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Hyperion Redwood: Tallest Known Tree

Started by mdvaden, January 27, 2009, 03:02:29 PM

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mdvaden

Managed to find Hyperion Redwood last Friday. It's nice looking tree. But I found the tributary and valley to be the most amusing part of the day.

Much bear activity from claw marks, to fish meal leftovers, to fresh footprints.

I had planned to look in spring when weather is warmer. When I got to Orick, CA, I realized the river was not too high. My day of exploring really started out just to get a feel for the remote valley. But since the sun was out, the extra day length provided an opportunity to reach higher elevation and eventually find the redwood.

Was in the water about 1/3 of the time - not over waist deep though: most ankle to knee water.

Will try to post - am rusty with images here still ...


SwampDonkey

How tall?  ;D How many 7.5 meter D-tapes does it take to wrap one of those?  ;) Bears waking up already? Even on the Charlottes where it is mild and hardly any snow, they slept 'til April.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

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CLL

Don't let Arky see that tree he'll have Wanda hooked to the truck and be looking for directions. :D
Too much work-not enough pay.

WDH

I would love to measure that beauty ;D.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

mdvaden

Quote from: SwampDonkey on January 27, 2009, 03:08:05 PM
How tall?  ;D How many 7.5 meter D-tapes does it take to wrap one of those?  ;) Bears waking up already? Even on the Charlottes where it is mild and hardly any snow, they slept 'til April.

The researcher who climbed it lowered a tape to measure it. Might be a single 400 foot tape. It's 379 feet tall.

The diameter is 15' - so that's what, about two 7.5 meter tapes for circumference?

The largest trunks in that area are several coast redwoods with 72' to 74' circumference trunks at DBH.

I'm not sure if the Black Bears ALL hibernate down there.

About 2 hours west of there in Red Buttes Wilderness, on a mountaintop hiking, there were fresh bear tracks planted over the ones I made on my way up a couple of hours earlier - in a few inches of snow.

I just checked the photo of the bear track - December 10th of 2005. Not technically winter on the calendar, but winter weather season in the mountains here.

SwampDonkey

Quote from: mdvaden on January 27, 2009, 11:08:10 PM

How tall?  ;D How many 7.5 meter D-tapes does it take to wrap one of those?  ;) Bears waking up already? Even on the Charlottes where it is mild and hardly any snow, they slept 'til April.

The diameter is 15' - so that's what, about two 7.5 meter tapes for circumference?

Not quite 2. I've measured red cedar that took 2 tapes as well. They were 150 footers and survived wild fire. ;)

QuoteThe largest trunks in that area are several coast redwoods with 72' to 74' circumference trunks at DBH.

72' = about 3 tapes.  ;)

Quote
I just checked the photo of the bear track - December 10th of 2005. Not technically winter on the calendar, but winter weather season in the mountains here.

Often bear are still awake here in December if snow does not come too early and too deep. I've seen tracks until almost Christmas on a light dusting of snow. They do not venture far from the den however.



December 5, 2004
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Stump Jumper Jr

Thats a nice tree too bad we did not have them size of trees in michigan.

Tillaway

Was that the one that was just listed about ten years ago?  I thought it was farther south in an isolated State Park.

I cruised one in the Headwaters that was 360' to the break. :o  I wonder how tall it was before the top blew out.  There is a 273' Grand Fir in there as well.  Three people measured that one on different occasions.  One was using a laser.
Making Tillamook Bay safe for bait; one salmon at a time.

Clark

Tillaway - What was the diameter on that grand fir?  On Gerald Beranek's website he has a video of himself falling one that he claims "As white fir go it's about as big as they come."  Unfortunately he does not give any descriptions beyond that.

Clark
SAF Certified Forester

Dodgy Loner

The Stratosphere Giant was the largest known tree, at 368', from 1968 until 2006.  In 2006, three trees taller than that were found in Redwood National Park: Icarus, at 371', Helios, at 376', and Hyperion, the tallest at 378'.
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

SPIKER

TREES BIGGER THAN A FOOT BALL FIELD IS LONG!

