Mystery Coast Redwood #9

Challenges of measuring coast redwoods

by Mario Vaden

 

In the image below, Giacomo Renzullo is standing near a coast redwood, the week we measured several including 353.3 foot "Hairpin" in Prairie Creek. Giacomo is one of several climbers shown on the October 2009 National Geographic magazine cover. He helped Dr. Steve Sillett and National Geographic for three weeks to produce a huge composite image for the cover, centerfold and poster. My two photos below were taken September 17, 2009 a few days before the release of that National Geographic edition.

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The redwoods we measured were all done with a laser on one tripod and prism on another tripod. The open view of the coast redwood may seem to imply it's easy. But even if 90% of the trunk is open to view, reaching the top with the laser can be difficult. Chris Atkins had to set up his laser several hundred feet away over the top of a ridge. Once Chris gets a reading on the tallest leader, his next target becomes the prism, beginning a series of leap-frog where the laser person and prism person pass each other, going up and down through the forest. Eventually, all the measurements are added and subtracted to determine how high the top is.

In this area, we took turns positioning the prism or holding foliage back so the laser's beam would have a clear path. Sometimes cardboard or bag was held to shade Chris's laser to prevent direct sunlight from shining on the unit. The orange bag below is the one Chris carries the tripods in. The smallest it becomes is a 3 foot package, and can be difficult to bushwhack through dense hucklerberry and vegetation.