Growing is Forever

Growing is Forever from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

California Wolf?

The wolf is back in California. (Found this article thanks to the Pct-l.)

Sierra Snow

Sierra snow levels. Where's the precipitation? Today we've had our first day of rain in while it seems. Hopefully drought levels won't return again this year...

Avenue of the Giants

(Eel River above)
After driving up to Prairie Creek Redwoods under blue skies, I returned home under a more common Northern California winter scene. Clouds, fog, and rain. I wanted to see the Dyerville Giant, a massive tree that fell in 1991. I heard it was in the Founder's Grove, a very popular spot in the park that I have skipped for some reason the last couple of times I've been here.

(Founder's Tree above)

Before reaching the fallen Dyerville Giant, the trail immediately visits the Founders Tree measuring in at 346 feet.

( Founder's Tree with scuff marks above)

It looked like a redwood tree had fallen quite recently, hit the Founder's Tree on it's way down, smashed part of the fence, and now lies to the left. When this happened, I don't know. The fence has been repaired, but the fall looked recent looking at the debris. I wonder if the Founder's Trees roots were damaged in the fall?

(Fallen giant next to the Founder's Tree above)

(Dyerville Giant above)

Eventually, the trail led to the Dyerville Giant. 20 years since it has fallen, it now is beginning to decay, ferns grow along it's now upward side, and a new redwood tree is growing off the top of it's roots!

(Dyerville Giant above)

(Dyerville Giant above)

After spending time in the Founder's Grove, it began to grow dark and I hit the road for home. This particular road trip had come to an end.

Prairie Creek Redwoods Part 2

I awoke in the middle of the night, and had some trouble falling back to sleep. It was Christmas morning after all. I was filled with excitement. Not from unopened presents lying under the Christmas tree from Santa Claus, but from undiscovered trails to hike upon!

As I mentioned in the previous post, I couldn't believe it when I checked my car's clock when I awoke in the morning. It was already 9:00. The inside of my vehicle was filled with condensation from sleeping in it. When I opened my car door, there was a terrible racket coming from somewhere near camp. A very strange noise I had never heard before. I assumed it was the elk in a nearby field, but I wasn't so sure. I cooked some oatmeal and looked at mushrooms growing around my campsite.

By the time I finished eating, the noise died down, and I took a short walk to the field where elk often congregate. There was nothing to be seen except dark clouds rolling in from the coast. I walked back to camp, packed up my stuff, and drove to the nearest trail head.

I took the obligatory picture in front of "The Big Tree," a 1500 year old, 305 foot giant. Big, but not nearly as big as the biggest! It started to get dark again as I took the Cathedral Trees loop trail. Eventually it started to sprinkle, and then rain. Oh well, this is a rain forest after all.

The smell of the earth, the orange pine covered trail, the rain was all overwhelming. I yearned to hike off trail, but stayed on the well maintained route. At first the redwoods offered excellent cover from the rain. It didn't take long for huge droplets to fall from the upper boughs. My rain jacket started to get soaked. After an hour or so, I returned to my car, but wanted to see more. I crossed the street and hiked along the Prairie Creek Trail. The forest was simply incredible.

There were several other tourists hiking the trails this Christmas day. At one point I stepped inside a burned out, but still living redwood. There are many of these to be found in these old growth forests. It is pretty common for some of the oldest living trees to be completely hollowed out by fire, hardly a single growth ring to be counted when they fall. While stepping inside, it offered an excellent respite from the rain. I could imagine these trees offered an excellent temporary shelter to any human who lived here long ago. Is it possible that nature provided convenient, practical shelters for humans in these forests without us even having to lift a finger?

The rain really started to come down and I was getting pretty cold and soaked, so I decided to head back to my car. I passed another trail head and couldn't resist trying to hike a little more. I put my rain jacket back on, but by this point I was getting pretty cold. I decided to call it a day, and head south.

I planned on stopping by the Avenue of the Giants on my way home, a couple hours south. I said goodbye to Redwood National Park, turned up the heat in my car, bought some coffee in Eureka, and headed down the 101.

