WELCOME TO THE NATURE CORPS

Transcription

1 WELCOME TO THE NATURE CORPS Sequoia Information Packet Table of Contents Welcome to Sequoia Page 2 Preparing for Your Trip.. Page 3 What to Bring. Page 4 Directions to Sequoia. Page 5 Map of Sequoia.. Page 7 Nature Corps Info.. Page 8 Detailed Map of Sequoia.. Page <<>> If you have questions regarding the application process or need additional information, us at info@thenaturecorps.org or contact The Nature Corps at (805) Thank you for your participation. The Nature Corps 3600 Ridge Road Templeton, CA /17/12 1

2 Dear Participant, W E L C O M E T O S E Q U O I A Thank you for taking part in the Nature Corps volunteer outing to be held in Sequoia National Park. We appreciate your desire to preserve this beautiful park and look forward to sharing a unique and rewarding experience with you. The following information will help you prepare for the outing. To answer questions you may have, please feel free to give us a call at (805) What You Need To Know About Your Trip to Sequoia: Since we are in the High Sierra, you must be prepared for cold and rainy conditions. Nothing will ruin your trip more easily than if your gear gets wet and if you can t get warm at night. Make sure that you bring along a tarp or plastic drop cloth to cover your tent and a compact rain poncho if it rains. These items are relatively inexpensive and are well worth the investment. It will most likely be warm and sunny during the day and cool in the evening. Be sure to bring along plenty of sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat to cover your ears and face. Since it will be cool in the evenings, bring along sweatshirts, a jacket and wool cap or hat. Registration opens at 3pm. Dinner is served from 6-8pm. The road up to Sequoia is windy and will take approximately 45 minutes to get through. Road work is underway and cars are let through every hour on the hour. Some people riding with you may feel more comfortable taking motion sickness pills prior to ascending the mountain. There is no gas in the park. Fill up in Fresno, Visalia or Three Rivers before coming up the mountain. Insurance & Medical Care: We strongly encourage you to obtain private travel and accident insurance for the duration of the expedition. Emergency transport, medical or hospitalization costs resulting from illness or accident on the way to and from the national parks and during the expedition are the responsibility of the person receiving such care and/or their children, parents/guardians & immediate family. Expedition Conditions: During the expedition you are under the direction of the National Park Service staff and The Nature Corps Expedition Leaders. You will be asked to share in both the fieldwork and camp responsibilities. Your safety is very important to us. It is critical that volunteers cooperate with the Expedition Leaders and Park Service personnel. Working in the field inevitably involves unforeseen situations. Flexibility and cooperation are essential. 7/17/12 2

3 Preparing for Your Trip The following pages will help you to prepare for your volunteer expedition by providing a list of what will be provided by Nature Corps, a bulleted list of items to bring, packing suggestions, a map and information from the National Park Service regarding bears & how to avoid problems. We hope that they provide you with all that you need to make your Sequoia volunteer experience a great one. If you have any questions that are not answered in this packet, please feel free to contact us via or phone. Nature Corps Provides: Nature Corps meals: We provide food and beverages for your entire stay at the park including delicious dinners, hearty breakfasts, and tasty deli-style sack lunches! Campsite: Our campsite provides secluded tent sites, a restroom within walking distance and a place to store your food and personal items. There is also a fire pit and wood for evening campfires don t forget your folding chairs! Showers are typically located a short driving distance from the campground. The roads are paved, and there is parking directly close to our camping area. Nature Corps signs will direct you to the site. Alternative Lodging: If tent camping is not your style, RV S of all kinds are welcome and may park in the lot adjacent to the Lodge Pole Campground. Please contact us for more information. Wuksachi Lodge is located nearby and can be found on the web at: The reservation number is (866) Bear Information For Sequoia National Park: Food Storage Regulations (From the National Park Service) Proper food storage is not only essential to successful human-bear management, it is required legally (36 CFR 2.10(d)). Food includes food, trash, recyclables, toiletries, first aid kits, pet food, window cleaner, baby wipes, scented tissue, air freshener, soda cans, bottled beverages, canned food, coolers (full and empty), mosquito repellant, lipstick, tobacco products, and ANY RELATED ITEMS WITH A SCENT. When camping, baby seats should be taken out of the car and put outside. Storage will be available for food and other scented items. What You Need to Bring Any car with food in it is fair game for a black bear. NPS Photo. 7/17/12 3

