Giant redwoods - Tallest - Redwood forest information

Grove of Titans, Atlas Grove, Hyperion, Photos

by Mario Vaden .......... Sequoia sempervirens = seh - kwoi' - ah ... sehm - per - veye' - rhens

mdvadenoforegon@juno.com - Feel free to share your redwood adventures or redwood photos.

Welcome to the giant coast redwoods page, including Hyperion the tallest redwood, Jedediah Smith Grove of Titans and Prairie Creek Atlas Grove. Did you know that the other redwoods, giant sequoia, are not the largest in the world? That's right. Only six of them are. Lost Monarch coast redwood is larger than all other Sequoiadendron except those six, and even has a larger trunk (26.0') at DBH than General Sherman, the largest giant sequoia (25.1' DBH).

The larger photos can be found in the redwood albums provided. And some notes are provided for redwoods Hyperion & Helios including the 60 mile rule. In the photos are Iluvatar, El Viejo del Norte, Del Norte Titan, Lost Monarch, Stratosphere Giant, Howland Hill Giant, Sir Isaac Newton, Valley of the Lost Groves, Hyperion and more. To conserve room, Book Reviews are on another page. Atkins, Taylor and Sillett never revealed the tallest redwoods or hidden groves, and it took much leg work to find those. All in all, a lot of peaceful exploring. The redwoods are among my favorite adventure areas: the coastal climate and the many variations of forms: basically, an outdoor museum

Spring of 2009 was a premium year in the redwoods: a unique visit for a combination of trail hikes, a drive along Bald Hills Road to Lyons' Ranch Historic site and extensive forest Bushwhacking for 2 full days.

Photo Albums

Photographs of the largest coast redwoods are in my redwood albums among other forest pics. This is not photography, just raw redwood forest. Full views of Helios and Artemis omitted - except one sneak peak. Artemis is the huge redwood discovered 2002 that you may have read about, with a brook flowing beneath. Included too are Mutant Redwood, Titanic and Skull Rack in the Valley of the Lost Groves. An image use policy statement is down this page. Be sure to scour this entire page, and follow the path to professional photographers too.

Album 1 Redwoods, trails, plants and more: Hyperion included x 80 photos

Album 2 Redwoods, trails, plants and more: largest redwoods includedx 80 photos

Album 3 Vertical, panorama and photostitch imagesx 80 photos

Video Clips: redwoods odds & ends plus a campground of choice by Brookings for redwood days with ocean evenings.

Extra Stuff

Extreme Redwood Dimensions 2008 submitted by Michael Taylor

Redwood Tissue: A Self-Destruction Hypothesis: about effects of great weight

Poison-oak Photos and Identification: information, facts and images

Several folks who managed to find the Grove of Titans have sent images of themselves standing near Del Norte Titan or Screaming Titans, because those two redwoods provide a decent view corridor for photos. And some people who did not find one of these redwoods, still sent notes recounting tales of scrapes, adventure, bruises and good times.

Now ... who are the men in the photos at left? Both know much of the redwood forest like the back of their hand. One is handy with cameras and ropes, and the other with rangefinders, math and calculators ... click the pics for a clue.

The 2 photos to the right are in Jedediah Smith redwoods. The upper one is a huge redwood at the Grove of Titans - its my favorite in that grove. For refererence, I call that giant redwood General Puller after Lewis B. Puller_USMC. The trunk is roughly 25' across as seen from this view. The lower photograph is one of the newly found tallest redwoods in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. It resides deep up in in the hills.

It's unlikely that coast redwoods will reach these dimensions again in the same groves where the largest are now. My best wishes and happy exploring to people who appreciate arboriculture and forestry, that a few of you may find these redwoods. Appreciate the great potential and precision created by God, within a seed The credit for these redwood giants in not for man or woman.

