Big Trees-The True Giants of our Lands
Recently my wife and I decided to explore new places in California with day trips. We gave ourselves a 3-hour range and set out to find new places. We decided this time to go to Calaveras Big Trees State Park. It is about 2 hrs from the Sacramento area. It’s one of two places close by Sacramento to see these beautiful giants up close and personal. The other is Muir Woods National Monument.
There are two types of world-famous California Redwoods, the coastal redwoods. These live on the California coast. They stretch from southern Oregon to central California, at most 50 miles inland. And the sequoia redwoods on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The California redwoods are some of the largest trees in the world. These trees can be as old as 2500 years old. And due to the slow decay rate, even downed redwoods can be hundreds of years old.
The first place I would suggest is north of San Francisco, Muir Woods National Monument. It is named after Scottish-born naturalist John Muir. John’s activism helped the preservation of Yosemite Valley and Sequoia National Park. After this, John co-founded the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club would fight for the conservation of many more natural sites around the US. On May 19, 1945, three months before the two bombs were to be dropped on Japan to end World War 2. The first formation of the United Nations met in the Muir Woods at Cathedral Grove. This was to honor the passing of the late President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This part of the grove is now a silent preserve and a place for quiet contemplation. This is to honor the momentous occasion that took place here to gain peace in our world. It is also a place that holds the largest trees in the Muir Woods. There is a sense of calm when you walk through this area. I plan to return and soak up the calm I felt there.
The Muir Woods National Monument is a flat walk of about a mile. So very easy for wheelchair accessibility. There are a few side trails that go up the canyon walls that are more rigorous for the more adventurous people. But you can’t see as much of the giant redwoods from these trails. This would be a must-stop for visitors to San Francisco. One piece of advice though, you have to pre-book parking at Muir Woods, due to limited parking. Make sure you do it before you get there. There is no cell phone service once you are there, so you would have to drive back out to make it on your phone. But you can book the same day, for most days. Also on Jan 16th, Apr 22nd, Aug 4th, Sep 23rd, and Nov 11th, every year, there is free entry for all State and National parks. Otherwise, it costs about $15 a person but is well worth it.
The Coastal Redwoods (Sequoia semperviens) grow tall due to the fog that rolls into the area. They can grow anywhere from 300 to 350 ft high (91 to 107 meters) and most trees in the Muir Woods are 600 to 800 years old. The oldest is estimated at over 1200 years old. The largest coastal redwood, Hyperion, is 380 ft tall. It is 1.25 times bigger than the Statue of Liberty in New York City. Hyperion is not open to visitors now, so the site is not easy to find. But it is under protection by the state park services and holds steep fines for getting near the tree. Coastal redwoods have very shallow root systems, so footsteps near the base can kill the tree. They grow by inches but die by feet. In reality, the trunk of Hyperion is not as impressive as one might think for this height of the tree. There are much larger trunks in other groves. These can be seen by people every day, including in Muir Woods
If impressively large trees are what you are looking for. Head to the Sequoia National Park or Big Trees State Park. The Sequoia Redwoods (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in these parks are slightly shorter than Coastal Redwoods. However, the trunk size and shear mass are larger. These trees make a full-grown human look like an ant next to them. They are still among the tallest trees in the world, around 50 to 100 ft shorter than coastal redwoods. That being said, General Sherman is the largest tree in the world. It has a staggering 36 ft diameter trunk 6 ft off the ground. It would take 20 people hand in hand to wrap around General Sherman. And is estimated to be over 1800 years old. The General Grant tree, in the same grove as Sherman, holds the largest footprint at 108 ft around. Some of the trees in this grove are estimated to be over 2000 years old. So these trees are a true glimpse into the past. Some are as old as the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which destroyed the ancient city of Pompeii in 79 AD. All these trees are visible in the Seqious National Park. But Big Trees State Park holds trees that come close to these as well. Their sheer footprints are astounding.
I strongly recommend a trip to any of these locations for all nature lovers. In these forests, I realize how small we are in this world. And how much we must protect them because they can’t protect themselves from us. In Big Trees State Park there is clear evidence of human damage to the forest. The once second-biggest tree in the park, “Mother of the Forest”. She has had all its bark stripped and sent to New York and London in an exhibition to show the massive size of the trees. Fortunately and unfortunately, it backfired. The public outcry for the destruction of the tree was what sped up the process of protecting the land. So it was a major loss to the tree, but protected the rest of the trees in the grove, and others like it. “Mother of the Forest” still stands to this day, but a dead shell of her formal self. Burnt by forest fire, waiting to one day fall over completely.
I believe people need to see these places to gain respect for their planet. However, introducing more people into these areas can harm their ecosystem. Big Trees and Muir Woods have wooden raised paths to protect the area. But it is when people step off the path, that the area can be hurt. The one thing I struggle with is when people take or leave stuff in these places. On Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, good luck finding any more of the signature glass on the beach anymore. Or people carve their names into a stump at one of these parks. Wanting a lasting memory for yourself hurts us all in the long run. “Take only memories, leave only footprints” Chief Seattle.
