Magnificent Trees

Trees go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far!--John Muir

Every year I make a point of visiting the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, within Yosemite National Park. And every year I'm struck by how much I love these huge gentle giants. Apparently I'm not alone because two of the 23 people on our Elderhostel just concluded made a point of telling me how much it meant to them to have the opportunity to see them as part of their program.

The Mariposa Grove tram tour takes about 1-1/4 hours and transports riders from the lower grove parking lot on up the hill, passing by the Fallen Monarch, the Faithful Couple, the Bachelor and Three Graces and my personal favorite, the Grizzly Giant. At the Upper Grove Museum, situated on the site of Galen Clark's cabin, the tram turns back toward the parking lot.

Despite the number of people exploring the Grove along with us, there is still a grace and tranquility that reigns supreme. I especially feel that peace in the Upper Grove where the numbers of visitors tend to thin out.
 

 

I LOVE Sugar Pines. They have such character. I call them "trees with a bad haircut" because they have branches that grow all akimbo with no seeming rhyme or reason. Just look at a Ponderosa. Just look at an Incense Cedar. Their branches seem all regular and organized. Then take a peek at this guy above. He looks like he got up on the wrong side of the bed. I think his branches remind me of my hair. Maybe that's why I like him so much.

 

Yes, you're really look at BRANCHES (not the trunk) of the Grizzly Giant. Its branches are larger than the TRUNKS of any other tree species in the park. This is one magnificent tree, and think of all the history it's been witness to, in its nearly 2,000 years of life. It boggles the mind. 

But if you want your mind boggled even further, go take a gander at the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, outside of Big Pine in the Eastern Sierras. Those trees date back 4,000 years and are the oldest living things on the planet.

This is my buddy Shirley Spencer, a naturalist extraordinaire. I'm lucky enough to have her teach most of my Elderhostels. She loves what she does, and she imparts that passion to all of her students (including me). She knows Yosemite like the back of her hand, hikes throughout the Sierra Nevada (summiting Mt. Whitney some 7 times), rock climbs with her super-husband, Mark, paints and sings. The only thing she's bad at (she claims) is math. I don't believe it. She's the one who's sparked my love of everything Yosemite and mountains in general. I can't get enough of hearing about her and Mark's adventures.














This is one of the burn scars on the trunk of the Grizzly Giant. Mountain man Galen Clark, the first superintendent of Yosemite National Park, stood right inside there.

Shirley teaches Elderhostel students the difference between Giant Sequoias (left) and Incense Cedars (right). Every time I'm lucky enough to get to accompany an Elderhostel field trip, I learn some new tidbit from Shirley. This time I discovered that Galen Clark had a second wife--who was a Gypsy fortune teller! Who knew!