Exploring

The largest of redwoods include the Grove of Titans discovered 1998 by Sillett & Taylor near Crescent City. As well as Atlas redwood and grove. One of the most photogenic is Del Norte Titan in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, emerging behind ferns like an ancient Greek column. Grove of Titans is on the west side of the Smith River, near Hiouchi, California. Atlas Grove is in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, north of Orick. Image to the right: trunk of Iluvatar. It's the 3rd largest redwood by volume located in Prairie Creek redwoods. Iluvatar is the redwood known to have about 200 reiterated trunks and stems, and a canopy volume of about 30,000 cubic yards.

For size, Oregon redwoods don't compare with north California redwoods. To see huge redwoods, pick Jedediah Smith redwoods like Boy Scout Tree trail and Stout Grove, or Prairie Creek Redwoods at Brown Creek trail or James Irvine trail. Just minutes from Oregon, and why I sometimes set up camp at Harris Beach State Park. The coast redwoods of Del Norte and Humboldt county areas, will have a rainforest much unlike areas like The Trail of 100 Giants or Kings Canyon in the Giant Sequoia woodlands to the Southeast.

From 1928 to 2009, a small trickle of people exploring the north redwoods have entered portions of Grove of Titans and Atlas Grove - with the vast majority simply passing by, exploring or enjoying the view: but not recognizing champion dimensions.

I estimate 400 people besides botanists know a part of one grove or the other. Locations of these redwoods raised questions about paragraphs in the book by Richard Preston. See The Wild Trees Book Review, with a potential curve ball to those who may have read it.

The image to the left is Lost Monarch in the Grove of Titans - with branch tips within 16 inches of the ground; trunk almost 30' wide at the base. The foliage almost touches it's toes. You can see why these redwoods are hard to locate. I was totally saturated by rain that day. Can you see the giant root, about 3 to 4 feet thick?

Discovery by Sillett and Taylor (and Atkins for Hyperion) means being first to declare, because other people preceeding them may have recognized size or measured. For example, Atlas redwood grove preserves over 100 symbols dating to near World War II: history greatly predating The Wild Trees story, indicating some awareness of the grove in the past.

The redwoods of Atlas Grove apparently caught the attention of Michael Taylor differently than a few folks preceding him. Names were given like Atlas Tree, Zeus, the Four Horsemen, Iluvatatar, Pleiades, Bell, Rhea, Kronos, Broken Top, Buena Vista, Promethius and more - and one Ballantine, in memorial of a man.

The Grove of Titans redwoods extends through the confluence of valleys among flat, slopes and mounds. The grove is highlighted with bright autumn color from vine maples - Acer circinatum.

I measured the redwoods to compare with published trunk diameters. Rounded to the foot - Lost Monarch 26', Iluvatar 20', Del Norte Titan 23'. For Atlas Tree 24'. Not only are sizes interesting, but what grows on these redwoods - for example, Aragorn has an epiphyte Oregon Spikemoss ,Selaginella oregana, 110' to 120' high on a limb.

The image at right is Skull Rack redwood in the Valley of the Lost Groves at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The larger Mutant Redwood is nearby in the same hidden valley.

This page began with Lost Monarch 1st, Iluvatar 2nd and Del Norte Titan 3rd for trunk and main stem volume. But a change came to pass.

An anonymous redwood appeared at a university page 39,100 cubic feet as 2nd, at 348.8' tall. It brought to mind Fusion Giant at 348.6' tall and 22.4' DBH from old tall tree list. August 2008 in Redwood National Park, I found 2 redwoods near that diameter: one 23.5' diameter high on a steep slope in Redwood National Park, which I call Episkopos,

Episkopos (Eh-pis'-kop-oss = Overseer) is the Sequoia semperivens that etched in my mind that another largest redwood may exist until every acre of canopy down to 290 feet tall or so is scouted. Because 23' of DBH is a beastly trunk for steep hillside 300 feet elevation above a creek on the sunny side.

The same day yielded another redwood of 22.9' diameter. The second redwood turned out to be Fusion Giant. Photos of both redwoods are in Album #3. Fusion Giant is now called Melkor. That was the day I started to size-up a couple of tributaries in preparation to find Hyperion later.

