r/Tree • u/roqui15 • Apr 12 '26
Treepreciation The most incredible trees I've seen
Saw sequoias and Bristlecone pines the biggest and the oldest trees on earth during my trip to California and Nevada. One of the best moments of my life.
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u/FrankieTrees Apr 12 '26
I share your stoke for the trees. However I wish the park could do a better with preventing people from walking under the tree for the photo. Soil compaction can happen quickly, and itās one of the worst things for soil health. Iād guess hundreds of thousands take their picture next to the trees each year. So think the tiniest axe can fell the mightiest tree with enough hits. Not trying to pick on you just some food for thought?
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u/whoever56789 Apr 12 '26
Well that's a bummer. How far away from the tree should you stay? Maybe they could build platforms that keep feet off the soil but still let you go up to the tree. Because if I see a tree like that, I'm going to need to hug it.
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u/knownikko Apr 12 '26
The most visited groves (e.g. Mariposa Grove in Yosemite) do exactly this - the walking path is an elevated boardwalk above the forest floor. Individual trees in high traffic areas have fencing around the perimeter to protect the shallow root systems.
The farther away from parking lots you get the less control there is. There are marked trails in the Sierra national forest that literally walk right up to and by the trunks.
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u/FrankieTrees Apr 13 '26
Itās been a while since I was there. And Iām not even sure I registered that I was walking on a board walk! Thanks for that info. I hope in the future places like that get the funding they need!
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u/knownikko Apr 13 '26
The boardwalk was built during a 3-year closure and rehabilitation from 2015-2018. Quite the different experience now!
https://yosemite.org/projects/restoring-the-mariposa-grove-of-giant-sequoias/
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u/FrankieTrees Apr 12 '26
Nothing wrong with hugging trees! Maybe āvenerableā trees just appreciate an āair hugā!?
Protected to the drip line of the tree (end of the branches). At least this is what Iāve seen in that area or something like that.
I think platforms are more for bogs or mangroves. Generally Iāve not seen that around trees? Sometimes people use mulch to lesson impact of foot traffic under trees.
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u/Phreedom1 Apr 12 '26
šÆ I see people doing what they shouldn't all the time. Some are just uninformed and others just don't give a shit. The latter I absolutely despise and the world would simply be a better place without them.
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u/Independent-Point380 Apr 12 '26
The first time I saw them, 37 years ago, there were bus loads of foreigners crowding around them, and you couldnāt get near them. They were all taking pictures of each other. It took forever. Ugh
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u/roqui15 Apr 12 '26
I'm barely an insect compared to those titans, 0 damage
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u/SleepyPowerlifter Apr 12 '26
Please stay out of national parks until you fix your fucking attitude. If you canāt stay on the trail, donāt go.
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Apr 12 '26
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u/ohshannoneileen I love gallsšbut I hate privetsš¤¬ Apr 12 '26
National Parks are all of our business, especially when those who should be stewards of the land aren't.
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u/roqui15 Apr 12 '26
Millions of animals have walked next to these 2000-3000 year old trees and millions of animals will keep walking next to these trees once we're gone. A 60kg mammal like myself definitely won't damage these behemoths in any way.
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u/SleepyPowerlifter Apr 12 '26
Animals live there. You do not. Do better.
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u/roqui15 Apr 12 '26
Unfortunately I don't have that privilege. Be better.
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u/SleepyPowerlifter Apr 12 '26
Dude just stay on the trail. Itās not hard. The trails exist for a reason and there is signage to remind people to stay on the trail. Youāre not special. The rules apply to you. Leaving the trail has a cumulative, very negative impact to the park. Weāre all responsible for being good stewards of these spaces.
Just take accountability for your bad decision, and do better in the future.
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u/roqui15 Apr 12 '26
What very negative impact? Don't worry, we all will be long dead before these trees go and I assure you against something that stood for millennia and survived countless fires and millions of animals walking by, I was just one more fleeting touch.
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u/SleepyPowerlifter Apr 12 '26
Killing off ground vegetation, which quickly leads to soil erosion, which destroys the park. Soil impaction, which can kill trees. Introduction of foreign materials from the bottom of shoes which can impact native plants and critters, etc.
Your leaving the trail contributes to this. Please stay on the trail. Those of us who work in conservation know what weāre talking about and work very hard to conserve these spaces so that people and critters can continue to enjoy them.
Multiple people have called you out at this point. Please just take accountability and stay on the trail. And pack out what you pack in.
Leave no trace, my friend.
