Sequoia National Park

When we were deciding on our next National Park destination and Jordan said to me, "I just want to see the biggest tree," I did not know whether we should be looking for redwoods or sequoias. So, I did some research and, it turns out, redwoods are the tallest, but sequoias are the largest by volume. So we headed to Sequoia National Park, home of the largest tree in the world! Sequoias grow only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevadas, between altitudes of 4,500ft and 8,000ft. They are found nowhere else in the world.

This is The Sentinel, a 2,200-year old sequoia which weighs 700 tons (more than two fully loaded jumbo jets). It's definitely huge, but is actually just average in terms of sequoias.

Being that, naturally, as you look up at a tree, its apparent size diminishes and it is hard to gauge just how tall it really is (just as things that are far down the street look smaller than they really are, and become apparently larger as you approach them), it is hard to really appreciate the size of a sequoia tree. So, this cement line that goes on as far as you can see in this picture is there to demonstrate how tall The Sentinel is, only you get to understand it in terms of walking distance. I walked it -- it's really tall!!!

The bark of sequoia trees is fibrous and protects the trees from fire. Younger trees with thinner bark are more likely to perish in wildfires, while older trees are generally kept safe from fire by their thick bark. Many of the larger trees have bark that envelopes older, black bark that has previously been through fire (see photos above). The tree in the righthand photo did not make it, but the tree to the left is still going strong. Also, the photo in the middle of is of a young sequoia pinecone. Fire actually helps to dry these out and causes them to release their seeds. Fire can be a good thing in forests.

Hangin' out in a tree

General Sherman -- with a volume of 52,500 cubic feet, this is the largest tree on earth! At 275ft tall, General Sherman has grown to its maximum height, but will continue to grow in width every year (until it dies). Its current circumference at ground level is approximately 103ft. General Sherman is 3,200 years old and weighs in at 1,325 tons (almost twice the weight of The Sentinel)!!!

Part of a limb that General Sherman lost back in 2006.

No big deal

Deer!

The trees have interesting names.

Those are baby sequoias towards the bottom left and center of this photo. They start off growing tall and skinny, and then grow wide (like people)! All the trees in this photo are sequoias at various stages of growth.

Wowzers

We went to Moro Rock, where we climbed 350 steps up to an elevation of 6,725ft. The views were spectacular!

The most beautiful part of the day! Just kidding. In 'N Out Burger. You have to have to have to go when you are in California. You have to. We stayed overnight in Visalia, and it generally sucks there. Well, all the people we encountered were sucky. Sorry if you live in Visalia and don't suck, but I think you probably do.