Quick comment about Redwood National Park: several species of fish can be found in Redwood National Park, including Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout. Factors like shade or frequency of pools affect the species. The habitat was changed signifcantly due to logging, and is continually studied. Coho for example, need summer water temperature below 64° F.

Another species affected by redwood logging is the seabird Marbled Murrelet which prefer old growth conifers for nesting in the redwood forest, flying to the ocean for food, Extreme logging of old growth forests rather than selective havesting was one big factor for putting this species at risk. This is one reason that permits for climbing redwoods are seasonal.

One tree among the largest redwoods in the California Jedediah Smith Redwoods is Stout Tree: Album #3. But the park has 50 or more redwoods larger than Stout Tree: including Lost Monarch in the Grove of Titans @ 42,000 cubic feet.

The largest redwood trees as a grove are the Grove of Titans in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, but others like Iluvatar of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Atlas grove are also impressive. Photo at right is Screaming Titans

More Stuff

Sillett Humboldt University Page - look for Douglas fir, Sitka spruce and other albums: educational
Sillett traversing
Richard Preston author - recreational climber
Hillery 180 feet - named in Preston redwood book
Douglas Wallower named in Preston redwood book
Preston by the Lost Monarch
Redwood photo - Robert Van Pelt , Ambrose:
Redwood Icarus - Sillett & Ambrose - sensors
Heart of Poseidon - Dunklin gallery
Climbers in Iluvatar - Dunklin gallery / Iluvatar
Photo of Instruments
Climbers on Zeus Redwood
Study in Poseidon
Dan Bain Virtual Redwood Photos
Redwood, King of Humboldt County
Centurion: Tallest Eucalyptus
Redwood Facts
Railroading the Giant Redwoods
Canopy Meg - Margeret D. Lowman Ph.D.
Dr. Donald Perry
Bull Creek Giant Photo - Ishii Hiroaki
Valley of the Lost Groves - M. D. Vaden
Redwood Climbing - M. D. Vaden

Our own search for Grove of Titans entered Jedediah Smith redwoods to the north, where forest debris was so thick our legs plunged through. Spent 6 hours the day we located the grove, exploring near a mile deep into dense forest. Could have worn snow shoes. Our legs and feet kept punching holes through centuries worth of decayed forest. Felt like walking near Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood in January.

There was not too much poison-oak - I often lead to identify poison-oak. Though not far from Grove of Titans on Hiouchi Trail is a poison-oak on steroids nearly 180' tall, like a wood Anacoda. Likely 180 years old.

During the winter of 2007, a storm broke a big limb off El Viejo del Norte redwood. Fragments grew sprouts, even up to August 2008. My October visit during heavy rain showed more growth. I named this cluster Genesis, and am watching development. If these remain alive, the redwoods will be genetically the same as El Viejo del Norte.

More: the tallest known redwoods were found in 2006 by Atkins & Taylor, and were: Hyperion 379.1' - Helios 376.3' - Icarus 371.2' in Redwood National Park. Other tallest redwoods were Stratosphere Giant and Mendocino Tree. See Hyperion below.

The large redwood in the photo to the right below is in the Grove of Titans - about 23' across. It is Del Norte Titan. The Del Norte Titan redwood has a remarkable trunk. The base reminds me of an ancient Greek column. The natural garden of ferns on one side provides a nice green corridor, since the backdrop of plant species behind is so thick.

When that photo was taken, Del Norte Titan redwood had over 37,000 cubic feet, over 1000 cubic meters, of wood Between 100 to 110 feet up, two main stems reiterated or sprouted: one of them almost 5 feet in diameter, and itself 155 feet tall. The crown is loaded with other stems and branches. It is one of the redwoods discovered May 1998 by Steve Sillett & Michael Taylor.

The photo above and to the left, is part of Sir Isaac Newton redwood, one of the largest, discovered by Michael Taylor in Prairie Creek redwoods. That burl weighs over 40,000 pounds.