4 What You Need to Bring Camping Gear Tent Air Mattress 2 Plastic Tarps in case of rain Concert lawn chair Sleeping Bag (rated for freezing temperatures) Extra Blanket or 2 if bag not rated as above Pillow Alarm clock Flashlight (fresh batteries) Work Gear Work Clothing including long pants/jeans Hiking/work boots Work Gloves Wide brimmed hat to protect face & neck from sun Large Canteen Small Daypack or fannypack for day hikes Moleskin (for blisters) Sunglasses Sunscreen Chapstick Bug Repellant Band Aids Pain Reliever M When o packing, we suggest that you pack t food and scented items separately i so that you can store them indoors o or another bear-safe area. Food n stored in a hard top vehicle (rv) in the refrigerator is allowed. Bear lockers S will be available to store your belongings. i Thank you for protecting the c park s bears. Personal Hygiene & First Aid Clothing Motion sickness pills Medications Razor Toothbrush & Toothpaste Comb & brush Soap Shampoo/Conditioner Wash Cloth & Towels Jacket Windbreaker Sweatshirt & Pants Wool cap Compact rain poncho Underwear & Long johns T-shirts Socks: thick and regular Jeans Shorts Light weight & wool shirts Other Items Musical Instrument, binoculars, telescope Camera (film if needed) Book or other reading materials Fishing gear & License 7/17/2012 4

5 Directions to Wolverton Base Camp From San Ramon: Take 680 south approximately 5 miles to the 580 East Resume with the directions from San Francisco. Directions from San Francisco: Take 580 East (20 miles) to the 205 East. Go east 14 miles on the 205 to I-5 north. Go north 2 miles on I-5 to CA-120 Go east 6 miles until you get to Hwy. 99 South. Go south 110 miles on Hwy. 99 to reach Hwy (to Kings Canyon) in Fresno. Go 58 miles on Hwy. east up into Kings Canyon. When you get to the kiosk tell them you are a volunteer and they will let you through. Shortly after entering the park at the Y intersection turn right (south) on the Sherman Hyw. toward Sequoia. Go past Stoney Creek Lodge and Lodgepole campground and take the next left at the General Sherman Parking/Wolverton turnoff. (It will take 45 minutes to travel from the Y intersection to the Wolverton turnoff.) See Wolverton directions below. From Fresno: Go 58 miles on Hwy. east up into Kings Canyon. When you get to the kiosk tell them you are a volunteer and they will let you through. Shortly after entering the park at the Y intersection turn right (south) on the Sherman Hyw. toward Sequoia. Go past Stoney Creek Lodge and Lodgepole campground and take the next left at the General Sherman Parking/Wolverton turnoff. (It will take 45 minutes to travel from the Y intersection to the Wolverton turnoff.) See Wolverton directions below. From Bakersfield: Take Hwy 99 north 71 miles to Highway 198 East. Take Hwy. 198 East 37 miles through Visalia and into Three Rivers. Just after going through Three Rivers you will enter the park. When you get to the kiosk tell them you are a volunteer and they will let you through. From there you will have a 45-min. trip up a windy road into the Giant Forest area of the park. You will see the Giant Forest Museum on the right as you arrive in the Giant Forest. Go 10 minutes further down the road, past the Giant Forest Museum to the General Sherman Parking / Wolverton turnoff and turn right. See Wolverton directions below. From the Central Coast: Take Hwy. 101 North to Highway 46 East. Go 19 miles and turn left onto Hwy. 41. Go 57 miles to Hwy /17/12 5

6 Go 59 miles on Hwy198 East through Visalia and into Three Rivers. Just after going through Three Rivers you will enter the park. When you get to the kiosk tell them you are a volunteer and they will let you through. From there you will have a 45-min. trip up a windy road into the Giant Forest area of the park. You will see the Giant Forest Museum on the right as you arrive in the Giant Forest. Go 10 minutes further down the road, past the Giant Forest Museum to the General Sherman Parking / Wolverton turnoff and turn right. See Wolverton directions below. From Santa Barbara: Take Hwy 126 East to I-5 north Resume with the directions from Los Angeles From Los Angeles: Take I-5 north to Hwy. 99 North. Go 97 miles north on Hwy. 99 North (signs for Bakersfield/Hwy. 99 / N-Fresno). Take exit 96 to merge onto Hwy. 198 East. Take Hwy. 198 East 37 miles through Visalia and into Three Rivers. Just after going through Three Rivers you will enter the park. When you get to the kiosk tell them you are a volunteer and they will let you through. From there you will have a 45-min. trip up a windy road into the Giant Forest area of the park. You will see the Giant Forest Museum on the right as you arrive in the Giant Forest. Go 10 minutes further down the road, past the Giant Forest Museum to the General Sherman Parking / Wolverton turnoff and turn right. See Wolverton directions below. Once you are on the General Sherman / Wolverton Turnoff go up the hill and past the stop sign. Continue up the road for about 200 yards until you get to the Boy Scout Camp driveway (marked with a Nature Corps sign) on the left side of the road. Turn left into that driveway and enter the campsite. Registration opens at 3pm. Dinner will be served at 6:00-8:00 pm. Important Phone #s: Park Service (559) ; Nature Corps (805) If there are any questions about the volunteer program at the Kiosk ask the ranger to contact Tim Barret at extension /17/12 6

