After many years in the California coastal mountains, we sort of thought we had an idea of what redwoods are all about. Today (Friday 9 May) we re-discovered another breed of redwood, the giant sequoia.

We traveled about 25 miles north of our camp, and up into the higher reaches of the Sequoia Forest. Just past the odd trailer-saturated mountain community of Johnsondale, we parked and took the walk through the meandering path of the Trail of 100 Giants. This gentle stroll is on a nicely groomed paved pathway, and wanders about a mile or so through a grove of pine, fir, and sequoia trees. Suffice it to say that the sequoias are definitely the standout species.

It’s impossible to photograph these behemoths, and nearly as difficult to describe them in other than purely mathematical terms. The bases are more than 20 feet across – – my entire pickup truck could hide inside the tree if it were hollow. And some of them indeed are. One resident monarch was historically used to house geese at night; the ranchers would place boards across the opening to protect the domestic birds from wildlife predators.

Standing next to a 1000-year-old tree is a remarkably emotional experience. The sheer size is in-your-face evidence of how long this beast must have been hanging around in order to get that big. The sense of time is deep, captivating, mesmerizing.

You know what a 2×4 is, and a lot of us even know what a 6×8 is. How strong, heavy, and tough such timber is in our hands, our bridges, our buildings. Now, we stand next to a 200×240. That’s the size of the base in inches, so you can compare it to “normal” wood. Our cheesy, teenager-driven society makes far too much use of the word awesome. In point of fact, these trees inspire a feeling of awe in one’s mind and spirit – – but there is no word left for them anymore.

Karin and I wandered around the grove, trying to get some pictures in the dull sky’s light. My tiny images simply cannot convey the majesty, the antiquity, the enormous strength of what we saw.

Now here’s a really unusual angle on the whole thing: only three years ago, in 2011, one of the big giants found itself in a softening area of water-saturated soil. after nearly 1000 years of life, the big fellow couldn’t be held aloft any more, and he came crashing down, breaking in several enormous sections and covering up some of the original grove trail.

Amazingly, it happened in the late morning, while an astonished German tourist was standing nearby watching the whole event – – – and catching it on MP4 camera. The sequence has been uploaded to youtube, and you can see it at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ucahb5GGeo

or on the forest service website, I haven’t found that link yet.