Comparing these largest redwoods to historical records of redwoods cut down in California, some others were quite a bit bigger - larger than known Giant Sequoia.

Prior to 1800s and 1900s logging, coast redwoods were the largest and tallest. One more was Lindsey Creek redwood with a trunk of 90,000 cubic feet: 3,248 tons, which fell during a 1905 storm - 6,496,000 pounds. There is a report of a 70,000 cubic foot redwood logged in 1926 - Crannell Giant.

Extra Reading

For a decent book or online story to read that includes redwoods and events from these parks, try out the following reading suggestions when you have a moment:

The Wild Trees by Richard Preston: with Sillett & Taylor & redwoods

Redwoods: Day of Discovery Small article version of one chapter from The Wild Trees

Climbing the Redwoods Article prior to release of the full book The Wild Trees

If you read The Wild Trees already, you may recall Adventure Redwood, one of the largest redwood trees - photo above left. The book described the trek to Adventure redwood like an African Safari - but I found a better route. See Album #1

Trivia

WW II Bombing: A Japanese aviator Fujita bombed the west coast in WW II, September 1942, attempting to start fires near the north redwoods - retaliation for the April 1942 Doolittle Raid. The attack was done with a submarine based plane. That was the only WW II air bombing of the continental United States - near Crescent City and Brookings. See following pages:

Reference 1 Japanese bombing / west coast forest
Reference 2 Japanese bombing / west coast forest
Reference 3 Japanese bombing / west coast forest

BIGFOOT Legend: If Bigfoot amuses you, a room size Bigfoot trap with a steel door was built in the 1970s with permission from the USDA Forest Service, east of the redwoods, in Oregon. It is located along Collings Mountain trail in Rogue River National Forest.

The trap and trailhead are about 3 miles north of the California and Oregon Border. Bigfoot Trap: look for photos, video and GPS.

Hyperion Redwood - Helios Redwood

Photo right: Hyperion / Image use note: Image Use Policy / Info

January 2009, I located Hyperion Redwood, the tallest known tree in the world: 379.1 feet tall and a trunk just over 15 feet wide at DBH. A few photos are in the albums. The full 4000 x 5960 uncropped view is held in reserve for now.

The 60 mile rule: many people expressed an interest in Hyperion, assuming it to be on a hill above a named creek. Redwood National Park has about 30 miles of creeks and brooks in the south section, some with names, some without: 30 miles of hillside on either side. The simplicity of finding this redwood means locating one redwood along 60 miles worth of hillside above an unknown creek, brook or tributary. About the same as the distance from Crescent City to Arcata: bushwhacking and wading, not riding.

Hyperion redwood was found September 8, 2006, by Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor, naturalists who explored California coast redwoods including Redwood National Park. Preliminary measurement was done with a professional quality laser rangefinder. In September 2006, Dr. Steve Sillett climbed Hyperion for a tape drop measurement - filmed by National Geographic. A rod is used in trees to measure to tips which cannot be reached.

Hyperion, the tallest tree in the world (2009) is in a remote part of Redwood National Park on a hillside within the south part of the park. Some video statements and writing by others about this Sequoia sempervirens location mix fantasy with fact:

Access is not limited to one option. There are at least 3 routes to approach this tallest redwood in the world, depending on whether the valley is approached from redwood creek, the mountain, logging roads, or a combination of those.

It is on a hillside, but I saw no vague resemblance of a "keyhole" in the natural landscape - a description used for the area. The location is not uncharted or lost, because virtually all of Redwood National Park is on a map.

... Bears are definitely on the prowl ...

There were scads of fresh footprints, claw marks on logs, remnants of fish prey and scat. By far the most bear signs I've seen in various redwood groves during the past few years.

Much of my ascension into the remote area was through water well above my knees, avoiding 4 foot deep pools. Quite a few fish were scurrying about. Eventually the search progressed to slopes and forest. The wooded habitat near the tallest redwood Hyperion had diversity. Mahonia, sword fern, alder, salmonberry, sorrel, tan oak, bigleaf maple, some huckleberry and plenty of moss. The Bryophytes, or moss, added greatly to the scenic beauty of this forest area.