Prairie Creek Redwoods

I drove up to Redwood National Park during my Christmas weekend since I could not go home this year. It was a different way to spend the holidays, I was a little apprehensive spending Christmas alone, but it was a gift nonetheless. I was not going to have a three day weekend for some time to come, so I wanted to take advantage of it. Prairie Creek is a place I hope to return to, a pleasant, pleasant surprise. I had no itinerary or plan, other than to drive north and see some Redwoods. Let me just say this is Forest with a capital F! Never have I seen a forest like this, and I guess nothing will ever be as grand from this point on. I was only to catch a small glimpse of it, due to time. I took a short hike Christmas eve and was literally swallowed by the forest. It seemed eternal if I didn't know any better. The woods were so thick, I couldn't imagine a bushwhack would even be possible, although some people do it. It felt like an enormous treasure chest, just waited to be discovered.

While hiking, I felt like a ruined man. Completely being ripped apart by the seems. So much to discover, so much to learn, so much to do, so many people to spend time with, so little time. To say it was all euphoria would be false. As enchanting as these forests are, my mood often becomes very gloomy in them. I was amazed how quickly light escaped. One moment, I'm looking at mushrooms and straining my neck to see the tops of the redwood giants, the next I'm hustling back towards my campsite cursing my curiosity for turning around too late. I arrived at camp after dark, relieved I did not get lost. $35.00 dollars a night to camp in a California State Park. At least give the poor the campgrounds for God's sake. Who can afford to camp for $35.00 a night?

I didn't bother setting up a tent and chose to sleep in my car instead. It's roomy enough where I can spread out. I didn't want to deal with a soaked tent in the morning. It was so dark that I fell asleep at 7:00pm. I couldn't believe it when I woke up at 9:00am on Christmas morning, it still seemed dark. Half the day was already gone!

More Redwoods

While reading the book The Wild Trees, there was a brief reference to a park in Mendocino county that once held what was thought to be the world's tallest tree, discovered by Michael Taylor a few years ago. Immediately I began to wonder where it was. After a little research, I found out that it was good ol' Montgomery Woods. Locals were relieved when an even larger tree was found in a remote unexplored section of Redwood National Park by Taylor again. After a brief period where Montgomery Woods was "trampled," redwood enthusiasts focused their excitement elsewhere, and Montgomery Woods was left in relative peace. Currently, a tree dubbed Hyperion is the world record holder, discovered by Taylor in 2006 in Redwood National Park.

Spend enough time with any person, place, or thing, and you begin to appreciate it more and more. Like any relationship, time and effort is required, creating stronger bonds. I was happy to hear that "my" park was indeed quite special. In fact, several of the tallest trees remaining in the world are located in this humble grove. They are kept somewhat of a secret, it's any one's guess which ones are the tallest. Today, I had greater appreciation for the park's location and protection. It really is a magnificent place!

Driving from Ukiah this afternoon, the weather was warm and dry. Once I reached the area where the Redwood forest began to thicken, the temperature dropped noticeably, fog lingered in the air, and water droplets began to splash on my windshield. The weather had changed. Do the trees create their own weather, or does the area's location attract cooler, damper air? One can't help but think about the forest, our relationship with it, and what the future will bring when walking here. The scars are too noticeable not to think about it. The area's history is still unfolding, requiring one to think about it. The power of these gigantic trees beg one to question.

While hiking along the PCT in Southern California, Answerman and I hiked past a wildlife refuge located off a two lane highway just south of Aqua Dulce. The refuge was located a hundred feet or so below us. A huge fence was warning people of trespassing, alerting people of wild animals. Dilapidated structures, cages, tarps, and vehicles were littered about on the property. Every now and then, we would hear a roar coming from a cage down below. I remember telling Answerman how ironic it was, that if any of these animals happened to escape, they probably would be killed by law enforcement within a matter of minutes or hours. The evolutionary advantage, the wildness within each of these creatures was now a disadvantage in the modern world. For many large beasts, their hunting, aggressive nature is now an evolutionary liability.

The same seems to be true of the Redwoods. Whatever evolutionary advantage of growing 350 feet tall, living 2000 years, and containing 18,000 cubic feet of wood, (beautiful weather resistant wood no less), now seems like an evolutionary disadvantage. Today, while examining a recent blow down, I caught myself saying how nice the wood looked, imagining a patio, furniture, or house built with the lumber. Once again, 96% of the old growth Redwood forest has been cut. 96%!

Is the same true of humans? Has our perceived strength, our ability to control and thrive in our environment becoming an evolutionary liability as resources diminish?