Hike to the mammoth stump of the Mark Twain Tree.

Statistics

0 - 1

hrs

79

m

79

m

4

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Easy

Description

The Big Stump Trail leads to...

well, as you may have guessed: a big stump.

But this big stump has a story. This tree was known as the "Mark Twain Tree," a "1,350 year old sequoia that was felled in 1891 after a team of two men spent 13 days sawing it," according to [AmericanSouthwest.net](https://www.americansouthwest.net/california/kings_canyon/big-stump-trail.html). The tree was cut down so that "sections of the trunk could be displayed in the natural history museums of New York and London," according to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Stump_Grove#:~:text=Mark%20Twain%20Stump%3A%20the%20stump,grape%20stakes%20and%20fence%20posts.).

Now, once you reach the stump, a small staircase will let you climb on top of the mammoth stump to get a sense of the scale of sequoia trees.

You still probably won't be able to wrap your head around them! Technically, this meadow, which was home to a timber mill in the late 1800s, offers plenty of other stumps to check out as well.

You can even (thankfully) enjoy some still-standing sequoias. The trail itself is quite mellow and smooth, with very little elevation gain and loss, making it fit for the entire family. Sources: https://www.americansouthwest.net/california/kings_canyon/big-stump-trail.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Stump_Grove#:~:text=Mark%20Twain%20Stump%3A%20the%20stump,grape%20stakes%20and%20fence%20posts https://www.travelagewest.com/Travel/USA-Canada/6-Can-t-Miss-Hikes-in-Sequoia-and-Kings-Canyon-National-Parks