As with other redwood groves, Hyperion has withstood forest fire: evident from a few burns on the trunk. The lower trunk has no significant damage or exposed wounds like Goose Pens. The circumference of the lower stem appears to have a continuous perimeter of cambium and bark.

The trunk base has a quick taper for the first 14' or so, then a gentle taper, and no significant lean. It is a single stem - no codominant base. The trunk is slightly elliptical. The bark furrows are vertical, and not spiral like some redwoods.

Image at left: Stratosphere Giant in Humboldt redwoods near Avenue of the Giants, discovered by Chris Atkins, was a tallest known champion tree until 2006, when he and Michael Taylor found Helios, Icarus and Hyperion in Redwood National Park.

The forest floor around Hyperion redwood and grove is thickly covered with organic matter: leaves, needles and twigs. It's like a sponge. There is substantial coarse woody debris as well. The understory vegetation is a little bit sparse.

The traces of bear reminded me of Blue Ledge Mine, east near Applegate Lake, where in four visits I saw Black Bears twice. Once coming back down, were fresh prints in snow overlapping mine - sniffing my tracks.

Although I didn't spot bears in Hyperion Valley, traces were abundant. The image right, is one of the many marks on logs and trees. Black Bear attacks are exceptionally uncommon, but trend predatory when they do occur.

Near the bottom of Hyperion Valley tributary were a couple of partial cougar tracks. Not too surprising, because several sightings have been reported near Redwood Creek Trail. These cats can leap 16' vertical and 30' horizontal. Probably stalking elk - there were several elk tracks in that area. The heavy Roosevelt Elk really leave a deep imprint - pretty cool if you don't approach them.

Some folks consider Hyperion as the holy grail of redwoods. One naturalist even wrote that they would not even set foot on that earth. That sounds imaginative. But it was not like frogs and bears there genuflect in admiration. Hyperion redwood is simply a unique component of the park. For now, the location remains secret. Hyperion redwood is very remote. My edge was mainly decades of professional arboriculture work, and being able to read angles, trunks and branches.

Most folks won't recognize redoods like this. Note - I photographed lichens on Lost Monarch and did not realize which redwood it was until 6 months later.

In April 2009, I located Helios redwood also - memorable for sure: for the effort to get there, and the scenic tranquility. It's a fine looking redwood. Although it's trunk measures slightly larger than Hyperion, Helios seems much more husky and primeval. The grove has many fallen limbs and trees concealed under a heavy carpet of sword ferns, and fast progress is just asking for a snapped leg. From what what I saw, Helios must get water supplements from a hillside spring. Apparently, Helios could overtake Hyperion as tallest in the near future.

Redwood Parks & Trails Maps

Redwood Hikes for Hiking Trails, descriptions, photos, maps *****

Oregon Redwoods OREGON redwoods Nature Trail 1111

Redwood Parks map - a general use Redwood Parks Area Map

Other big redwoods in photographs: Some redwoods have been added to the albums for which no identification was found - not champions, but big or unusual. Like the twin stem redwood Fred & Barney, 10 minutes hiking from the north end of Mill Creek Trail and the Stout Grove crossing. Flintstones came to mind because that redwood is rooted in a lot of rock. Very close to it is Caveman Club at 58' and 6" circumference. A few of many giant trunk redwoods among Jed Smith redwoods. Image at right: 22' + diameter trunk of Fusion Giant, aka Melkor.

South, in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, look for Sneaky Pete, a monstrous redwood by Prairie Creek trail. Most people will miss it while passing through a fallen log: look up. At Lady Bird Johnson grove parking area of Redwood National Park, look for Scarface. It has a chainsaw slash across the lower trunk.

Book Review

Several redwoods seen here were written about in The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring by Richard Preston. I gave the book 4 stars.

Even if you read the book, you might want to read the BOOK REVIEW about The Wild Trees on the other page. A few words about Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast by Robert Van Pelt are included.

