Advertisement
Published: April 5th 2011
Edit Blog Post
California Redwoods When we started planning this trip many months ago, George would always mention he wanted to see the redwood trees. If I was telling someone some of the things we planned to see or do on the trip and didn’t mention the redwoods, he’d chime in “and see the redwoods in northern California.” Over the course of time he made an impression on me that this was more important to him than I originally understood. I knew we were to visit a few different groves and I have to admit I originally thought “seen one seen them all.” I am so happy we were able to visit these ancient ones and see them in various settings and weather. We have visited them in the rain, the fog and finally the sun. I am happy not to visit them in high winds. We saw enough massive branches, tops of trees or entire trees laying on the forest floor as a result of past wind storms. The term “widow maker” is used to describe the massive lower branches being shed and hurtling to the ground to impale itself into the earth or whatever is below the tree. A high wind
day would have made me focus on the creaks from above and would have taken away from my enjoyment of the forest, but I also probably would have been in awe of how much they could sway.
I suppose I have an age bias in viewing these massive giants that are hundreds or even thousands of years old. The young trees are nice, but the old trees are awesome characters. They have survived fires and floods and are scared for it. They may have growths (burls), but that sets them apart from the other trees. The repeated fires may have burned the heart of the tree so that it is now hollow at the base and a refuge from the elements, but it is still alive and growing. Yes the trees will eventually succumb and there are plenty of snags attesting to the passing of a tree. Sometimes as a tree is weakening there may be the right conditions for a fairy ring to form around the tree. New life springs up from the established root system and a circle of redwood trees forms around the old tree.
Here is a list of hikes or drives that we
took to see the redwoods.
Muir Woods National Monument
Hendy Woods State Park
Founders Grove
Rockefeller Forest
Avenue of the Giants
Lady Bird Johnson Grove in the Redwood National Park
Tall Tree Trail in the Redwood National Park
Newton P Drury Scenic Parkway
Stout Grove in Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park
When we hiked the Tall Trees Trail we needed to get a permit and the combination to the gate. We were the only ones on the trail which was a unique experience in itself. It started with a 1 ½ mile down hill, then a 1 mile level hike and finally the dreaded 1 ½ mile uphill. There was one section where the ferns were tall among the giant trees and our thoughts turned to Jurassic Park.
We discussed which was our favorite trail and our ratings changed as we visited different groves. In all of them there are plenty of redwoods to see, but each had a slightly different feel. As you can see from the photos the weather also gives a different feel to the trees.
It’s time to leave California behind and continue up the coast and visit Oregon.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.066s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 11; qc: 26; dbt: 0.033s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb
Sharron Probyn
non-member comment
Wow
What a beautiful trip through the redwoods! Magnificant. Joyce and I were always going to make that trip but fate intervened. Maybe still someday. Take care in your travels!