mdvaden

Gnarly ,,

Brother and sister from Jamaica. The trip was worth it. A 2020 edit of a photo taken several years ago. The sister is a wedding photographer back in Jamaica, but loves trees.

An inviting bend en route to James Irvine trail.

Still visiting the redwoods, but more like every couple months lately.

There was a lot of forest fire in that area a couple years ago. Hit and miss, but plenty of burnt patches among the forest. Here's the base of the same pine in the video I posted above. I'm behind the trunk, so it's actual size is about 5 feet diameter.

After getting over the 212 foot Sequoidendron without getting snagged in branches, I went above 260 feet today, returning to a Ponderosa pine we found in 2011, in southern Oregon.

The Super Colossus. Apparently, the main trunk may be entirely burl, and 28 ft. dbh.

How about some structure. Try full screen view, adjust settings for "HD" and volume as desired.

A 2020 edit from past year's family photos for another tree guy, when he and his wife and children went to Prairie Creek redwood park.

Although my first measure was with taking 4 readings, I remeasured again two days ago just to be certain, and using two different lasers. Got 212 ft. once again. The top has almost no competition from other trees, so the height and reach for it's age in the top section has me curious about its growth.

The tallest Sequoiadendron in the natural range is around 300 to 320 feet, thereabout. Wonder how long it takes any of those to make their way from 200 to 300.

After about 12 years, I returned again to see the historic Bigfoot Trap a stone throw from the Oregon and California border.

Enjoyed the rain a few days ago at Jedediah Smith redwood park. Try full screen view ...

Every fire I'm aware of in there is natural occuring.

Recently, our son and his wife moved to a camp in southern Oregon. I noticed a large trunk behind a wood shed, and realized it was a Sequoiadendron - cones, foliage, etc.. I went back to help sort an old wood pile, then afterward we measured the tree for fun. I was surprised to learn it was 212 feet tall. The diameter is over 7 ft. dbh. It's one of the best formed Sequoiadendron I've seen in the Pacific NW. A few others have emailed or suggested it may be the world's tallest planted Sequoiadendron outside the species natural range. Here's a video I posted on Youtube:

A couple minutes of video .... try theater or full screen mode ...

Ewok dwelling? Jedediah Smith park. First day out with a vintage Zeiss Flektogon 50mm I bought via Ebay from a man in Austria.

This page of mine may help some: Redwoods. The best places to see the Redwoods. Redwood Forest Visit Itinerary. Redwood Hikes with Dogs. WWW.MDVADEN.COM Where to see the redwoods. Where to stay in the redwoods. The Best Redwood Hiking. Best Viewing. The best place to see the most in a small space of time is Avenue of the Giants and Humboldt Redwoods State Park, just south of Eureka, California, and Redwood National and State Parks north of Eureka. If you had just one day, either one works. If you have several days, try for at least one day in Humbold Redwoods, and a couple days north. I would suggest skipping "Redwood National Park" unless you have 4 days or a full week. Be sure to include Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. There's enough in those for 3 days easy. The photo below is the entrance to Cal-Barrel Rd. in Prairie Creek park. An extra place to park and wander around. The Octobery 2009 Nat Geo cover redwood is less than 1000 feet from this spot.

Starting a fresh thread about coast redwoods for 2020. First photo will be the tree below in Jedediah Smith park. The Mill Creek trail leading to it will be closed into 2020 for construction. Updates at this page link: Grove of Titans Coast Redwoods. Directions, Facts and Photos. WWW.MDVADEN.COM Grove of Titans Redwoods. Directions, Information and Photography. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Trails and Location. Coast redwoods are both the tallest and widest diameter tree species. There is an Arbole del Tule cypress reported wider, but I am referring to complete entire columns of mass and wood, not buttressed trees with 40% air space within the circumference. The tallest and widest coast redwoods are solid and "entire" over 29 ft. wide at dbh and stretching over 386 ft. the full reach top to bottom.

A trunk that extends over 386 ft.

Old growth redwood climb. If some of you want to climb 200 to 300 feet, Expedition Old Growth may be able to help you, although it may be something like Douglas fir.

One more ..

Some may wonder if these shirts are Chris Atkins' "mojo" to finding the world's tallest trees. He found one world height record around 2000, I think it was, then co-discovered the next in 2006. Here, he's on the prowl for largest coast redwoods.

Plenty of rules. I'm still learning. Distances from airports, certain forests off limits, etc.. For some forests, I'm planning a few discreet videos for my own files. But done away from people.

Last October, I bought an extra used camera for a wedding, and recently listed it on Craigslist. A guy offered his DJI Spark Drone, with 1080 video, which is ample for now. I'm surprised how stable the unit can fly. I'm a complete newb to controls, and did a practice run by an urban coast redwood tree. And it looks like the tree may possibly have some albino foliage. I'll go back next spring and see how pale the new foliage growth looks. One guy considered an albino tree expert, saw the video and replied that the foliage is albino. Anyway, here's a sample I shared today on Youtube.