Giants
of the Forest;
Olympic Peninsula Big Trees
|
| This land of breathtaking mountains
and rich, green forests, is a paradise to lovers of big trees. For giant
trees, the Olympic Peninsula is equaled by few and surpassed by no
areas. Only parts of nearby Vancouver Island, as well as Oregon,
California and Australia, still have trees over 300 ft tall. To most
earthlings a "tall" tree is 75 to 100 ft. Thousands of Douglas
firs on the Peninsula don't even branch that near to the ground!
Sitka spruces and red cedars stand whose trunks are 20 ft through! The
very bark on ancient firs can exceed a foot in
thickness. |
| About a hundred years ago, pioneers
logged the raw, dripping forests, seeking extra-large trees even as we
do now. But the motives have altered dramatically. Early loggers took
pride in felling the mightiest specimens; we, their descendants,
enshrine our record-size trees, admiring with joy the inspiring sight of
nature's ultimate growth. Excess fascinates us, whether it be wealth,
celebrity, athletic achievement or size. |
| So, naturally, we wonder: where are
the largest trees? Olympic National Park employees receive so many
requests for big tree information that a list of the record trees within
the park is kept on file. The State has an ambitious big tree program
sponsored by the U.W. Al Carder, a retired professor of plant science
who lives north of Victoria has spent years writing a global account of
big trees. It is long overdue, therefore, to give credit and recognition
to the Peninsula's outstanding trees -- for this is truly the land of
the giants. |
| Big trees are thought of as just
that: so large that we stand in awe of them. Record trees can
still be small, however. Because for every kind of tree, including
species which normally are small, one example will be the largest
recorded or the "champion" for size of that species. For
example, the tallest known vine maple is only 62 ft. Big deal? Compared
to average vine maples it is amazing. So the 62 ft vine maple is
on the big tree list, yet a Douglas fir could be 300 ft tall and 8 ft
thick but not qualify for a list of champion trees, since other firs are
bigger still! Big tree searchers seek trees with one dimension or
another greater than anyone else has reported. Although huge trunks
receive most attention, also crucial are lofty heights and broad branch
spreads. Mountain hemlock provides a good example: one tree is tallest
(194 ft), another broadest (49 ft wide) and a third the stoutest-trunked
(17'8" circumference or 5' 7 1⁄2" thick). |
| Do you wonder what difference it
makes? What use is such data? Certainly people can't get rich
measuring trees. Love, however, cares not. To "hunters" of big
trees, or their kindred bird-watchers, mushroom-pickers, wildflower
enthusiasts, and general outdoors lovers, the reward is in the long
hours of pleasure. New discoveries thrill the spirit and give an
elevated burst of energy to the body. Finding trees bigger than anyone
has found before is a kind of first, like scaling an unclimbed peak or
mapping uncharted wilderness. So although no cash bounty is offered,
dozens of hikers and tree lovers send to the authorities their tips of
record trees. |
| Conservation is another
compelling motive -- in order to know where the best stands of trees
are, we need comparative data, and big tree measurements play an obvious
role here. In an effort to save them, we look for the biggest
trees. |
| Oddly enough, sometimes even the
largest trees go long undetected and unpublicized, despite being not far
off well-traveled roads. The largest spruce is such a tree. For decades,
only the wind roaring in its massive crown carried the news of its
greatness. Now its image graces postcards. Its rise from obscurity to
fame makes a good story: in August, 1984, I heard about "a huge
spruce" on the southeast shore of Quinault Lake, at the Rain Forest
Resort. My 50 ft tape measure couldn't circle its mossy trunk, but I
guessed it 54 ft circumference and 175 ft tall. In 1986, Randy
Stoltmann, author of the Hiking Guide to Big Trees of Southwestern
British Columbia, measured it at 52'4" around and 182 ft tall. Next,
in June 1987, Dr Al Carder, big tree researcher from Victoria, taped
58'1" but did not measure the height. Still later, Robert Wood, writer
of various Olympic Peninsula books, found it 55 ft by his tape. Last,
Bob Van Pelt, Washington State Big Tree program director, read 63 ft
around and 191 ft tall! |
| These measurements, embarrassingly
dissimilar, were made independently by men unaware of one another! Who
to believe? A November 1987 expedition settled the matter. A group of
Oregonians and Washingtonians was itching to know which state really had
the biggest spruce. On two successive rainy days, with the same
equipment, the group measured the contending giants. The Quinault tree
proved to be 191 ft tall, 96 ft wide and 58'11" around. The Oregon tree,
south of Seaside, was 206 ft tall, 93 ft wide, and its trunk 56 ft
around. These figures are the presently accepted official ones,
sanctioned by the State big tree coordinators as well as the American
Forestry Association. |
|
| As a result of the show-down, the
giant spruces both got great publicity. Yes, Washington's is a
bit bigger, much to the ill humour of our neighbors to the south.
Both the spruces had their original tops blown off by storms, so the
fact that Oregon's is 15 ft taller is not as important as is the greater
trunk and branch spread of the Washington tree. Washington's
tallest known spruce, in the Queets Valley near Smith Place, is
305 ft tall, but one on Vancouver Island discovered in June of 1988 is
312 ft tall -- the "Carmanah Giant!" Sitka spruces grow
exceedingly fast in the rain forests, with most of the largest specimens
only 400-700 years old. It is the State Tree of Alaska and its wood is
world-famous for combining strength, elasticity and light
weight. |
| Most big trees don't have such a
contentious history or fanfare. They stand in quiet solitude, sunlight
glinting on their trunks, the scent of pines pervading the air -- no
other emphasis in the forest. Hikers and wildlife alone are affected by
their presence. |
| Other big trees are near roads and
easy trails, so are seen by many curious onlookers. The Kalaloch red
cedar is a prime example. Off Highway 101 north of the big Kalaloch
campground, roadside signs proclaim BIG TREE and a special path leads
straight to the ancient, hulking remnant. This hollow, rotting red
cedar, centuries old, has endured decades of tourists scratching away
its reddish bark, trampling its roots, and staring at its ponderous
bulk. Harder-to-find cedars are just as big and still more impressive.