7 Sequoia National Park Registration opens at 3pm. X Meet Here Sequoia Sequoia Hwy. 198 continues to Three Rivers 7/17/2012 7

8 preserving the wonder The Nature Corps is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to implement an ongoing campaign to involve Americans in the preservation of our National Parks. The Corps is: 1) Working with the National Park Service to design and spearhead critical conservation projects 2) Implementing a public education campaign to promote a stewardship ethic, and 3) Involving the public, especially America's youth, as stewards of our nation's natural treasures. Since 1987, 4,000 volunteers have donated thousands of volunteer hours towards projects valued at over $3,500,000. Our volunteers are responsible for restoring and preserving some of our nation's most valued natural treasures. We have mobilized volunteers to Yosemite, Channel Islands, Hawaii Volcanoes, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. Our projects include: protecting the world renown General Sherman Sequoia, the largest living organism on earth safeguarding rare, ancient and historical sequoia groves, as well as Hawaiian rainforests restoring the ecological balance of Yosemite's Merced River revegetating fragile meadows in the High Sierra rehabilitating historical structures and antiquated park service facilities Without the help of our volunteers, these natural resources would continue to be threatened. For its accomplishments The Nature Corps has earned four Take Pride in California Awards, the American Express Mark of Innovation and the National Park Service Partnership Achievement Award. This program is recognized by government leaders and educators. I want to congratulate you and recognize the outstanding work The Nature Corps has been carrying out for the last 20 years in the National Parks. The Nature Corps leadership on this important issue is an example for the rest of this nation to follow. The Honorable Lois Capps, Congresswoman, House Committee on Natural Resources "Your volunteers are wonderfully devoted to the preservation of Yosemite and it is a pleasure to work with them. They are always enthusiastic, energetic and very successful in accomplishing their goals. The Nature Corps mission, goals and achievements should be commended." Mike Tollefson, Superintendent, Yosemite National Park "The Nature Corps has demonstrated enormous contributions that volunteers make in helping the Park Service. Their unique program for Americans from all walks of life has channeled their abilities and love for the outdoors into undertaking many important conservation projects." W. L. "Bill" Lane, Jr., Ambassador to Australia, Former Publisher of Sunset Magazine 7/17/2012 8

9 "Without the dedication of The Nature Corps irreversible damage would continue to occur around this National Treasure [General Sherman Tree, the largest living organism on earth]." J. Thomas Ritter, Superintendent, Sequoia National Park Comments Made by Employee Volunteers: "It has been a real pleasure to come out and volunteer on this project. Everyone should have the opportunity to volunteer out here. There are certain milestones in your life like getting married and having a child and then doing something really special like this." Gary Gray "It s been a lot of hard work and sweat... and very worthwhile. It s been great working with the employees and getting to know them better. This means a lot to me, to be out here doing something for the next generation. I appreciate the opportunity to work with The Nature Corps and that Occidental has made it possible for me to come out here and be a part of this project. It s been a time that has been very meaningful for my son and I." Pat Heard Thank you for taking the time to help preserve this beautiful Park. Your support is most appreciated. 7/17/12 9

10 PARK ROADS Campground w Picnic Area Lodging Horses/riding Gas station alls Major paved road Minor paved road Unpaved road Park boundary STEEP ROADS: (closed in winter) Grades of 5-8%. Downshift to avoid overheated or failed brakes. See page 5. DRIVING TIME IN GOOD WEATHER: FROM FOOTHILLS TO: Giant Forest - 1 hour. Lodgepole - 1 hour. Visalia - 1 hour. Mineral King - 1-1/2 hour. Road closed Nov 1 to late May. FROM GIANT FOREST TO Grant Grove - 1 hour. FROM GRANT GROVE TO: Cedar Grove - 1 hour. Road closed midnov to late April. Fresno - 1-1/2 hours. Yosemite south entry via Hwy 41-3 hrs. Giant Forest detail map Fo LIFE ZONES: R High Sierra 9,000 to 14,500 feet. 245 Summer: Warm to chilly days; nights down to low 30s. Winter: frigid. Conifer zone ,000 to 9,000 feet. Summer: Warm days & cool nights. Winter: deep snow, cold days. Foothills zone 1,500 to 5,000 feet. Mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers. Cedar Grove is cooler than the foothills, but hotter than Grant Grove. MINERAL KING 198 S P R I N G SEQUOIA & KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS Third Class Mail Postage & Fees Paid U.S. Department of the Interior G Generals Highway Three Rivers, CA E XPE R I E N C E YO U R AME R I C A!