Post by bobby1 on Aug 13, 2011 11:51:47 GMT -5
We went to the Calaveras Big Trees State Park for the first time (even though it is only 60 miles away) and did some hiking. The weather wasn't too bad - it was in the mid 80's -and the humidity was low as usual. This tree was cut down in 1852 and they planned on transporting the stump section to the right around the East Coast as a tourist attraction shortly after the grove of big trees was discovered but the deal fell through, perhaps due to the impractability of moving such a large section of the tree.
This photo gives some perspective of the size of the trees in the park.
It is really hard to get a shot of the trees from a distance to show their size. These trees are the largest in the world in terms of mass. There are some trees around the world that have a larger trunk diameter but not the height of these. The coast redwoods that stretch up the California coast from about San Francisco to the Oregon border that are not as massive but are taller at 380 feet.
My wife has severe breathing difficulties especially at this altitude - about 5000 feet - so she hung around the park headquarters and took some short walks. My grandson and I decided to be more adventureous and hike some of the trails. We decided to hike part of the River Canyon Trail which is about 5-1/2 miles long. It starts climbing about 500 feet and then has a steep 1200 feet drop down to the river. I hadn't planned on doing something this strenuous or long so we didn't have enough time, water or snacks to go the full distance. We did go about halfway down towards the river and stopped at this meadow to rest before climbing back up to the top.
After huffing, chuffing, panting and wheezing I finally made it to the top while my grandson was barely breathing hard. Maybe I'm getting too old for this stuff but I will never quit trying, though. At the bottom of the hill we got a fellow hiker to take our photo together.
My grandson has to go back to school next week so maybe next year we will make it all the way down to the Stanislaus River.
I believe Adrian went to this park on his visit to California.
Bob
This photo gives some perspective of the size of the trees in the park.
It is really hard to get a shot of the trees from a distance to show their size. These trees are the largest in the world in terms of mass. There are some trees around the world that have a larger trunk diameter but not the height of these. The coast redwoods that stretch up the California coast from about San Francisco to the Oregon border that are not as massive but are taller at 380 feet.
My wife has severe breathing difficulties especially at this altitude - about 5000 feet - so she hung around the park headquarters and took some short walks. My grandson and I decided to be more adventureous and hike some of the trails. We decided to hike part of the River Canyon Trail which is about 5-1/2 miles long. It starts climbing about 500 feet and then has a steep 1200 feet drop down to the river. I hadn't planned on doing something this strenuous or long so we didn't have enough time, water or snacks to go the full distance. We did go about halfway down towards the river and stopped at this meadow to rest before climbing back up to the top.
After huffing, chuffing, panting and wheezing I finally made it to the top while my grandson was barely breathing hard. Maybe I'm getting too old for this stuff but I will never quit trying, though. At the bottom of the hill we got a fellow hiker to take our photo together.
My grandson has to go back to school next week so maybe next year we will make it all the way down to the Stanislaus River.
I believe Adrian went to this park on his visit to California.
Bob