I spent a long weekend up there back in 91.  VERY impressive trees, General Sherman was big around, the REDWOOD however were simply massive.   I was up to that Hyplilon tree, way cool. hiked and camped up there all off the trails...  Maybe wasn't supposed to be in there but no one stopped me. :)   I have some pics someplace of the girl I took up there, beside that tree. she like like a doll next to a regular tree.! 8).   We were disturbed by a smaller black bear, (ya small is not what it felt like at the time) but we all lived to tell about it later.   

Mark m
I'm looking for help all the shrinks have given up on me :o

mdvaden

Quote from: Clark on January 29, 2009, 12:57:07 PM
Tillaway - What was the diameter on that grand fir?  On Gerald Beranek's website he has a video of himself falling one that he claims "As white fir go it's about as big as they come."  Unfortunately he does not give any descriptions beyond that.

Clark

The past couple of weeks, I've been reading "A Tree Story" from Gerald Beranek. He's actually a pretty good story teller. It's been enjoyable reading.

Preston in "The Wild Trees" several times denotes Steve Sillett as the first to enter old growth redwood canopy. But in my book review for The Wild Trees, I've posted a linked image to Beranek's site, and mention his 70's climbs in contrast.

May as well keep the history straight.

Tom

On trees bigger than a football field is long, the bottom bole anchors the tree and keeps it from wandering off. The middle bole connects the bottom bole to the top bole, and the top bole is the hyperbole or would that be the Super bole? :-\

mdvaden

Quote from: Tom on January 30, 2009, 12:10:46 AM
On trees bigger than a football field is long, the bottom bole anchors the tree and keeps it from wandering off. The middle bole connects the bottom bole to the top bole, and the top bole is the hyperbole or would that be the Super bole? :-\

That's pretty good.

How about a movie like the "Longest Yard" about removal or gathering / harvesting?

SPIKER

I remember seeing some OLD photos of trees coming down out of the area on a train, one log per car, each log was bigger  around than the car was wide !  then an additional picture of three logs on rail cars, 2 on bottom and 1 on top.   I'm not sure HOW they moved the trees back then !?!?   Also saw a picture of some guys with a mule team, lots of mules, pulling a sleigh/log pile that was a good 30' high and wide/long!  was all chained up, (guy from work brought these in few years back that he had in book and or actual pictures back in late 1800's by the looks of the photos)  Book showed the photos with the rail cars coming down out of the mountains...   I find it hard to figure out how they/them/someone would handle logs that size now adays let alone back in the day...
8) :o :o :o

Mark
I'm looking for help all the shrinks have given up on me :o

mdvaden

Quote from: SPIKER on January 30, 2009, 05:25:52 PM
I remember seeing some OLD photos of trees coming down out of the area on a train, one log per car, each log was bigger  around than the car was wide !  then an additional picture of three logs on rail cars, 2 on bottom and 1 on top.   I'm not sure HOW they moved the trees back then !?!?   

I was reading some stuff on the CD I got from Gerald Beranek last night again, and he included an old historic photo where a big redwood log was being hoisted onto a rail car or truck using a redwood spar tree. Still boggles my understanding. Takes a while to sink in.

SwampDonkey

I believe during the war they constructed red cedar corduroy roads onto which they laid rail to transport timber and steam donkey engines (a steam powered winch) to move spruce timber for Mosquito bomber aircraft wings. This method of logging was termed ground leading, as apposed to today's high leading. I've seen and walked these roads at Moresby camp on the Queen Charlotte Islands. Cumshewa Inlet has some of these old steam donkeys over grown in the forest north of Aero Camp, just east of the previous mentioned camp. We were cruising second growth timber out there. As far as I recall they had steam locomotives on these rail roads.

"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Paul_H

My Great Uncle Bob Lasser was a navigator on the Mosquitos during WWII.I got a model of Mosquito as a Christmas present when I was 8 years old and he watched and told stories about it as I glued it together on newspaper on the kitchen table.That memory is clear as yesterday.I kept that plane a couple years until I got a pellet gun and it's last mission was on a Summer day hanging by string from our clothesline.