And who really climbed up to old growth redwood canopy first? Was it Sillett or Spickler? Or was it Beranek? BOOK REVIEW: The Wild Trees

Image use policy

Wikimedia Commons photo permission statement: Mario Vaden, website owner, grants permission for use of several images: Michael Taylor Tall Tree Discover 350x467, Lost Monarch (Screaming Titans) redwood 400x175, Iluvatar redwood 400x282, Del Norte Titan redwood 230x506, submitted to Wikimedia Creative commons: Attribution 3.0: "freely use this image as long as copyright credit to author Mario Vaden is clearly indicated near or on the image" See: Redwood Lost Monarch 400x175, Redwood Iluvatar 400x282, Redwood Del Norte Titan 230x506, Taylor Michael Taylor 460x467

Photo use: to use a big image, feel free to email. Generally, one 200 pixel or smaller image with hyperlink to this page and photo credit is fine except Hyperion. 1 allowance: reduce the Hyperion photo to 130 pixels wide max, retain copyright & hyperlink.

Bushwhacking 2009

Spring of 2009 provided excellent weather and an opportunity to explore with Chris Atkins and Professor Steve Sillett in Redwood National Park and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. The two days of strenuous, yet enjoyable, exploration, provided some nice sights. Miles of deep forest exploring.

Although the focus was primarily redwoods, one find was two Port Orford Cedars side by side, mostly surrounded by Sequoia sempervirens.

One of those Port Orford cedars looks promising to be the tallest ever recorded of any cedar species according to preliminary range finder readings.

That was in Jed Smith redwoods near a remarkable hidden redwood grove - not yet studied.

Later, one very tall redwood was found with sufficient height to be a potential candidate for the tallest known Sequoia sempervirens in that Jed Smith park.

A few photos from the bushwhack will be added to the image album.

The amount of time and effort to measure a single tree can be remarkable. It was surprising in Redwood National Park, to see where Atkns and Sillett planned to set up a tripod - across a small ravine and about 200 feet upward on what appeared to be a 45 - 50 degree slope coated with sword ferns. It took hours for just 2 redwoods next to each other. This image to the left indicates how steep the terrain is. Sillett's head is about level with Atkin's knees, and likewise Atkin's head near level with my knees where I stood to take the photo.

Redwood Sites of Interest

Image: Titanic Redwood in Valley of the Lost Groves. huge Fairy Ring conceals ancient mega trunk remnant in shadow

PHOTOGRAPHY by Lowell Cottle Professional quality photos. Experienced naturalist and photographer. Northern California, redwoods, birds, water scenes and more.

Curly Redwood Lodge in Crescent City Along coast Highway 101 at Crescent City, California. Mid-Century Modern style and well maintained. Close to the redwood park and good food lke the Chart Room on Anchor Way, and other restaurants.

Redwood Education Guide: Learners and Teachers An excellent read. Nearly 100 pages..

Redwood Adventures Cabins. Hike, Fish, Kayak. Singles, groups, couples , tours, business retreats.

Cathedral Grove Check the menu. A lot of good historical photos on some pages

Redwoods RV Resort Liked the website, but have not stayed there

Trees of Mystery Between Crescent City and Orick - cable car SkyTrail ride, gift shop.

North Coast Photos with Redwoods

Tarol's Webpage Park Ranger personal site - hope this one stays online a long time.

California Redwood Coast Good photos. Lists places to eat, lodging, events and more

Gilbert Redwood Excursions Redwood Parks Santa Cruz Mountains. Tours near San Francisco

Redwood Tree Profile by Flower Essence Society

Sequoia sempervirens A redwood website with a bunch of information and photos

Humboldt Redwoods Interpretive A redwood website that's been around for a while.

North California and Redwoods Virtual Photography PIck a park from the north redwoods like Prairie Creek or Humboldt redwoods, select the scenes, and rotate the 360 degree photography tour. May require Quicktime or comparable viewer.

 

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