yosemite Bug Lodge and Hostel down a dark dirt track.
I had a couple of beers in the bar cafe and swotted up on Yosemite before heading to my bunk.