Pioneer Cabin tree

[Den Socling]

I just read that the giant tree with a tunnel through it fell in Norther California yesterday. It was a Giant Sequoia. The article said it shattered when it hit the ground. I always wanted to see it. DanG!

[petefrom bearswamp]

Saw a pic on the news.
Looked largely intact but seemed to have a lot of bark missing.

[Magicman]

We were in an RV and could not drive through it, but we did walk through it.  Yup, sad that it is now gone, but of course cutting and enlarging the hole through it probably contributed to it's falling.   :'(

I bought a nice Redwood burl from their store that now serves as my Elk Antler Plaque. 

[KirkD]

From the picture on the news I saw I don't think it was the one you can drive through that went down.

[Magicman]

This was a different tree than the one we saw.  The news:

The Pioneer Cabin Tree was in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, 100 miles southeast of Sacramento. Its trunk was hollowed out in the 1880s to compete with similar trees in Yosemite National Park, perhaps 50 miles further to the southeast, as the crow flies.

At first, only hikers passed through the Pioneer Cabin Tree. Then cars, once they were invented, were allowed. But more recently, passage was again limited to pedestrians only.

This says SE of Sacramento.  The tree that we saw was a Redwood which was NW of Sacramento.

[KirkD]

Yes this is the one in northern California.

http://www.drivethrutree.com/

[Den Socling]

How about that? There is more than one drive-through tree. You wouldn't expect any tree to survive all of that chopping. BTW that's a cool picture with thee old Chevy in the tree.

[clearcut]

There are 3 privately owned coast redwoods along the Avenue of the Giants in NE California that you can still drive through.

All of the tunneled giant sequoias have fallen or are walking only. There is a fallen log in Sequoia- Kings Canyon that has a tunnel that can be driven through. And you can visit Tharp's Log, a cabin built into a fallen giant sequoia.

The redwoods and giant sequoias are worth a visit even if you can't drive through them.

[snowstorm]

i have a large framed picture of one in the mariposa grove also says wawona. dated 1902 with a horse and wagon driving through it

[clearcut]

The Wawona Tunnel tree, fell in 1969 under heavy snow load.

[Brucer]

Heavy rainfall and a shallow root system brought this one down. The latest rainfall was 6" and the hiking trails around the tree were completely flooded. There was another major rainfall a week or two ago.

These trees are up to 3000 years old. I expect someone will count the rings on this one sooner or later.

[petefrom bearswamp]

I remember the Wawona tree from a disney book I had as a kid.
Mickey and Minnie I think were traveling with a small trailer and got stuck in the tunnel.
As memory fades this may be a figment of my active imagination

[Don P]

I remember seeing that one laying on its side in '72 I think. I remember reading somewhere years ago that a giant sequoia shatters when it lands leaving little useful.

[Bill Gaiche]

 

  

  

  

       Brove thru both of these a couple of years ago. They are magnificent trees. bg

[Kbeitz]

That's one heck of a lot of wood....

[ScottCC]

23 years ago I camped under those trees and I think I can still smell them.  Wish I was not in such a rush back then, or now for that matter.