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- One file per day under days/; timeline table reduced to date, weekday, place - Sep 19–20: KT & VT Uber to Airbnb, rest day; LK & MS drive rental to Airbnb - Sep 21: Silicon Valley morning, optional Twin Peaks / Painted Ladies / Lands End, Battery Spencer at sunset - LK Hertz LAX rental marked not available for planning; LA / San Diego hotels cancelled - sf_sights: add Silicon Valley and Mission / Castro, skip Computer History Museum Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01CWLR7htYGAB9i89P8jCCLn
2.3 KiB
2.3 KiB
National Parks — Places to See
Candidate menu of sights (with seasonal notes) for the Yosemite and Sequoia / Kings Canyon legs. The chosen, day-by-day version lives in days/ (Sep 22–26).
Yosemite (Sep 22–24)
Valley
- Tunnel View — classic panoramic first look into the valley
- Bridalveil Fall — 5-min walk from the car, right near Tunnel View
- Valley View — Merced River framing of the valley
- El Capitan — view from the meadow below. Note: Horsetail Fall firefall effect only happens in February; waterfall likely dry in September
- Cook's Meadow Loop — flat 1-mile walk, Half Dome framed over open meadow, great for golden hour photography
- Mirror Lake — Half Dome reflection, early fall colour; water level typically low in late September
- Lower Yosemite Falls trail — easy 1-mile paved loop, ~20-30 min, gets you right to the base
Above the Valley
- Glacier Point — best morning light on Half Dome, spectacular panoramic views
South (near Wawona)
- Mariposa Grove — largest giant sequoia grove in Yosemite, 10 min from the cabin
Sequoia & Kings Canyon (Sep 24–26)
No cell service near the Miramonte cabin — screenshot maps and notes before arrival.
Sequoia — Giant Forest area
- Giant Forest Museum — orientation, start here
- General Sherman Tree — largest tree on Earth by volume; shuttle access
- Congress Trail — 2-mile paved loop through giant sequoias; better than just the Sherman stop
- Moro Rock — granite dome, ~350 steps to a panoramic summit
- Big Trees Trail — easy flat loop around a meadow
- Tunnel Log — drive-through fallen sequoia
- Tokopah Falls — ~3.5-mile round-trip hike from Lodgepole
- Crystal Cave — marble cave, guided tour only, tickets in advance. Note: usually closes for the season in late Sep / early Oct — verify dates
Kings Canyon
- Grant Grove & General Grant Tree — the "Nation's Christmas Tree", quieter than Sequoia
- Kings Canyon Scenic Byway (Hwy 180) — dramatic descent into the canyon; walls glow in afternoon light
- Roaring River Falls — short walk from the byway
- Zumwalt Meadow — short loop, canyon walls + river
- Road's End — end of the byway, trailheads (~2 hrs each way from the cabin)