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The
Giant Sequoia trees are native to an area about 250 miles long and 50
miles wide just south of Yosemite National Park. These
big trees have been protected from logging for over 100 years thanks to
President Theodore Roosevelt. Further, in 1991 it became illegal
to harvest even fallen trees.
The journey
of this particular Gigantia Dendrum Sequoia began in 1964 when a snow
and wind storm knocked down the 2700 year old, 282 foot tall tree on University
of California land. In 1975 UC put the tree up for public
auction and two men from Santa Cruz, California competed in the
bidding.
The
two men bid against many big, well known lumber companies.
The big companies wanted to cut down 400 fir trees around the
Sequoia. The two Santa Cruz men proposed an ingenious plan in
which they would not touch anything within 20feet of the big tree, and
would leave the land in its natural state. Their proposal won, and
so the adventure began for the two men and the tree...
The two men
pitched a tent at 10,000 feet in the Whitaker forest and worked from
first light until after sundown every day over two grueling
seasons. They chopped the colossal 282 ft tall, 27ft diameter,
85ft circumference tree into blocks small enough to manage and
transport. Because the wood was still wet when harvested, each 4
ft x 4 ft x 10ft block weighted about 10,000 lbs. The entire tree
was transported using an old Navy winch bolted to a 200 ton boulder and
one old truck for hauling.
This tree
has a special energy to it. Since it began growing in
700B.C.; is rare and especially beautiful when finished, the wood has
been exclusively used for special works of art, pieces that will be
passed down for generations to come...it has become big dinning tables,
massive front doors for fine custom homes, a few yacht interiors, some
musical instruments and beautiful sculptures both big and small.
Contact us
at 831-722-2151 or
jan@thegiantsequoia.com
jan@thegianttree.com
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