on 7/2/01 1:58 PM, Doggre@xxxxxxx at Doggre@xxxxxxx wrote:
> Loggers in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia)
> told of felling Douglas Fir trees in excess of 400 feet, but none were ever
> confirmed. There was one Douglas Fir on the slopes of Mt. Rainier that was
> over 380-some feet, but lost its top, and has since fallen to the forest
> floor, I believe. Another generation will yet see 400+ foot Doug Firs, if we
> protect the giants in the National Parks.
>
The tall trees grove in Redwood National Park, outside Eureka CA is a
special place! I visited there with my parents in 1993; we stayed just down
the road in the infamous logging town of Scotia, home of Pacific Lumber Co.
There is about a 10 mile dirt/gravel road back into the park, which ends in
a small parking lot at the trailhead to get to the grove. There is only room
for a limited number of cars, so the park issues access permits on a
first-come/first-served basis. We got there about 9:00AM and got one of the
last ones. Once you park, there is about a 1/2 to 3/4 mile trail in what are
already magnificent woods, then there is a small area of trees spread over
about the area of a football field, with every tree over 350 feet tall. The
lowest branches are probably 100-150 feet up. Being miles from
'civilization' its very quiet. The grove nestles into the curve of a river;
there is a walking bridge across the river to a gravel bar on the opposite
shore.
I remember thinking that I was in God's cathedral there, and nothing mankind
could ever build would be as glorious. Somewhere I have some pictures I
snapped with a P*ntax point-and-shoot... I was in relapse from OM addiction
at that time. We lugged in a full-size RCA VHS camcorder; by the time we
carried it back to the car it weighed 25lb.
Someday I'm going back there with 'a few lenses...' and try to get a good
picture of the feeling of peacefulness.
--
Jim Brokaw
OM-1's, -2's, -4's, (no -3's yet) and no OM-oney...
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