Stand out trees | Mostly sequoias

Soquel Demonstration State Forest is a managed area for forestry research and education in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It is logged continuously but does have one small old-growth grove, Harrison Grove. The Demo Old Growths' Grove lurks nearby in the Forest of Nisene Marks.

There are four dawn redwoods in Boston Public Garden. The oldest and largest was planted in 1963; the youngest grows only a few meters away. Another specimen grows next to a group of Bald Cypress, providing a rare opportunity to compare and contrast these closely related trees.

*Biennial of blitzing blazes that burned bucolic Big Basin finds biome bouncing back.* The park suffered extensive damage in the CZU Lightning Complex fires, but partially reopened last month. Many old growth trees, such as the Auto Tree and Father of the Forest, have survived.

Please visit treeclimbingplanet.com/. The photo of Kovar shown here is from outsideonline.com/outdoor-ad…. The landowner, Stan Acton, was inspired by Richard Preston's book, The Wild Trees. This is one of many videos of ascents up the Grandfather tree: youtube.com/watch?v=L4Y8vvp4…

Tim Kovar, founder and owner of Tree Climbing Planet, leads climbs once a year in March up old-growth coast redwood trees on private land in Los Gatos, California. Most ascents are up the 200' tall Grandfather tree.

A much better view of this albino branch...

Even now after decades of logging, most massive old-growth trees are surrounded by others in dense groves. Big Lonely Doug, a Douglas-fir on Vancouver Island in Canada, is a rare exception. Saved in 2011 by logger Dennis Cronin, it is the 2nd largest Douglas-fir in the country.

Fred Hartsook was a well-known photographer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He owned the Hartsook Inn, next to the Eel River and what is now Richardson Grove State Park in Humbolt County, California. The 50" DBH "Hartsook Giant" sits on a gentle slope near the old inn.

The Grove of Old Trees in bucolic rural Sonoma County is a small but compelling redwood grove featuring several old-growth trees. There is one "walk-in" redwood labeled on the park map and at least one other on the property. The charming town of Occidental is nearby.

The US Forest Service defines trees as woody plants with a trunk >= 3 inches DBH. This would sadly exclude the dwarf willow, a small woody plant common to alpine and arctic locations. The plant tends to stay close to the ground (<6cm in height) to avoid harsh arctic winds.