Uncle Bob's Dad(my G Grandfather) was killed in a logging accident in 1932 and the company,Merle and Ring gave young Bob work after school and weekends moving water pipes and firewood for the steam donkeys.
He's still alive and in his 90's now.
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

mdvaden

Quote from: SwampDonkey on January 30, 2009, 06:52:40 PM
I believe during the war they constructed red cedar corduroy roads onto which they laid rail to transport timber and steam donkey engines (a steam powered winch) to move spruce timber for Mosquito bomber aircraft wings. This method of logging was termed ground leading, as apposed to today's high leading. I've seen and walked these roads at Moresby camp on the Queen Charlotte Islands. Cumshewa Inlet has some of these old steam donkeys over grown in the forest north of Aero Camp, just east of the previous mentioned camp. We were cruising second growth timber out there. As far as I recall they had steam locomotives on these rail roads.



I saw a photo not long ago of logs being slid down a road or up a road that looked stairstepped with small logs across. Anything like the coduroy roads you referred to? Or something altogether different?

SwampDonkey

Sounds similar.  ;)


I thought I had pictures. But, I had a crappy camera back then.  So, I don't know if they turned out.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

SwampDonkey

Here's a description of the location for boaters that might want to hike the rail road with the steam donkeys, has GPS position from the water's edge. I seem to recall some type of wharf or landing there all run down. I could see why the Haida made those Islands their homes. :)

"East Moresby Is., Cumshewa Inlet -  53°01' Gillatt Arm - trail to Skidegate Lake along old railway line. Passes old steam donkey engine and remains of Aero camp - 4 miles; also trail to mosquito Lake. "

Taken from http://www.island.net/~bcamp/#HHHH

I've also been on a lot of other trails up on Graham Island. In recent years I believe they have been trying to conserve those places as heritage sites of sorts.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

SwampDonkey

The wet climate is not for me, but it is drier over there than the coastal mainland. Still wet.  ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Paul_H

Quote from: mdvaden on February 02, 2009, 06:37:52 PM

I saw a photo not long ago of logs being slid down a road or up a road that looked stairstepped with small logs across. Anything like the coduroy roads you referred to? Or something altogether different?


Here is a link that shows a picture of Oxen pulling logs on a skid road.Is that the type of road you  saw? It was common on the West Coast before the turn of the century.The skid road had sleepers,or logs(skids) layed crosswise and sunk halfway in the ground and had a notch cut out of the middle to guide the log.The skids were greased regularily with lard or whale oil or what have you and the greaser(PF) rode on a small carved boat called a "pig" which had the grease and brushes and other tools and was hooked to the last log and dragged behind the turn.
The Bull Puncher stayed up with the lead Ox when pulling the turn but he would ride the Pig on the way back out.

Link

Another link with a good pic

Skidroad

Ground lead to my understanding involves a steam donkey with at least one drum and the line was run out through the fairlead to the log in the bush.When the turn was hooked up,the donkey puncher went ahead on it and dragged the log along the ground.Ground lead makes some real trenches and will plow the soil up just like a farmer's plow.
The operation in the pictures here show a ground lead show on a little rail line.The line is hauled back out in the bush with a "line horse"

See in the first pic how the ground is trenched? There were a lot more men involved in taking a log out of the bush back then.





This next one is a close up of the steam donkey and the line horse





and the gin pole and L tongs to horse the logs onto the car.





The pics are a little blurry but it was the best I could dowith the camera,I've had this picture for over 20 years and it hangs in our living room.
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

beenthere

This thread discussed some about steam-powered winches.

Ran across this one yesterday at a local "junk/surplus" dealer. Rusted, and some broken cast parts on the capstan "pulley", but otherwise was pretty complete (with wire rope).



south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

SwampDonkey

I wonder if something like that would have been on a boat?
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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