The Cunningham Grove is one of the smallest giant sequoia groves. It is about 1 mile east of the Long Meadow Grove which receives thousands of visitors every year. That is because the Trail of 100 Giants, a paved and universally accessible trail, winds its way through a portion of the Long Meadow Grove. There are no trails that lead to the Cunningham Grove. To get to it you must drive on a Forest Service dirt road that's in pretty bad shape (high clearance vehicles are a must and 4wd would help), choose the correct fork in the road out of several, and then leave your vehicle when it gets too overgrown to drive on it. You then have to follow the road to its end and then hike cross-country through very dense overgrown forest down a very steep slope to reach the trees. There aren't very many, maybe 15 large sequoias, but they are beautiful. I doubt if half a dozen people visit this grove every year. On Saturday 3 people did, my two interns and myself. We found it without too much trouble, thanks to me putting on my sequoia radar. Jay and David wanted to follow the right fork in the road and I said left, which led to a north facing slope, knowing that sequoias like wetter conditions. Once we reached the north facing slope I hiked west down a ridgeline a little ways, spotted the top of a sequoia, then we headed towards it. A thunderstorm was brewing in the area making things exciting. We've had quite a few huge storms lately in the southern Sierra. Soon enough we spotted a good sign... The first sequoia we saw had bear claw marks up and down it  Twins  The biggest one we saw  What a beautiful place to visit!  --------------------------------------------------------
The mountains are calling and I must go. ~ John Muir ~ www.tarol.com
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