Some trails require more than maps and stats and overviews to convey their intrigue. Some trails require a story. Big Stump in Kings Canyon National Park in California’s western Sierra Nevada Mountains is just such a trail.
This is the story of how we ended up on Big Stump in Kings Canyon National Park. (It’s important to set the stage.)
If you don’t want to read this, that’s okay (I guess). You can skip down to Trail Stats and go from there.
A Short Set-Up
When I planned our trip to Joshua Tree, Yosemite, and Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks in 2024, Kings Canyon was the park I researched least. Kings Canyon is classified as Sequoia National Park’s “sister” park. I assumed if the Park Service couldn’t justify Kings Canyon being its own entity, then there probably wasn’t as much to see. I’ve been wrong a time or two.
Big Tree Overload
We spent two days in Sequoia National Park hiking and admiring the famous Big Trees before we made our way to Kings Canyon. So, so many big trees. Not that they weren’t extraordinary. Not that I wasn’t in heaven walking among them. We were just on big tree overload. A little open space was in order. A day in a mountain meadow, maybe.
After watching an episode of Outside Beyond the Lens featuring Kings Canyon, I decided we should spend our time in the Cedar Grove area- mainly, Zumwalt Meadow. Plan made.
Note: I recommend Outside Beyond the Lens if you are interested in high quality travel videos with a poetic presentation. You can find episodes on YouTube.
Deep Disappointment
But when we got to Kings Canyon, I was deeply disappointed for a couple of reasons:
- #1- The vast amount of wildfire damage slapped us in the face. Trees were burned all over the place. Thousands of giant sequoias had been killed. In fact, 100% of the vegetation had been obliterated in some areas of the park. It was jarring and downright depressing.
- #2- The road to Zumwalt Meadow was closed due to weather conditions. Even in late May, some winter road closures were still in effect. You never know about the snow! Weather has a mind of its own and doesn’t care about our best laid travel plans. Keep in mind, road work is a possibility any time of year, too. For updated road conditions, visit the NPS Current Conditions page.
(Storytelling elements overlaid on original.))
There would be no Zumwalt Meadow for us. Now, we were stumped. What were we going to do?
And the Hits Kept Coming
When I say I was disappointed, I was angry disappointed. Pouty disappointed. And pouty is not a good look on me.
Our first stop was the visitor center to pick up a map and get my National Park Passport stamp. While inside, I found the creme-de-la-creme of hoodies. If you know me at all, you know I’m a hoodie fanatic.
But I didn’t buy it. I was so down by what I’d seen of Kings Canyon I wasn’t sure I wanted to remember it. I didn’t even want to buy a postcard! I was headed for a dark place.
I wanted to get out of Kings Canyon and head toward Yosemite- fast. My husband had other ideas. He’s always the optimist and thought the park would get better. So, I tried to buck up and agreed to a quick stop at Grant Grove. More big trees. I was obligingly impressed and took a few photos. By then, even my husband was teetering in the direction of cutting Kings Canyon short.
When this is the best photo I took of the General Grant tree sign, it’s obvious I’d checked out.
My attitude did not get better. We drove to Panoramic Point, the famous overlook with a spectacular view of the canyon. That’s what all the guidebooks say, anyway. We don’t know. We couldn’t see it. A mist hung over the whole area. Just more unnecessary proof that we should leave the park post-haste.
As we were on our way to the exit, I mentioned a short trail I read about that sounded oddly interesting- Big Stump Trail. Not odd enough for me to make it a priority to see, but odd enough I kept it in mind. I wasn’t sure how I felt about hiking a trail featuring stumps. I was already depressed by all the wildfire damage we’d seen. Why would I want to be dragged down even deeper by hiking in a sequoia graveyard? My expectations were low.
We stopped anyway.
And as soon as we hit the trail, everything started looking up.
Trail Stats
If all you wanted were trail stats, here they are. You missed my story, but I won’t hold it against you. 👌
Big Stump Trail
- Location: Enter the park by way of CA 180. Trail will be approximately .9 miles on your left from the entrance. If exiting the park by CA 180, the trail will be on your right.
