On the way back from Hume Lake we go to see the Boole Tree, the 6th largest tree in the world. It is a 3 mile drive down a dirt forest service road.
This area once had thousands of Giant Sequoias but only the Boole Tree was spared
It is sad to see so many enormous stumps and imagine what this forest looked like before it was logged.
We arrive at the trailhead and the no seeums are fierce. It is a 1 mile hike to the Boole tree and continues to make a 2.5 mile loop. Because of the no seeums we decide to just go to the tree and back
Not many pictures of the hike to the Tree as eyes are closed and breathing in bugs along the way. At one point we crossed a muddy little marsh and while I was trying to push on, Tucson decided to lay down and wait for Gary - it was not pretty.
We arrive at the Boole Tree. The Converse Basin Grove is the largest Sequoia Grove in the world, but only one giant remains. It was named after the logging supervisor who spared it because of its size - it was then thought to be the largest tree in the world. It is the largest Sequoia in Sequoia National Forest just outside Kings Canyon NP
Though it is the 6th largest tree by volume it is the largest in ground circumference of the top 30 and beats out all but the General Sherman in Height of the 5 others considered larger.
The bugs were less fierce when we got to the Tree so we decide to finish the loop and hope that the rest of the loop is not as bad as that first mile
There is a gentle breeze and the views become spectacular, though you can see a fire in the distance. We hope it is a prescribed fire.
Tucson is a good boy and waits for us slower folk.
We make it back to the parking lot and make a mad dash to the truck as the bugs are back!
Our next stop on the way home is the Chicago Stump.
There are other impressive stumps along the way
Just over a 1/2 mile and we arrive
It was originally known as the Noble Tree and was cut down 1897 for the
Chicago Worlds Fair to show people the size of the Sequoias. It was cut
into sections and reassembled at the fair. People called it the
California Hoax because they didn't believe a tree that big could
exist. Though the oldest living Sequoia cannot be determined by its
rings, the Chicago Stump rings put it at 3200 years old when it was cut
down.
Another incredible day.
Your blog is a wonderful way to share the sights from my "backyard." I'm a local tour guide and I'm offering up one small correction to your Chicago Stump history.
ReplyDeleteIn 1875 plans were underway for the nation's 1876 celebration of the U.S. Centennial in Philadelphia. A tree of sufficient size was chosen to use as an example of the Giant Sequoias. The tree was located approx 200 feet from the General Grant tree. It took 9 days to bring it down and the stump left behind was named the Centennial Stump.
A 16 foot section of the tree was cut out and and hollowed out so only the shell (bark and outer layers of heartwood) were left to display the enormity of the hollowed-out Giant Sequoia. For transportation, the shell had to cut into pieces to be shipped, then reassembled in Philadelphia. It was at the Centennial Celebration where visitors refused to believe any tree could be that large. They were the first to use the term, "California Hoax."
The remnants of the fallen tree remain on the ground pointing from the Centennial Stump to the General Grant tree and can be seen across the path in front of the General Grant.