The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range dips its toes into several types of environments: alpine, foothill, etc. But at the southernmost part of this great mountain range, there exists a small oasis where the conditions are just right. Not too much water, not too much soil, elevation is just right. The conditions have selected this one place to be the home of some of the largest trees in the world, the great sequoias.
I reached the top of Sequoia National Park at the waning hours of the day, when the sun looked most golden and sawdust helped visitors see the rays of light poke through the topmost branches. Man, was this a sight to see.
The Big Trees trail was one of the most impressive trails I have been on. Though it is a short 1 mile loop, you pass by several massive sequoias that surround a central meadow. The meadow serves as their own private water well, and the tallest trees (like the one to the right) stand at around 270 feet tall.
The Sequoias, unlike the surrounding trees, are immune to many illnesses. Their bark contains tannins that resist disease and insects, their bark is fibrous, felt like felt (get it? hehe) so it resists fires, and their roots are amazing. Check it out! This guy must have fallen over thousands of years ago, shining light onto the amazing network below the trees.
The tallest tree is the Hyperion Redwood (at 379 feet tall), but its location is held secret by the National Park Service and only 3 groups of people have ever found it. However, there is another tree that everyone can visit. No trip to Sequoia National Park is complete without seeing the largest tree (by volume) in the world: General Sherman. The General stands at 275 feet and is about 2,000 years old. To the General, my lifetime is just one blink of the eye. The General was massive, and apparently still lives to this day. Here's to the next 2,000 years bud!
“ It took more than three thousand years to make some of the trees in these Western woods — trees that are still standing in perfect strength and beauty, waving and singing in the mighty forests of the Sierra. Through all the wonderful, eventful centuries ... God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand straining, leveling tempests and floods; but he cannot save them from fools — only Uncle Sam can do that.”