There are some areas where photos simply don't do them justice. Sequoia National Park is one of them. These massive trees are simply impossible to understand without being there with them. Aerial images would not really show them. So here is our best effort to provide some feeling for the park.
The park had seen snow a couple of days prior to our visit and they were requiring chains for some vehicles. Our Jeep has 4x4 and all terrain truck tires, so we went ahead without the chains based on guidance from a store who rented them. Some of the areas were icy, but nothing like Yosemite a few days prior and they had no restrictions. But the snow added a mystic feeling to the area that was really special.
The trees are large primarily due to volume not height, but they are tall. General Sherman is the largest by volume. The General Grant is over 1700 years old and is the 3rd largest tree in the world by volume at 46,600 cubic feet. But it is 1500 years younger than the oldest sequoia. The Sequoias survive fires that can eliminate competition and helps them keep growing when others can't.
The Sequoias have not always been protected. Until it was made a National Park people lived and worked among the trees.
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