Redwood ... bigger than average

[mdvaden]

A fine example of a double...can you estimate the individual diameters at the split?

If you follow the line, the main trunk reaches almost all the way to the right side. It's 20 feet average diameter DBH.

The small stem is sort of embedded / attached on the side and becomes a 5' to 6' thick stem. Maybe 7'. We didn't wrap the small one, but did measure the largest.

It's mostly a single stem with a huge sprout.

 

[Burnham]

Ahh...thanks, Mario.

 

[Bodean]

Le WoW Grande,

Thanks for sharing. Those are some pumpkins.
Great photos. Stoked they're (sic trees) still here.

 

[Altissimus]

Big...

 

[gf beranek]

Nice, indeed! Area looks pretty pristine. Would love to get some angles on those myself.

Terri and I just made it back from Jed Smith and Prairie Creek. Spent a few days going over some of the same trails trying to capture some trees in different lighting. Got a few good ones, but nothing quite as big as those.

Nice pics, Mario. Lets get together soon!

 

[mdvaden]

Nice, indeed! Area looks pretty pristine. Would love to get some angles on those myself.

Terri and I just made it back from Jed Smith and Prairie Creek. Spent a few days going over some of the same trails trying to capture some trees in different lighting. Got a few good ones, but nothing quite as big as those.

Nice pics, Mario. Lets get together soon!

It would be a bushwhack, but I think if you packed light we could pull it off sometime. I cringed that I didn't squeeze-in an email to you folks, knowing you were up that way. But I found my time crunched having Atkins pre-slated as a bushwhacking partner for some intense off-trail ... two days. And a test shoot with a woman from Brookings who may likely be my future model in Jed Smith and Prairie Creek vicinity.

 

[gf beranek]

Just let me know when you have the time and feel up to it. It's about the same drive for both of us. Oh, and I was going to say, you got those trees in damn good light.

I finally got a half descent pic of Stout Grove. Not quite the one I been trying to get with the morning fog breaking as the sun rises, but rather an afternoon clearing of a high weather front. I'll post a follow up of that one.

 

[mdvaden]

Here's one more you may know very well ... where I finally feel I got decent light. Some photo adjustment too, but had a good head start with overcast and early in the day time. Taken plenty of this one other times, but this is my favorite image so far.

 

[gf beranek]

That's a tough tree to get a good angle on. Let alone lighting. It's just so limited by all the little hemlocks and fir around it. A few should be taken out, I feel.

Here's that shot of Stout grove, and a couple of other trees I shot before. Just a little different angle and lighting this time. Oh, take note of the hole in the skyline of Stout Grove, which resulted from where that one big tree fell last year.

I'll post a few more of our trip to the bristle cone pines, and the eastern Sierra in another thread, later.

View attachment 56654

 

[gf beranek]

No matter how I position those pics they always end up differently when I submit the post. Oh, well.

 

[Marc-Antoine]

Incredible trees.
Too bad that the weather in Europe isn't good enough for them.

 

[Mick!]

No matter how I position those pics they always end up differently when I submit the post. Oh, well.

All fine on my iPad. Good pics.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I don't know why that happens. Perhaps name them alphabetically or in numeric order?

 

[mdvaden]

Atkins and Hildebrandt did a preliminary volume measure a few days ago. Atkins, using his method, came up with 35,500 cubic ft., which would make this tree almost the 5th largest known Coast Redwood. Hildebrandt is still crunching numbers using his method.

 

[mdvaden]

Atkins called that Hildebrant finished his number crunching, with a preliminary volume estimate of 38,299 cu. ft.

That's indicative of potential for a possible 3rd largest Coast Redwood. Illuvatar has been listed at #3 with 37,500 cu. ft. previously.

I also added another page for this new discovery, mentioning it's not the largest we found.

Regarding this one tree in the OP, pin-point measure will need to be on the back burner until a future day if a research team has time to climb and measure starting overhead.

...

 

[mdvaden]

Recently, I got an email from Michael Taylor, where he made an interesting point.

That this redwood may potentially be the largest known coast redwood. When dealing with a single trunk. Omitting fused trunks or basal sprouts from the root system.

Lost Monarch, listed some places as largest, is 42,500 cu. ft., but 6,000 cu. ft. of that is a large basal sprout. It's main trunk is 36,500 cu. ft. The Melkor, the 2nd largest, was called "Fusion Giant" and that for a reason. There's a line up the center with different color bark on either side. Functionally it's one tree, but it appears to be an ancient fusion of two trunks.

Next largest is Illuvatar at about 37,500 cu. ft. ... main trunk and all major reiterations combined.

 

[mdvaden]

Went back to photograph this coast redwood again this summer. We finally published it's name ... Grogan's Fault

Its basically confirmed now that this is the largest known coast redwood, and it appear to be at least 1307 points, maybe 309 points. But we have no plans to nominate it to American Forests. General Sherman is 1321 points.

Even though a different species, this coast redwood would be a co-champion national big-tree. It will probably tie or exceed General Sherman withing our lifetime. Conifers.org added to their Sequoia sempervirens page this summer.

For those familiar with photography ... I am standing forward of the tree's center to avoid exaggerating its size.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I still wanna hollow out a home to live inside one of those monsters! Nothing too invasive - just a snug 'lil crib.

 

[mdvaden]

I would be content with a tree house.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'd have that, too.

And a zip line from the very top to 3, 4 miles away.

 

[gf beranek]

It's a beauty, Mario. I hope the points add up to make it officially a champion. Thanks!!

 

[flushcut]

And to think those beasts were felled with crosscut and axe! I can't even...

 

[MasterBlaster]

I can cypher chopping them down, that's the easy part.

Bucking, then moving those behemoths... that's the part I can't imagine doing!

 

[mdvaden]

I find it all the more remarkable, because its often very hard to even walk or get around in those forests. They may have done some burning of debris, but regardless, it would be work just to get to work, let along the felling and transportation.

 

[sotc]

Punkin!