Redwoods from Kings Canyon National Park ...part 1

[Detector Man]

Hey everyone, i dont know much about the redwoods on the California coast...Redwoods are in groves in various part of the top half of the state of California....i would guess from the MOnterey Peninsula area to Humbolt,Ca (north of San Francisco)...they are protected when growing in state or national park but on private land i believe they are fair game. Gotta have that redwood lumber and redwood patio furniture....
I took some pictures but im gonna have to go back and do it over....im about a couple hours away so its not a big problem...next spring maybe

Notice how they used the hollow tree as a campsite...that tree is still laying there .

One picture has people walking near the tree ......just to give you an idea of the size of these trees....that tree is the General Grant Tree ...it is known as the nations christmas tree...the trees are huge....however, they have shallow roots and people are not allowed to be right next to them (to protect the root system) and there are fences around them and on the trail to keep people from wondering around the base...on some occasion for no reason they simply fall over...shallow roots that are diseased or damaged over time or wind. It has been said that they are disease resistant and insect resistant. They will catch fire due to lightning BUT usually survive the situation...i have seen trees that are very tall but a long time ago they caught on fire and now there is like a cave at the base say about 4 feet around and 5 feet tall --inside the tree and it survived and is still growing
I took a picture of the so called Centennial Stump and it did not turn out as well as i wanted because there is a wooden fence around it and i couldnt get close to the actual stump...i did hold my monopod as high a possible and hoped for a decent shot of the stump.

The information i have included is from memory...dont be too hard on this guy if you find something not 100% right...

Hope you like them...

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

expected them to be this big. These are some nice pictures.. Kelley (Texas)

 

[Detector Man]

Thank you Kelly....These trees are not growing all over the place in the national forest or the national parks....they are in groves in various parts of the state.

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

I do hope that these trees are well protected so that future generations can enjoy them. I heard about these trees when I was a young boy, but have never had the opportunity to actually see them. Kelley (Texas)

http://www.google.com/search?q=postcard+of+car+driving+through+redwood+tree&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=tWgwUsXUOOaE2gW8h4G4Aw&ved=0CCkQsAQ&biw=1164&bih=761

 

[Detector Man]

on the second line of pictures...the tree laying down across the road i believe is the same tree still laying there with a hole cut out of it for the benefit of the tourist. Most of the other pictures are of the tree still standing up where they cut the hole in it. I believe this was the same tree that was in Yosemite (Mariposa Grove) and it is no longer there.
Yes, the trees are very much protected. In the parks , one cannot just walk up to the tree and stand right next to it for whatever reason. The short walking/hking trails that meander thru the redwoods are lined with wooden fences. It is strange that as big as the trees are, their root system is very shallow and need protection ...

In looking at the picture link you provided i see that many of the trees (mostly the same one...Chandelier Tree) appear to be on private property. I dont know if the carved up trees are still standing up

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

the Redwood Trees on private property. Does it appear that these private property owners respect the welfare of the trees or not? Kelley (Texas)

 

[Detector Man]

i dont know where the private propertie who have redwood trees there are. I can only hope they preserve them. These trees are very special and they are mostly thousands of years old. I made the reference of trees on private property to let forum members understand that not all redwood trees are in national parks. We do not hear much locally about these trees.

 

[Roscue2]

I do not mean to sound like a know it all Detector Man, but Redwoods and Sequoias are 2 different species of trees. Redwoods grow in coastal California, as well as northern CA, while Sequoias grow in the Sierras.

Nevertheless, they are both very impressive trees. I must say I love the 4th photo because it shows the scope of the trees. They are absolutely gigantic. Another interesting fact about them is that their branches actually have their own ecosystems with other plants and animals living way up there. I would never guess that from the ground honestly. I have seen Sequoias, but never redwoods, although I do want to see them in the near future.

HH and GL

 

[Detector Man]

No youre fine.....i use both terms and i didnt know there was a difference.. never bothered to look it up..ive never seen the ones at the coast.....never been to Big Sur...i tried once...i was probably real close but i got impatient and turned around...it was a very long couple days....years ago.

It is hard to see the size of the trees unless there is something to compare it to...so i made sure there were people around....if you ever get to the Sequoia and Kings .....let me know i can give you a couple ideas of where to go....ive gone in from HWY 180 and came out HWY198 ..makes it a loop...and a LONG drive...

I ve never been there but there is Boyden Cave within the park...im told you can do some visiting with ropes and harness etc...

At the Nation's Christmas Tree (General Grant tree) , every year a local town sponsors a trip there to celebrate the Nation's Christmas Tree...they caravan up there and they have a choir sing songs etc...im not a snow guy so ive never gone...might one of these days.

 

[Roscue2]

The sequoias in the snow are amazing. I went sledding in Big Trees State Park a few years ago, and actually got to sled past some of the smaller sequoias. Luckily didn't run into them. The park also offers snowshoeing hikes on certain days, but to go up there you gotta be careful on the roads. Ice is usually everywhere. I do hear that Yosemite is a whole different beast in the winter, so someday I will have to go and visit in the winter.