An Ode to the Giant Forest

Grab your bear can or camp chair, kick your feet up and chew the fat about anything Sierra Nevada related that doesn't quite fit in any of the other forums. Within reason, (and the HST rules and guidelines) this is also an anything goes forum. Tell stories, discuss wilderness issues, music, or whatever else the High Sierra stirs up in your mind.
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creekfeet
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An Ode to the Giant Forest

Post by creekfeet »

Keeping tabs on the Colony/Paradise fires as they encroach upon the Giant Forest has been tough for me. To help myself cope with the devastation, I wrote an ode of sorts to this special place. I’d love to hear if anyone else has fond memories of the Giant Forest or other affected areas they’d like to share. Think of this as a support group.

As far back as my memory goes I remember my dad telling my brother and I stories of a place where the trees were as big around as our room. I thought he was exaggerating until the moment we passed through the Four Guardsmen. It was love at first sight. At the age of five I told my parents that one day I would work in Sequoia.

Many moons later my dream came true. My favorite perk of the job was gallivanting through the Giant Forest after a long day of work. Even on the worst days I could say I’d swam in a wild river, been in a cave, and walked among sequoias. I felt grateful that my dad had introduced me to this special place, and that his father had introduced him before that.

Eventually I got to repeat the cycle by bringing my daughter up the mountain. We swam in wild rivers, explored caves, and hiked under the giants. Sitting on a sequoia log in the aptly named Log Meadow my daughter remarked, “A place like this is a place like home.” I think that’s what John Muir was trying to say in so many words.

These past few days have been brutal. I still have friends working in the park, and my heart goes out to them. Looking at fire maps, many of my favorite spots in the world are awash in a sea of red. The General Sherman is wrapped in a fireproof blanket, and any moment now it may be in for the fight of its 2,200 year old life.

It’s this image of the General Sherman that I can’t shake. I’ve always hated the tree. Or rather, I hate what it represents. When working in the park visitors would naturally ask me what they should do. I’d tell them tales of mountains above the clouds, lakes shaped like guitars, sequoia groves of infinite solitude, creeks that ran entirely over granite, and meadows that were impressionist paintings come to life. The response was always, “But where do I see the biggest tree?”

I’d tell them the General Sherman’s designation as the world’s biggest tree had more to do with its proximity to a parking lot than scientific fact. I’d tell them there were hundreds of other sequoias that were equally impressive, but with much less impressive crowd sizes. They didn’t care. The General Sherman was a checklist item.

During the government shutdown of 2013 the crowds were forced to leave. I was temporarily fired from my job, but told I could keep living in government housing until the end of the month. With nothing to do, I loaded up my backpack and set out to the Giant Forest for an indefinite amount of time. I’ve explored SEKI pretty religiously, but never found anywhere that remotely compares to the Giant Forest sans people. Perhaps the most special moment of all was walking up to the General Sherman, hopping the fence, and giving it a hug. It was the first time I truly saw it. It was unquestionably the biggest tree in the world.

Now the fate of the General Sherman and the Giant Forest rests with the Spirit of the Sierra. Fire gave us the Giant Forest, and fire can take it away. As I sit wondering what will become of the most special place in the world, I think about my daughter. What will the Giant Forest that she may show her kids someday look like?
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balzaccom
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Re: An Ode to the Giant Forest

Post by balzaccom »

Nice post, Creekfeet. My dad was a ranger in the Sierra when I was a kid, and the mountains still have a special pull for me. And, like you, we have family memories that go back generations now...

This spring we took a week to hike around Lodgepole--including the Sugar Bowl and Redwood Canyon trails, where we saw a total of about six people all day. But we also went to visit General Sherman after dinner. It was a completely different experience. Only about ten people in the grove, and a sense of both serenity and grandeur.

The good news is that they are trying like hell to save those trees.
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
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