- Distance: 2 miles
- Level of Difficulty: Easy (Moderate if you are climbing on the stumps)
- Trail Surface: Dirt
- Hike Time: 1 hour, at least
- Highlights: Everything! (Climbing the stumps is a big one!)
- Pets: Not allowed
- Best Time to Hike: Any season. (In winter, Big Stump is a designated snow-play area, so expect a totally different experience.)
Down in the Stumps & Out of the Dumps
Like I said before, as soon as we hit the trail, things started looking up. And I wasn’t having to crane my neck so much which was a relief. When I saw the first stump, I knew we’d made a good decision. Yosemite could wait another day.
Why Are These Stumps Here?
The reason they’re here is why Big Stump in Kings Canyon is one tale of a trail. The intrigue begins here, my friends. You’ll never “get” this trail unless you read this.
Murder of the Monarchs
In the 1800’s people flocked to California in the search for gold. Mining camps popped up all over the state which meant homes and businesses for miners needed to be built quickly. And to do that, mining companies needed wood- a whole lot of wood. Enter the logging companies.
Word got around the Sierra Nevada mountains had massive groves of the biggest trees anyone had ever seen. Big trees meant big money. Logging operations grew rapidly, and the mass murder of the monarchs began.
The Felling of Mark Twain
All the talk about California having the biggest trees in the world filtered back East. No one could believe such trees existed even after reading detailed chronicles by writers who had seen the trees themselves.
So, in 1891 the US Army was commissioned to cut the biggest tree known to exist at the time- the Mark Twain tree- in the grove now called Big Stump in Kings Canyon National Park. A slice of the Mark Twain sequoia was to be brought back East and displayed in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City- proof the giants were real. (Funny, all it takes now is a TikTok video for us to believe something exists.)
(Slide left or right to view images.)
The felling of the 300-foot tall, 33-foot circumference, 1300-year-old tree took four men 13 days to complete. And with that, one of the world’s most excellent specimens of sequoiadendron giganteum was no more. Thousands more followed.
Today, slabs of the Mark Twain trunk can still be seen at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and the Natural History Museum in London.
The Mark Twain stump is now the biggest draw to the Big Stump Trail in Kings Canyon National Park.
Park visitors can climb on top of the stump by way of a sturdy set of steps. The view of the peaceful meadow is best from here. If you’re physically able, don’t miss the opportunity to experience the tree’s size from atop the stump. Even better- lay down on it. I swear, you’ll be amazed!
Yet, Here’s the Rub.
The giants weren’t suited for the logs they were felled for. It’s easy to see how 19th century loggers assumed the most massive trees they’d ever seen would also have the strongest, most durable wood. But what they discovered was sequoia wood is actually brittle, and the force of falling often shattered the trees. Logging industry barons banked on a single giant sequoia to produce enough wood for:
- enough telephone poles to cover 40 miles
- enough fence posts to surround an 8,000-acre ranch
- enough shingles for 60-80 roofs
Their dreams literally fell apart.
When felled, the dry, fine-grained sequoia often broke across the grain, or in almost any direction. Steele (1914) described it picturesquely as breaking into “more wasteful shapes than so much frozen water.” Consequently, as the cedar gave out, the king of trees was converted into such plebeian items as fence posts, grape stakes, shingles, novelties, patio furniture, and pencils for Europe—ignoble uses for a most noble tree.
–Giant Sequoia of the Sierra Nevada
I won’t get into all of the history and science involved in the fall of the monarchs, but there is much to be said. Most articles I researched were short renditions of the story about the day Mark Twain fell in 1891 and the chief characters in its execution.
But one thing I found notable in my research was that public outrage over the felling of sequoias existed from the very beginning. That outrage was the start of a movement which eventually led to the protection of the sequoia groves and ultimately to the creation of our national parks.
I told you Big Stump in Kings Canyon is one tale of a trail! You’re about to fall in love with it. Don’t fall too hard, though. That’ll hurt!
What You’ll See on Big Stump Trail
Duh- big stumps. And some other cool stuff. Here’s an overview.
