Redwood Splendor in Humboldt

I've been hanging out in Humboldt County for the past two days, traipsing around in the redwood forests.  This is as close as I come to going to church...and it's very close indeed.  The redwoods are both tranquil and awesome, two vibes only occasionally triggered by the same setting.  The virgin redwood forests of NW Cali do the trick.  This redwood in Humboldt Redwoods SP is named...Big Tree.  Not much of a stretch...it's 363 feet high!  I'm privileged to be visiting the redwoods only nine days after roaming among the sequoias...both magnificent.  The redwoods are taller...the sequoias are more massive.  Both live for millennia...the sequoias can survive for three thousand years, the redwoods for about 2K.

The root network of a downed redwood.  Like the sequoias, redwood roots are extensive but shallow...going down only about ten feet.

The Bull Creek redwoods in Humboldt Redwoods SP make up the largest old growth grove on the planet, and they have some of the largest trees.  The grove is sheltered from coastal winds by the King Range, protecting the trees from windfall or at least losing their tops to the gusts.  The inland location means these trees get more warm sunshine than their counterparts closer to the ocean.  And the rich alluvial soil in the creek floodplain makes the trees happy.  I should also mention that old growth redwood forests have the most biomass per acre of any ecosystem on the planet.  As may be obvious from the many massive trees in the vicinity.

A tributary stream gurgles into Bull Creek.  A lot of these tributaries usually dry up during the summer, but last winter was very wet and there's more water in the forest than usual.

Another fine group of trees.

On the coast north of Eureka, I visited Stone Lagoon.  The ocean was behind me as I took this picture.  The decaying driftwood log is far from the lagoon, even farther from the open sea, and a good ten feet above high tide.  How did it get here, and when?  A guess might be the 1963 tsunami, triggered by the Good Friday earthquake in Alaska.  The tsunami wiped out much of downtown Crescent City.

Fern Canyon, between the redwood forest and the beach in Redwood NP, is a symphony of greenery.  This is a canyon wall.

Going up the canyon, you pass through a gauntlet of ferns on each side, and may have to do a bit of wading.

A wall of ferns rises above the creek.

This bridge over Prairie Creek in Redwood NP is slowly being swallowed by the lush forest.  Notice the moss draping the branches.  It's amazing to me that this scene...and the stark desert landscape of Death Valley, are not only both in California, but are well within the state!  I live in one of the most diverse areas on earth.

I found what looked like an old bench hewn from a log, reverting to forest.  I could lay back on the seat and look straight up.  This is what I saw.

And what would a visit to a rainforest be without...a nurse log?  This one, several centuries old, has nurtured a substantial tree at least 100 feet tall.  The tree got its start taking root in the nutrients of the decaying log.  As the new plant grew, it sought out more substantial soil, and spread its roots down the nurse log to the ground.

Sierra Scenes

I wound up the mountain part of my trip with a visit to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.  Here, in Grant Grove, are some of the most massive sequoias.  These trees are not quite as tall as the coastal redwoods, but they are more massive...in fact they're the earth's largest living things.

Sequoias have thick, fire resistant bark.  A tree can withstand a major blaze and survive, gradually healing the fire scar over many centuries.

The General Grant Tree, third largest sequoia.

A few sequoias do succumb to exceptionally hot and long lived fires, but their charred trunks can remain upright for centuries.

Log Meadow, in Sequoia NP.  The trees are a mixture of white fir, sugar pine, and sequoias...the big boys.

Flowers bloom in Log Meadow.  The meadows are marshy, irrigated by streams.  Much of the year the only way to walk to the middle of a meadow is to go out on an old downed tree trunk.

Crescent Meadow, a jewel in the sequoia forest.

The sequoias thrive between 5000 and 7000 feet elevation...Crescent Meadow is around 6800.  At 9500 feet in Yosemite there are also green meadows, but trees have a harder time.  Hundreds of rocks remain where they were dropped by glaciers, now embedded in the grass and soil.

A mountain tarn in the alpine zone of Yosemite.

A tributary of the Tuolumne River rushes robustly through the forest.

Lupine and Indian paintbrush thrive.

Classic High Sierra shot at 9500 feet.  Usually in late summer most streams dry up in areas like this, but this year that process will be delayed a month or so...there's still plenty of snow to melt in the high country.

The Tuolumne River roars across the granite.

The Lizards love the granite!  This is on Pothole Dome, in Tuolumne Meadows.

The classic shot of Yosemite Valley.  Bridalveil Falls is more robust than usual at this time of year.

Sierra Sojourn

Heavy...and welcome...snows in the Sierra delayed the summer season this year.  The Tioga Pass road, usually open by Memorial Day, didn't open until near the end of June.  But by late July all the Sierra highways were finally clear of snow, though there was a lot more water and a lot more greenery than usual.  Here, near Olmstead Point on the Tioga Road, building cumulus added to the picture.

Love the vast expanses of granite in the High Sierra!

Easy to see why John Muir called the Sierra "The range of light".

Tenaya Lake, a favorite spot of mine for 40 years.  In early June 1977, heading home after completing my four years in the Navy, I camped here for several days, right by the water.  I would explore the mountains by day and revel in the tranquility and beauty here during the evening.  The campground is long gone, but it's still a fine picnic spot, and wading in the water on a warm day is most pleasant.

There was still a lot of snow on the high peaks considering it was late July, and the meadows were lush.

Stark terrain at timberline just east of Tioga Pass.

I traveled to Mammoth Lakes, where I rented a cozy cabin on one of the lakes above town...at 8500 feet elevation.  This was the view in the morning.  Blow up the pic and you can see a waterfall descending from Lake Mary, which provided a nice backdrop of rushing water all night long.

TJ Lake, at 9300 feet, above Mammoth Lakes.  Coming from sea level, and being fat and 65, it was an embarassingly tough trek...only a mile with 400 feet elevation gain, but...but it was worth it.

Another shot of TJ Lake.

And here's The Mammoth, at the ski area.  A fine life size replica.  The Lizards were excited to meet him!  The ski area stayed open til the 4th of July, three weeks earlier.  There were still old moguls on some of the higher slopes.  The founder of the ski area, Dave McCoy, is 101 and still rolling!  He's stopped skiing, though...quit at 93.  A life well lived, I reckon.  

The Minarets, west of Mammoth Mountain, cut a foreboding but majestic figure on the horizon.