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California Redwoods or Seqoia's

Jim Young

Jim Young

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Northville, MI
OK, SOme of you know that I'm taking a trip out west with my Pops this year. We haev expandede our trip a little to include a few more items. I really would like to go visit those really huge trees. I can't remember what they are called nor where they are located. My Dad was thinking they are in Washington and are alled seqoias (sp?). I thought they were the California redwoods, but it would be sill for them to be in Washington. Any insight from yuns?
 
Jim,

Get yourself to King's Canyon national park. Don't bother with the canyon itself, there's not a whole lot to see. But as you drive south towards what used to be sequoia nat'l park (looks like the two have merged) you'll climb out of the canyon, and at the top of the hill you'll find the General Grant tree. It's worth a stop. But the real attraction is the Giant Forest in Sequoia. Back when I was a kid (you know, when dinosaurs roamed the earth) you used to be able to camp there. We did, every summer. Growing up, I thought that's what trees were like everywhere! A few years ago, a limb fell off one of the "general" trees. Until it fell, that limb itself was larger than any tree east of the mississippi!

From a native: if you see nothing else in California, you MUST see the giant forest. It might even change your ideas about the earth, and our place in it... ;)

The most incredible part: before people got together to save them, they were being cut down to make stakes for grape vines!

Thanks,

Bill

http://www.mytravelguide.com/guides-and-advice/attachment.php?s=&postid=9697
http://www.koalie.net/Walks/200310-CA-J6/20031003143224.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~ledgett/Chad/SierraPerspective/Pictures/ShermanTree.jpg
 
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If ya really have the time (and an immunity to carsickness I do not possess), I highly recommend a drive up Hwy 1 ... it's a winding squirrelly road along the coast, lots of cliffs and such. But on the land side, after about an hour north of Mendocino, you leave the coast and land smack dab in the middle of the forrest. HUGE trees... HUGE. ;)
 
Bill,

I was born in Fresno, but practically grew up in Kings Canyon/Sequia Nat Parks.. We also spent many years at Huntington Lake, above Shaver. Another nice place to stay is Hume Lake...drive through Kings Canyon, and Hume is a quiet old logging lake. No camping charge, way back then!:eek:

Jim,

You will always cherish your trip to the parks and seeing those giant trees. Lots of history there, John Muir, lots!
 
Greg,

Wow, that really takes me back! Paradise valley, fin dome, glen pass... I actually climbed Whitney twice.

But now I'm told it's so crowded in king's canyon there are hiking restrictions, and limits on days you can stay there. I know you can't even camp in some places in Sequoia anymore. And yosemite, I'm told, almost has a freeway going into it. I'm told they don't even do the firefall off bridalveil anymore.

We were lucky to grow up when we did, and to have those places available to us. I spent whole summers just meandering up and down the muir trail, not seeing anyone for days. Now people do what they call the JMT as an organized hike. Wierd how things change so quickly... ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
"...about an hour north of Mendocino..."

Ouch, Jason. You're describing one of the formative experiences of my pitiful little life! Roadtrip north. Stop in Santa Barbara. Then on up the coast, through Frisco (she had to stop for some financial thing), then on to just north of Willis. There's a lake up there, believe it or not, privately owned, in a giant stand of coast redwoods. An old hunting lodge, there among the thousand year old trees. Boy, are those coast redwoods tall!

What's wierd is how there can be different feelings around each kind of old tree. The coast redwoods, with their fairy rings, seem to me to make cathedrals in the forest. The sequoias are stunning in their sheer mass. But the bristlecone pines are even older, it seems, and cling so precariously to life, for so long, somehow, they're just as impressive.


Odd that all this can stir up the same feelings, after 30 or 40 years. And you're right, that coast trip is very worthwhile... much better than just going up 5... ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
FWIW,

The 2 groves that I know of and frequent are Wawona up in Yosemite, and Richardson's up around Crescent City.

Yosemite is such a wonderful place, everyone should visit there first and foremost, this is the time of year it gets really nice after the snow starts to melt and the falls start roarin'...

As you travel north on 101 above the Golden Gate, about 3-4 hours you'll hit the Richardson's grove, and around Fort Leggett you can still drive through one of the trees. Yosemite doesn't allow cars to be driven inside Wawona anymore.

As you keep traveling north on 101, you will eventually cross 199 up around Crescent City, and the drive along the Smith River is very nice, and the section close to Crescent City has a nice area the road drives through with some of the redwoods.

Every woodworker should see the redwoods, they are so massive, they are so strong, yet stand silently. These are the trees of the trees...there are many tourist traps around the redwoods with gimmick one log homes, and such, but it's pretty noticable.

There's a bunch of places that carve redwood and/or other burls, either turn bowls or other similar that are sold along several places on the highway. the "Big Foot" store, south of Garberville is one of the larger ones.

Highway 199 heads up to Grants Pass, and you can catch 5 if you go that route, and that will take you all the way up to Seatle if you desire.

Crater Lake is Oregon is also a must see. But of all the places, Yosemite is a must see as the first and foremost, that place is so beautiful, it can humble the best people. Wawona which is south of the park (see google maps), all around the various falls in the park, and even tioga pass which drops out of Yosemite back into Mono Lake, a very interesting salt lake in the middle of the state.

The other wonder of CA, that is a must see is Big Sur, and highway 1 along the coast between San Luis Obispo and Carmel. Nepenthe in Big Sur is awesome to stop for lunch/dinner if you're in that area, its's one of the few places on the ocean side at Big Sur.

That is one of my favorite areas, as is Carmel. Santa Barabara is similar to Carmel in climate (Medeteranian) and has a lot of tree growth. Those areas are typically foggy in the morning due to the climate.

There are probably better places to live than California, I just haven't found them yet...:dunno:

I own property on a lake in NorCal (Clear Lake) but it has oaks all over the property.

That will be my greatest woodworking project ever...building a log home on that property...:thumb:

Here's a taste of Yosemite at the end of summer, going into fall...other areas are packed with trees around the water falls and such...(ignore car content).

 
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Jim Young said:
OK, SOme of you know that I'm taking a trip out west with my Pops this year. We haev expandede our trip a little to include a few more items. I really would like to go visit those really huge trees. I can't remember what they are called nor where they are located. My Dad was thinking they are in Washington and are alled seqoias (sp?). I thought they were the California redwoods, but it would be sill for them to be in Washington. Any insight from yuns?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure the others answered your question so I'll have a go at it! :thumb:

There are two redwoods in California. On the north coast you'll find the coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens. Lots of great viewing spots around Eureka. This is the tree that grows kinda tall :D - 360+ feet! It's also the source for redwood lumber.

On the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains you'll find the giant sequoia, Sequoia gigantia. They are short, compaired to coast redwoods. The 'General Sherman' tree is only 274 feet tall! :eek: It's considered the largest living organism. The branch that fell off last year is 6 feet in diameter and 100 feet long.

If you have the time, visit both. They are only 400+ miles apart!
 
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