Have You Been Awestruck Lately?
Printable VersionNo one who has stood before the majestic giant sequoia could be anything but dumbfounded.
Story by Janet Wheeler, courtesy of Bakersfield Magazine, Inc.
Directions to Converse Basin: Take Highway 63 north from Visalia to the junction of Highway 180. Follow Highway 180 east to Kings Canyon National Park. Pass through the gate ($10 fee). Drive 1.5 miles to the wye, bear left (staying on Hwy. 180) and drive 5.5 miles to the Converse Road turnoff. Turn left on Converse Road and follow the signs. The roads into Converse Basin are dirt, but passable.
Rising up to 275 feet in height and more than 30 feet in diameter, the sequoias dwarf other trees in the forest, but it is not just their size that make these trees unique. It's also their age — many were fullgrown specimens at the time Jesus walked the Earth. They continue to exist beyond the ravages of nature and the influence of man.
Visiting a sequoia grove is an easy day trip for Bakersfield residents, and the perfect weekend getaway for those who want to spend more time at their destination than on the road. There are between 65 and 75 giant sequoia groves — depending upon how they’re tabulated — on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and it's the only place on Earth where these magnificent wonders naturally grow and flourish.
While many people visit the trees at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, more than half the existing groves are located in Giant Sequoia National Monument within the Sequoia National Forest. The Monument is divided into two sections, bisected by Sequoia National Park. Two advantages to visiting the Monument are: the forest is free and you can take Fido along on your hike.
Explorers crossed into California years before the Gold Rush, but the world didn’t hear about the giants until 1852. That’s when A.T. Dowd stumbled across a grove during a hunting trip. No one believed his tale of giant trees, but he later told a story about killing an enormous bear. When others went to see his "kill," he led them to the grove, now Calaveras Big Trees State Park, located north of Yosemite National Park.
It wasn’t long before other groves were discovered and men began to envision the riches to be garnered from the trees, but logging giant sequoias was no easy task, especially using late 19th century technology.
The largest turn-of-the-century logging operation took place in Converse Basin, located about three and a half hours from Bakersfield. This 3,700-acre grove lies in a natural bowl and was one of the largest stands, but its primeval grandeur is left to your imagination. Only one mature specimen remains — the Boole Tree. At a height of 269 feet and a circumference of 113 feet, it's the eighth largest giant sequoia in existence.
The Boole Tree's presence is a reminder of the destruction enacted by the logging operation. Ironically, it's named for the lumber mill’s superintendent, Frank A. Boole. The tree is estimated to be more than 2,000 years old, as were at least 53 other trees that fell to the axe. Several had survived beyond their third millennium. The trail to the tree is rated as moderately difficult — a fairly steep, two mile round trip at an elevation of 6,200 feet.
Though this tree is clearly a giant, size is not necessarily indicative of a sequoia's age. A 100-year-old tree may be no more than waist high if early growth is suppressed from the shade of larger, adjacent trees. However, you can tell approximate age by looking at a tree's shape. Sequoia branches spiral from near the base of trees less than 100 to 150 years old, and they have pointed crowns. From around 150 to 500 years, trees begin to lose bottom branches, creating more rounded crowns. Trees 500 to 1,500 years old begin to take on the classic giant sequoia appearance with massive, reddish trunks and rounded more open crowns. Craggy branches and missing tops (often struck by lightning) signal trees beyond 1,500 years. Giant sequoias reach about 80 percent of their height by age 150, if they have full sunlight from above.
The results of early logging are evident at Stump Meadow, where visitors have an open view of nearly 100 giant stumps. Unlike their cousins, the coastal redwoods, giant sequoias do not re-sprout from the remaining stump. The meadow seems unusually open after seven decades. Removing the giants caused the water table to rise and most seedlings cannot establish themselves in the wet soil.
While it’s easy to succumb to anger generated from the destruction of these magnificent trees, the purpose of visiting Converse Basin is not to mourn. New trees are growing, giving us an opportunity to witness the regeneration of this ancient species and understand its growth habits.
We now know that Sequoia’s regenerate and thrive under specific conditions that include soil disturbance and sunlight. Logging was a heart-rending moment in California history, but it provided sufficient soil disturbance for seed germination and opened the canopy to sunlight. Some secondgrowth trees are already two feet in diameter. (Sequoias grow up to an inch in diameter and two feet in height each season.)
Scientists have also documented detailed weather and wildfire histories by studying tree ring samples from the stumps. Some trees weathered more than 40 fires over 1,500 years. Fires occurred on an average of once or twice a decade. Fire clears debris from the forest floor and prepares the soil for seedlings. It also dries out and opens cones, allowing for seed dispersal. This was demonstrated in 1955, when the McGee Fire seared through Converse Basin. In the following season, young sequoia seedlings carpeted the ground. This knowledge forced a reevaluation of federal fire suppression policies in unpopulated areas.
Converse Basin is a great lesson in history. As destructive as logging was, it required an amazing amount of ingenuity and investment. Today, it’s an easy drive to Converse Basin. A century ago, men traveled through rugged mountainous terrain on foot, horse or mule and hand tools were the order of the day.
The logging story begins in 1886 with a flurry of claims filed for public land along the Kings River. Under the Timber and Stone Act of 1878 a person could purchase 160 acres of timber land from the federal government for $2.40 per acre. Though it was suspected that a large lumber operation was behind the claim activity, nothing was ever proved. Then two years later, San Francisco lumber merchants Hiram C. Smith and Austin D. Moore announced they had acquired 30,000 acres of land and would develop a railroad and two mills in Kings River Canyon.
They initially built a 54-mile flume to transport wood from the mountain mills to the drying yards and box factory in Sanger. Construction workers were challenged by weather, wildlife and steep terrain, yet this engineering feat was completed in just over a year. For several years, millions of board feet of lumber — cedars, firs and pines, as well as redwoods — went down the flume, but the venture never showed a profit.
Giant sequoia wood is soft and brittle and it becomes more so as the tree ages. The sheer size and weight of the trees often caused them to shatter as they fell upon the forest floor. And some trees were brought down with the help of blasting powder, which also destroyed a good portion of the tree.
Hundreds of men worked the logging operations and traces of their presence can still be seen. The original mill site can easily be located from the remaining logs and skidways that fed into the mill.
Logging was a dangerous occupation and accidents and deaths were common. Wooden coffins carrying the dead were sent down the flume to be buried in the Sanger Cemetery.
The living also rode the flume. It was used as both a mode of transportation and as an early day amusement ride. The steep grade provided many with the thrill of a lifetime.
A railroad was eventually built. It helped transport logs, but increased expenses. By 1896, the company was in dire straits. A new Converse Basin mill was built, but the company continued to falter. It was sold to the Hume-Bennett Lumber Company in late 1905. The new owners made improvements and reached full production in 1910, but soon discovered that logging sequoias was not profitable. In 1935, Hume sold the mountain property to the U.S. Forest Service for an average price of $14.93 per acre.
While the giants are now safe from lumber barons, a community of environmental and governmental organizations revolve around them. Opposing sides on the issue of responsible management fight in and out of court for what they believe is best for the trees. Perhaps the answers will be found through continued study of Converse Basin.
Aside from what we learn here, it is inspiring to come and stand among these second growth trees. To stand before a sequoia and realize it sprouted 2,700 years before you were born is awesome. It is equally thought-provoking to realize that these second growth trees — already 50 to 100 years old — may still be standing 2,000 years after you are gone.
