Distance: 2 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 7605'
Elevation Gain: 525'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.4
Round trip time: 1 hours 10 minutes
Recommended water: 16 oz.
Parking/Fees: $35 National Parks Fee (one vehicle for 7 days) or Annual Pass
Difficulty: Easy
It was Memorial Day and our last day in Sequoia. Leisa had climbed Buena Vista before, but it was new to me. We got up in the dark and drove to Panorama Point to take in the sunrise. Leisa brewed some coffee while we waited for the sun. We spent about 30 minutes watching it come up over the Sierra Nevada. Then, we went back to our hotel room and packed up. We drove to the Buena Vista trailhead to hike it before we started the trip home. It was a short hike: two miles round trip with litte gain. There were large boulder formations along the way and several large boulders on the summit. True to its name, Buena Vista was a "good view". Buck Rock was prominent and sun reflected off the roof of the lookout tower. I climbed the class 2 summit boulder and we spent about 15 minutes enjoying the ambiance. We met a few other parties coming and going. With Buena Vista in the books, we decided to take a guided tour at Cat Haven on our way out of the mountains. Cat Haven is a not-for-profit sanctuary that cares for large cats that were born in captivity. They had snow leopards, jaguars, mountain lions, African lions, one cheetah, and two tigers. Most were awake and active and I had never been so close to a tiger or jaguar. Amazing and frightening cats. The guide had a bottle of blood that he sprayed at the cats for a treat. They are 100% carnivores. It was a great way to end our long weekend.
Cat Haven
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