M 



FAMOUS MORO ROCK 



BY MARK DANIELS 



ORO Rock is on the north side of the middle fork 

 of the Kaweah River in Sequoia National Park. 

 It towers four thousand feet above the river bed 

 directly below it and commands a view of the Great 

 Western Divide to the east. Why it has been named Moro 

 Rock no one can tell, for it has none of that indi\'iduality 

 which would suggest its name, although it is about as 

 fittingly named as is Florence Peak. 



The road from the Park headquarters in the Giant 

 Forest swings around the edge of the plateau to a 

 point only a 

 few yards from 

 the shoulder of 

 this mountain 

 of granite. 

 From the road 

 a trail leads out 

 on to the rock 

 and a few 

 crude steps 

 h a \' e been 

 shaped so that 

 it is possible, 

 with about that 

 degree of 

 safety which 

 our Federal 

 Go vernmient 

 generally pro- 

 vides for its 

 tourists, to 

 scale the point 

 of the rock 

 from whence 

 the astounding 

 views to the 

 east and the 

 west may be 

 had. 



To one who 

 has sojourned 

 for any length 

 of time in the 

 district, Moro 

 Rock presents 

 an ever-fasci- 

 nating lure, for 

 the scenes that 

 may be beheld 

 from its sum- 

 mit are never 

 the same. At 

 times, the great 

 canyon of the 

 middle fork of 



THE GREATEST OF MORO ROCKS 



Almost every scenic area has its Moro Rock or castle, but this on the north rim of the middle fork of the Kaweah 

 River Canyon. Sequoia National Park, California, is the daddy of them all. 



the Kaweah stands out in bold and sharp relief through 

 the crisp atmosphere. At other times a gentle mist 

 seems to hover over its slopes and the scene takes on 

 much of the character of the Scotch Highlands. Again, 

 Ijlack thunder clouds will be rolling up through the 

 canyon, and the lightning flashing over the crest of 

 the Great Di\ide converts the entire gorge into a great 

 cauldron of infernal tempests. 



The headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Kaweah 

 l\i\er enter the main canyon only a few miles above 



Moro Rock, 

 and at the junc- 

 tion some of 

 the best fishing 

 in the district 

 is to be had. 

 Fishermen who 

 traverse the 

 trail that skirts 

 the head of the 

 canyon invari- 

 ably complain 

 that the fifteen 

 miles from 

 P a r k h e a rl- 

 (luartcrs to the 

 next camping 

 place are the 

 longest fifteen 

 miles they have 

 ever traveled. 

 From my ob- 

 se r v a t i o n, 1 

 know that the 

 time necessary 

 to cover the 

 distance need 

 never be so 

 long as that 

 spent by the 

 anglers, but 

 they invariably 

 stop at the 

 stream cross- 

 ings to cast 

 just once or 

 twice in the 

 t e m p t i n g 

 pools, which 

 accounts for 

 the length of 

 time w h i c h 

 they consume 

 on the trail. 

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