Converse Basin Grove

Recreation

Opportunities: There are quite of few areas to get out and explore! Hume Lake, Drive the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, or camp nearby in Princess Campground. There are also a few dispersed camping areas which people are welcome to use, please check with the Hume Lake Ranger District office. Three prominent developed recreation sites lie within Converse Basin Grove; the Boole Tree Trail, Chicago Stump Trail, and Stump Meadow. For the history buffs, buy a copy of the book, They Felled the Redwoods which has extensive historical information. Boole Tree Trail is a moderate 2.5 mile loop to the Boole Tree. There are restroom facilities at the trailhead, but no drinkable water. Boole, the largest giant sequoia on National Forest System Land, is the 8th largest of all known sequoias. This trail offers spectacular views of the Kings River gorge and spectacular high Sierra Nevada mountain vistas. As you travel along the trail, you’ll come across remains of sequoias left where they fell in the historic logging days. Chicago Stump Trail is an easy .5 mile loop to the stump. The trail meanders along a meadow ringed by young sequoias. Chicago Stump was originally known as the General Noble tree. In 1897, it was cut down in pieces, the pieces were numbered shipped, and reassembled at the Chicago World’s Fair. People were astounded by the giant’s size and believed the reassembled giant was made of several trees and call it the “California Hoax”. For the experienced hiker: A daring hike down to the Cabin Creek Grove will dwarf you while hiking among the old monarch sequoias. This small pocket of sequoias was untouched during the historic logging period in Converse Basin Grove. It is very steep and difficult to get to. Stump Meadow: On the drive to the Boole Tree you will pass a meadow filled with sequoia stumps that demonstrate both the size of the trees, and the historic logging that took place. Today, thousands of the young spiral topped sequoia which are about 100 years old, surround the meadow. Scientists speculate on why this meadow area has not regenerated like the rest of the grove. These stumps provide a wealth of knowledge to scientists studying weather patterns by studying the tree rings. The science of dendrochronology uses tree rings to reconstruct past events, such as weather patterns, fires, droughts or other significant events which impact a tree’s life. The oldest known sequoia stump in Converse Basin Grove is just over 3,200 years old.