Snowshoeing in Giant Forest

[lambertiana]

My absolutely favorite time to be in Giant Forest is in the winter. The vivid colors - bright blue sky, white snow, cinnamon sequoia trunks, and green needles - make it a truly magical place. So when a friend asked if I had today off work (yes) and if I wanted to go snowshoeing in Giant Forest (YES!!!). So, after a 90 minute drive from his place, we got to the jump off point. Right by the road pullout where we parked, the first tree was this one:

From there we started up toward the main part of Giant Forest. A few pics along the way:

The first named tree that we reached was the Washington tree, formerly the second largest tree on earth. A few years ago we had some scouts on a hike there and saw this tree; nearby was a lightning-caused fire that the park was letting burn. That night the fire picked up and destroyed the crown of the tree, and the top half eventually collapsed. This is what is left now - a 150' stump with a few small branches still growing:

My friend next to it for scale

After Washington we headed toward the main part of the Congress trail, views along the way

Not a particularly outstanding specimen, just a typical mature sequoia with a burn scar for character

The Lincoln tree

The McKinley Tree

 

[sintro]

Jeez those things are massive. Is that burl I see ? hahahah

 

[lambertiana]

The Senate Group

More typical scenery

The Senate group

And we finally reached the far point of our six mile loop, the President. Recently measurements by the National Geographic Society moved it from the #4 tree to the #2 tree. They also took a core and found it to be 3500 years old

Nearby, Chief Sequoyah

 

[lambertiana]

After lunch under the President, we made our way back to the truck by a different route. Views along the way:

The Pillars of Hercules

Black Arch

The Franklin Tree

This was one of the best day hikes I have done in a while. The weather was beautiful, and it was absolutely still and quiet. For most of the day we didn't see anyone else. I highly recommend a winter visit to Giant Forest.

 

[Liam Ryan]

Any Ewoks rambling about? Yub nub!

 

[Hammer67]

Haven't cruised through that forest in years. Thanks for taking me back!

 

[Txknifefan]

It's amazing to think that when some of the great civilizations of the past have disappeared into history those trees are still alive and growing.

 

[sintro]

Do those trees repair that fire damage over time?

 

[ml100]

Beautiful, I'd love to hike there.

 

[scruffuk]

I'm always in such awe when I see photos of these big old fellows.

Thanks for taking the time to share.

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Thanks for taking us along Bro

 

[jmaclaug]

Fantastic photos. You did a great job of capturing the scale.

Spent a few weeks in Scotland last summer, and at every castle or manor house, I played "Spot the Sequoia" on the grounds with my kids. They have some nice specimens there, but nothing compared to the old ones in the Sierras.

 

[agile_1]

Wow. Beautiful. Love those giant trees.

But there doesn't look like there is enough snow to break out the snowshoes.

 

[phillipsted]

Do those trees repair that fire damage over time?

On mature coastal redwoods, the bark can be up to 2 feet thick. This provides a tough defense against fire, but for only so long.

Just think how many forest fires that a 3500 year old tree has seen... it boggles the imagination...

3500 years ago was about the time Moses led the biblical exodus. In Egypt 3500 years ago, the Pyramid of Giza was less than 1000 years old...

TedP

 

[zcd]

Great photos, those are some amazing old trees

 

[lambertiana]

But there doesn't look like there is enough snow to break out the snowshoes.

It has been a dry winter, most areas had 1-2 feet, but there were some scattered bare spots. The real issue was the thick crust on the snow, it would have been a real pain to walk through.

I have been there with 10 feet of snow on the ground, it's better with that much snow.

 

[lambertiana]

Do those trees repair that fire damage over time?

Yes. If you look closely at the picture of the President, you can see the fire scar healing over. I have seen big trunk crosscuts of trees that were logged that had multiple fire scars in the interior that were completely healed over, spaced several hundred years apart.

 

[neeman]

Awesome

 

[Thomas Linton]

Thank you so much. I have not seen these since I was a very young man.

 

[the lone gunman]

Great pics! If you want a good read about these trees check out "The Wild Trees" by Richard Preston. Fantastic book! Written about some of the people who first started climbing and exploring Giant redwoods.