Big Trees

We made a quick stop in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.  These two parks are connected and managed together.  I still haven’t completely figured out why they are separate parks though.  Much of the parks are still closed, so we didn't see much of Kings Canyon.  We did get a good look at the Sequoias though, which was what I wanted to do anyway.  Must be the forestry degree showing. 

Sequoias are very large trees.  Though they are not the tallest trees, they are the largest by volume.  The trunks are quite impressive.  The parks are home to five of the six largest trees in the world.  These massive trees are extremely hardy and can withstand fire, insects, and even lightning.  Hence, they live a long time.  What does eventually get them is toppling.  They have a shallow root system and no taproot.  Most root systems grow no deeper than five feet below the surface and they are susceptible to insect and fungal damage.

The Sequoias are big enough to drive under.

Still a little snow at 6000 feet.

Walking on a fallen tree.

Incredibly shallow root system for such a big tree.

Some people even used them as cabins.

Inside of Tharp's Tree.

You can disappear inside.

Really, I am in there.

We went on a dangerous hike to the top of Moro Rock.

Over three hundred steps to the top.

View from the top. It was a bit cloudy.

General Sherman from a distance.

General Sherman is the largest living tree by volume.  It is about 2200 years old.  It has a diameter of 36.5 feet. Although it is only 275 feet tall, it weighs an estimated 1385 tons.

Information on General Sherman.

A stand of trees, 

Sequoia Seedlings.

Sugar Pine cones.  They are about a foot long.

A group of sequoias.

General Grant.

General Grant is the world’s third largest tree. It does have the largest base diameter of 40.3 feet.  It actually tapers quickly and thus, has less volume than General Sherman.  It is a young’un at only 1700 years.

This gives a better perspective of the size of the trees.