Cedars have huge buttressed bases, and rot-resistant wood of unexcelled
endurance, so they almost never blow down in storms. Despite their high
value as a source of fragrant, durable wood, many enormous cedars still
stand. Few tall cedars are known, though. The tallest was 277 ft
before being logged, but specimens much over 200 ft are
rare. |
| Douglas firs, of course, are most
famous of all. In sheer numbers this is the premier tree in the
Northwest, and for that reason and because of the splendid trunks of
high-quality wood, it is our local King of the Forest. Douglas firs are
the tallest Northwest trees, and always have been, but do not have the
monstrously swollen bases of cedars and spruces. The pillar-like, brown,
deeply rugged fir trunks rise far higher, as the species can't stand
shade. Presently, the tallest tree known in the whole Northwest is a 326
ft fir in the Queets Valley. Well-documented examples around 400 ft once
stood, though this is hard for most people to believe. The thickest
trunks of firs presently are 44 1⁄2 ft around, which is a mere
shadow of the bygone giants' girths and is easily surpassed by numerous
spruces and cedars. |
| Not all big trees are evergreens, of
course, nor centuries old. Cottonwoods easily reach 150 ft in 40 years,
and the 188 ft current record (in the Queets campground) may be not much
older, if at all. Alas, these trees well deserve the nickname
"rottenwood" for their weak, lush wood. They grow as if
afraid, in a dreadful hurry, then shatter themselves to pieces in
furious storms, old-looking at 75 years! |
| Every tree has built-in genetic
factors which regulate its performance in a given environment. Yew is
slowest of all, but lives for the ages; Grand fir (of tangerine scent)
shoots skyward 200 ft in 50 years, but is rarely seen either thick or
over 300 years of age; Vine maple is essentially a gigantic shrub,
rarely with only one trunk; Hemlocks are a classic case of patient
moderation, growing steadily but undramatically; Alder grows as fast as
cottonwood but is hopelessly dull in comparison, besides being less
imposing in size -- one 136 ft tall by the Hamma Hamma River is only 16
inches thick! Despite being a beanpole, it is a record: the world's
tallest reported alder of any kind. |
The Peninsula supports about 30
native tree species, which grow in habitats ranging from rain forest to
sunny Sequim. Over 30 Peninsula trees have earned mention on the
Washington State Big Tree List, and many others are wonderful to behold
even though they are not the biggest. The accompanying chart has a
selected list of some of the more important measurements. For your free
copy of the State list, write to Robert Van Pelt, College of Forest
Resources, AR-10, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
98195.
|
[The above article above was written in
1990 and published in 1991 in Peninsula magazine. Since then many
new tree measurements have been made. I suggest that you consult two
books by Robert Van Pelt: Champion Trees of Washington State
(1996) and Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast (2001). Both were
published by the University of Washington Press.]
Back |
| Some
Olympic Peninsula big trees
|
| Species |
Total height |
Trunk girth |
Branch spread |
Year measured |
Location |
| Western Red CEDAR |
178' |
61' |
54' |
1977 |
Nolan Creek, S of the Hoh
River |
| Black COTTONWOOD |
188' |
13'7" |
61' |
1988 |
Olympic National Park,
Queets Campground |
| Douglas FIR |
326' |
21'1" |
49' |
1988 |
Olympic National Park,
Queets Valley near Smith Place |
| Douglas FIR |
298' |
37'4" |
64' |
1988 |
Olympic National Park, S
Fork Hoh River trail |
| Douglas FIR |
205' |
44'5" |
37' |
1985 |
Olympic National Park,
Kloochmans Rock trail |
| Grand FIR |
264' |
14'5" |
41' |
1988 |
Olympic National Park,
Dosewallips River trail near Station Creek |
| Grand FIR |
217' |
19'9" |
40' |
1987 |
Olympic National Park,
along Barnes Creek by U.S. 100 |
| Mountain HEMLOCK |
194' |
13'1" |
29' |
1988 |
Olympic National Park,
near Sundown Pass |
| Mountain HEMLOCK |
149' |
17'8" |
39' |
1988 |
Olympic National Park,
Wynoochee trail |
| Western HEMLOCK |
241' |
22'6" |
68' |
1988 |
Olympic National Park,
Hoh River trail |
| Western HEMLOCK |
164' |
27'4" |
62' |
1972 |
Olympic National Park,
Enchanted Valley |
| MADRONA |
83' |
19'10" |
95' |
1987 |
Port Angeles, 231 W 8th
Street |
| Bigleaf MAPLE |
135' |
10'4" |
56' |
1988 |
Olympic National Park, S
Shore Quinault Road |
| Bigleaf MAPLE |
113' |
27'3" |
93' |
1988 |
Olympic National Park,
Hoh River trail |
| Sitka SPRUCE |
305' |
21'11" |
62' |
1988 |
Olympic National Park,
Queets Valley near Smith Place |
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