Big trees

The people in the picture give some idea how big this tree is. The Mariposa Grove was never exploited for lumber because the wood is not suitable for building- it splinters when milled. This particular tree was pictured with an entire regiment on top of it when the army was stationed here in the the park's early history.

Don't know that this tree has a specific name but it sure is a big tree. Many of the trees in the Mariposa Grove have some branches which are as big as the trunk of a large regular tree. The grove is only about 8 miles from Wawona and there is a trail between it and Wawona.

Note the fence- the roots of these trees are relatively quite shallow compared to the trees size and weight. They are therefore vulnerable to the compression from thousands of footsteps around their base. These trees would supposedly live forever were it not primarily for this vulnerability. When a heavy snow load fills up their branches- they can simply fall over!

Two gigantic trees joined at the base but seperating as they ascend. I'm reminded of Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet, in which he wrote, on Marriage: "...And stand together, yet not too near together,/ For the pillars of the temple stand apart, / And the Oak tree and the Cypress grow not in each other's shadow."

(I did read that he was a drug addict, however.)

Another shot of these amazing trees. What does it mean to say that two people are joined at the hip? Just that they are very friendly with each other and spend more time together than is usual; it does not have the negative sense of being too close conveyed in the verse of Gibran. So there.

Despite losing a tremendous amount of its base to fire, the clothespin still stands. Fire is a necessary part of the big trees life cycle- the seeds won't germinate until they've been through a fire.

When trees are this old and their form substantially survives even the tree's death, it's to be expected that if they could see, they would have seen a lot- including fires that in the case of this tree, completely hollowed it out from top to bottom so you can see through it.

One of the most interesting displays to me, though I don't think there's a picture here, shows the great age of some of these trees by chronicling human history against the annual growth rings displayed in cross section. One ring towards the perimeter might be marked "President Lincoln Assassinated". (It was President Lincoln who created the precursor of the National Park System by protecting Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove during his administration. A ring further in might read "Columbus sails to the Americas", and one of the innermost rings, formed when the tree was young, might be labeled "Jesus born", etc.

There is a science of tree ring dating with the fancy name of Dendrochronology. (I.e., "tree time measurement")

One of the stops along the way of the tram tour, visitors get about 10 minutes to learn a little bit more about the history of the grove and possibly buy a book or a map about it. It is a good chance to get out and stretch, but watch out for falling pine cones. Though they're small (about the size of a golf ball) they fall from a large distance.

This to me is the most impressive tree in the Grove. The lower branches are some 6 feet in diameter. Hard to believe that it can grow from a tiny seed and that it's all preprogrammed in that seed's DNA. How amazing. I think you'd have to say that the seed is more than a potential tree, since all it needs to do is grow- it is complete. Just so the unborn child.

For about $6, you can take the tram up the steep incline of the Mariposa Grove. Alternatively, and especially if you have enough time and energy, there are trails. If you are on foot, of course you can see more since the trams are limited to the road. The tram does pass by the site of the fallen Tunnel Tree, one of the most famous Yosemite attractions. It was tunneled out by two brothers as a tourist draw at the end of the 1800s. It fell in the 1960s after a heavy snow storm. There are many, many pictures of cars going through it available on E-Bay. Search under Wawona if you're interested.

All manners of souvenirs related to the Big Trees are available here for a price. There's also some refreshments you can buy.

The Fallen Giant