Resurrection Tree
This is the first feature you’ll see on the trail. Go on and be a tourist. Get your photo in the giant’s crack.
Resurrection Tree is one of the two old-growth redwoods left in the Big Stump Grove. As you can see from the historic photo, the top of the tree was destroyed after a lightning strike. Because the old soul wasn’t ready to die, it powered through and began growing or “resurrecting” a new top. You can see the growth in the photo I took.
Multiple Personalities
Yeah, I know this one isn’t a stump either, but I wanted to show it to you anyway. These multi-trunked trees aren’t uncommon in Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks. I saw lots of them in Redwoods National Park in Northern California, too. (Coastal redwoods are another type of sequoia.)
Some experts believe that a multi-trunked sequoia like this could eventually gain enough mass in each trunk to grow together and form a single trunk tree. There are single trunk specimens in sequoia forests that arborists believe started with multiple trunks.
Maybe this one will become a single trunk tree, maybe not. Don’t you just love how even a tree can have its own personality or multiple personalities?
Feather Beds
The branches and twigs you see piled along the perimeter of this stump is what is called a “feather bed”. You can see feather beds scattered around the grove, but a marked side trail leads to a notable one.
19th century loggers built these feather beds by digging ditches around the tree and filling them with branches. When sequoias fell, the feather beds softened the blow and reduced shattering. Remember- sequoias are brittle, and the loggers wanted logs, not splinters.
The Burnt Monarch
This giant tree is one of the coolest trees I’ve ever seen. It’s not necessarily a pretty tree. It’s dead. Been dead a long time. A dead, hollow tree like this one is called a “snag“. Snags occur after a tree has been diseased or burned (usually). Critters use them for habitat and storage. Which brings me to why this is one of the coolest trees I’ve ever seen.
The most amazing thing about the Burnt Monarch snag is how loggers in the 1800’s used it- for snow storage. No kidding! Snow would collect and get packed in the hollow tree, and because of the incredible insulating capability of sequoias, the Burnt Monarch acted as a freezer. Loggers were able to cut ice blocks during their logging seasons. Now, that’s a fact you won’t find on just any old blog! 😉
I wish I would have researched this trail before I went to Kings Canyon National Park. Having the Big Stump backstory would have made my hike even better. I would have noticed more, reflected more, remembered more. I would have crossed the highway to continue on the remainder of the trail, which we somehow missed. Don’t miss it, because there is another feature tree on that part of the trail that we didn’t get to see.
Note: If you’d like to take a deep dive into the history and science of the giant sequoia groves, check out the article They Seem to Be Immortal from Guernica Magazine. The National Park Service’s online book The Giant Sequoia of the Sierra Nevada is also a good reference. Both left me with a lot to think about.
End of the Tale
And there you have it. Our day in Kings Canyon National Park was a smidge shorter than we planned, but we left happy.
Almost a year later, I’m still shocked that one of my favorite hikes on our Joshua Tree to Yosemite National Parks trip was in Kings Canyon. After the way the day started, I never would have expected such a good memory to come from it. Proof that perfection isn’t necessary for happiness. Remember that the next time you travel.
If you’re making a must-see list for Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks, I hope Big Stump makes the cut. It really is one tale of a trail! I’d love to know what you think about it. Let me know in the comments.
Oh, and before I forget- we saw this on our way out of the park making our time in Kings Canyon perfectly imperfect!
What else did we see on our trip to California’s National Parks? Follow the trail to Joshua Tree.
“Best Served on the Rocks- Joshua Tree National Park“.
“Far From Boring-Day 1 in Joshua Tree“
From My Library
The Wild Trees is about the scientific study of coastal redwoods in Northern California, but giant sequoias are studied in the same manner. Get ready for a true story about extreme tree-climbing. It’s crazy! I purchased this copy from thriftbooks.com.
I purchased Best Easy Day Hikes from thriftbooks.com, too. It was an invaluable tool for both Sequoia and Kings Canyon trails. I really like the fact it’s a small, thin book and fits easily into my backpack.
Thank you for your feedback!