Kings Canyon to Yosemite - Day 3 - Wednesday 8th May

The itinerary for Day 3 of the COLT was to include some exploration of Kings Canyon National Park, followed by an afternoon  drive to Yosemite. The unscheduled events of Day 2 had prevented us from visiting the Giant Sequoia groves, so our first stop was at the General Grant Grove. While Francoise set off to photograph the General Grant tree (the third largest tree in the world), the rest of us were content to set up the cars in front of a group of trees near the parking lot, and converse with the visitors that they attracted.

Giant Sequoias at the General Grant Grove

Photographing these tall trees is a big challenge, as a very wide angle lens is needed to capture the full height of the trees. Philippe used a neat feature on his iPhone to take the following panoramic photo:

These trees are tall, but compared to the General Grant they are mere saplings

The the General Grant Grove, we drove into Kings Canyon along the full length of CA-180 to Kanawyers. This is an amazing drive through the dramatic country with so much to see. The lush vegetation is a huge contrast to the desert we experienced in the early part of yesterday's drive.

Another photo opp just before the road dives down into the canyons

Kings Canyon, with a maximum depth of 8,200 feet, is one of the deepest canyons in the United States.The canyon was carved by glaciers out of granite. 

The Kings River and its tributaries

Grizzly Falls in the Cedar Grove area of Kings Canyon

Cognac took the opportunity to highlight that we should not "Antagonize Bears" - duly noted...

Having reached the end of CA-180, we retraced our way out of the canyon - about 30 miles or so. By now, the weather was idea. Sunshine, and temperatures around 70 degrees.

The road clings to the side of the cliff. In places you are protected from disaster by a solid wall, in others you are not...

During this drive, Mark and Andrea experienced something that none of us ever want to see again. As they were climbing an incline after completing a turn, the left front wheel of their XK120 parted company with their car. The wheel knockoff had come off. I was following close behind them and witnessed the car pull sharply to the right as the front dropped onto the brake drum. Mark was able to take control and pull the car off onto a dirt turnout before it came to a halt. I happened to have my camera to hand at the time...

Three wheels on my waggon... The wheel rolled along beside the car, hit the rocks ahead (which stopped it falling hundreds of feet down into the canyon), bounced back, and fell over a few feet away.  

Though this was a serious accident, it was clear that it could have been so much worse. If a wheel had to come off on this road, this was about as good as it could have been.

The threads on the knockoff were completely stripped. It's a mystery what caused this.

After recovering from the shock, we set to work. The racing jack and other tools were unloaded from David's cavernous[!] E-type OTS trunk, and with the help of an improvised shovel (a screwdriver), we were able to raise the front of the car high enough to refit the wheel. Fortunately, Mark was carrying spare spinners, as the original was unusable. There was some bodywork damage to the front fender, and a flat ground on the edge of the brake drum where it had run on the road. Other than that, there was no major damage. The wheel had damaged the threads on the hub as it came off, so it took some time with a needle file to clean them up enough to secure the wheel again. It took some time to effect the repairs, but eventually we were on the move again. We took it slowly out of Kings Canyon, and then headed for Fresno, and then north on CA-41 towards Yosemite. As we gained altitude, it got colder and drizzle set in. The OTS drivers once again donned their waterproofs. We reached Yosemite Valley just before dark, in time to enjoy a prequel for what tomorrow would bring...

El Capitan looming in the cloud in Yosemite Valley

Relieved to have arrived in Yosemite intact, we retired to our various lodgings for the night, but not before Jerry treated us to an excellent dinner at Yosemite Lodge. It had been an eventful day, and we would all sleep well, or at least, we thought we would......