Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Monarch
,
Mosquito
and
Eagle Lakes
. For long trips, locals recommend the
Little Five
Lakes
and, further along the High Sierra Trail,
Kaweah Gap
, surrounded by
Black
Kaweah
,
Mt Stewart
and
Eagle Scout Peak
- all above 12,000ft.
In spring and early summer, hordes of hungry marmots terrorize parked cars at Mineral
King, chewing on radiator hoses, belts and wiring of vehicles to get the salt they crave
after their winter hibernation. If you're thinking of going hiking during that time, you'd be
a fool not to protect your car by wrapping the underside with chicken wire or a diaper-like
tarp.
From the 1860s to 1890s, Mineral King witnessed heavy silver mining and lumber
activity. There are remnants of old shafts and stamp mills, though it takes some exploring
to find them. A proposal by the Walt Disney Corporation to develop the area into a
massive ski resort was thwarted when Congress annexed it to the national park in 1978.
kinds of info on the area, including its rustic and still-occupied historic mining cabins.
DON'T MISS
CRYSTAL CAVE
www.sequoiahistory.org
; Crystal Cave Rd; tours adult/child from $15/8; mid-May-Nov; ) was
carved by an underground river and has formations estimated to be 10,000 years old.
Stalactites hang like daggers from the ceiling, and milky white marble formations take the
shape of ethereal curtains, domes, columns and shields. The cave is also a unique biodi-
verse habitat for spiders, bats and tiny aquatic insects that are found nowhere else on
earth. The 45-minute tour covers a half-mile of chambers, though adults can also sign up
for more in-depth lantern-lit cave explorations and full-day spelunking adventures.
Tickets are onlysold at the Lodgepole and Foothills visitors centers and notat the cave.
Allow about one hour to get to the cave entrance, which is a half-mile walk from the park-
ing lot (restroom available) at the end of a twisty 7-mile road; the turnoff is about 3 miles
south of the Giant Forest. Bring a sweater or light jacket, as it's a huddle-for-warmth 48°F
inside.
Sleeping & Eating