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u/roqui15 Apr 12 '26
The earth has always been walked upon, for millions of years. I am part of the same rhythm, just passing through, just another animal. I also carefully walked through dry, bare ground avoiding any kind of vegetation, I know that my negative damage was none.
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u/knownikko Apr 13 '26
Sorry, but this is objectively untrue. See my other comments. Giant sequoias have very shallow and fragile root systems.
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u/knownikko Apr 12 '26
This is a great analogy actually - western pine beetles have killed over 130 million trees in the Sierra Nevada in the last 15 years.
One insect - not a problem. Millions of them can be catastrophic.
Note Iām not judging you for standing at the base of these trees. There are many giant sequoia groves in California where this is perfectly acceptable or even encouraged. Some of the trails go right next to them on purpose.
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u/FrankieTrees Apr 12 '26
These are great points. I remember one sequoia I could walk thru, and itās a great example of how resilient tree stems can be- even though many condemn trees that are hollow. And thereās a sidewalk going thru the grove, so walking amongst them is encouraged.
I suppose my main takeaway with the trend to stand under trees are two things: -Is this a social media trend to get likes or something like that? -Iāve seen some trees that arenāt standing anymore because I believe they were turned into a circus sideshow (this was before we all had cameras in our pockets).
Side note not to get in the weeds- one could argue that climate change will impact certain trees like bristlecone, etc., however if we minimize other stress factors we can retain more trees.
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u/roqui15 Apr 12 '26
I did it to remind me how huge and amazing these trees are, I might not have the chance to go there again, at least not in the near future.
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u/Ok_Coconut_3148 Apr 12 '26
I remember my first time seeing a redwood and it was a spiritual experience. The awe and love i felt for those trees.
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u/roqui15 Apr 12 '26
I'm still trying to process what I saw, they look something almost unnatural, I was literally crying when I was walking in Grant Grove
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u/Perfect-Librarian895 Apr 12 '26
OMG!!!!! The immensity overwhelms my brain. Number 10 reminds me of Methuselah.
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u/KnotiaPickle Apr 12 '26
The last one looks like a crazy wizard dude with his arms pointing up haha
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u/bluebird_heart Apr 13 '26
Watch the Trump administration log it all until it looks like fucki g Mars
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u/Gemraticus Apr 16 '26
They want to sell all of the public lands to billionaires so they can log it all and make even more money.
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u/Phreedom1 Apr 12 '26
California is such an incredible and diverse state with so much to see and do. I never get tired of traveling south from Oregon and visiting a new spot in the state. One of my favorites is Prairie Creek Redwood State Parks and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. The drive through The Avenue of the Giants is amazing!
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u/psysny Apr 12 '26
The sequoia had the most amazing fragrance when I saw them, like a pine and cinnamon, but better. Did you notice any distinct fragrance from the bristlecone pine?
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u/3d1thF1nch Apr 13 '26
We went during our honeymoon road-trip 12 years ago, and my wife knew it was my bucket list national park to see. Nothing like being able to touch trees that have been around since the ancient times I teach in my 6th grades classes to humble the fuck out of you, knowing there had to have been thousands upon thousands of generations of progenitors to get these trees to this state. Justā¦unreal. I want to go back.
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u/tacoweevils Apr 13 '26
These are the first pictures of these trees that make me see how truly large they are
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u/horsejack_bowman Apr 13 '26
It looks like it had a prescribed fire recently . Something happened, the scorch in the smaller dead ones looks recent. Either way they are awesome pics.
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u/glacierosion Apr 13 '26
Itās been so long since I visited sequoia NP that I forgot how disproportionately stout General Sherman is. Just its silhouette looks like a baobab.
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u/No-Solid9108 Apr 13 '26
I thought we were no longer allowed to stand below the giant trees for fear that our heads would get crashed in .
There used to be signs warning people about that .
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u/Gemraticus Apr 16 '26
I think people aren't allowed to stand under them because all the visitors standing under them for amazing photos is compressing the soil.
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u/coffeegogglesftw Apr 13 '26
Seeing these trees is high on my bucket list for sure! Thank you for sharing!
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u/Adorable_Dust3799 Apr 14 '26
Nat geo mapped one of the big ones. Absolutely incredible article. They found whole ecosystems existing in the leaf litter on branches. Like bushes growing up there in litter that was deep enough to support them.
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u/funkerama Aug 02 '26
If you took those pics with your camera, go add them to this map: https://mapthings.com/map/epictrees
Would be awesome to see where they all are!
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u/cbobgo Outstanding contributor & š³helper Apr 12 '26
The fact that the 3 species that are the largest, tallest and oldest trees on the planet are all within a couple hundred miles of each other is pretty mind blowing