Calaveras Big Trees State Park

A quick July trip to the Big Trees cured our desire to get out and hike after having been couped-up at home with mundane projects. Less than 2hrs from Turlock, this hike can quickly remind you how small humans really are, but also how significantly we can impact out world. The new visitor center is quite nice and the North Grove Trail made for the perfect hike with Zephyr. The drought has made everything in the forest extremely dry and dusty, so just be prepared to get a little dirty when you decide to go.
Welcome to the new and improved Calaveras Big Trees State Park Visitor Center The entry way pavement is supposed to represent the outline of the largest sequoia in the park. Zephyr gets his first touch on the single largest living organisms to ever have lived on Earth. Big Trees call for BIGGER eyes.
The steps up to the Big Stump - otherwise known as discovery tree. The 1244yr old Discovery tree was felled to make a dance floor and meaused nearly 27' in diameter when it was cut. What a waste, but a great educational tool today. Zephyr helps organize the different species of pine cones. We took the North Grove trail and Zephyr walked nearly 3/4 of a mile by himself as you'll see in the upcoming photos. But we first had to enjoy the dogwoods and dappled light that helped ease the burn of the 90 degree day.
RJH5890 Zephyr is the son of two hikers, that's for sure. So brave, too. Time to explore a felled, rotted stump! Whoa, Mom! Check out how cool this dusty old tree is!
Zephyr and Laura were so far back that my flash barely reached. Big sequoias only have roots that go down to a depth of less than 20ft. I've read that some sequoia roots spread out over an acre, roughly the size of a football field. Dirt magnet.
We let Z do a few offtrail excursions, but doing so is generally frowned-upon as it can trample root systems if there is too much traffic. Zephyr looking, hot and dirty. But still hiking - by choice. We found some shadows on the hike too. DIRTY FACE, but still a happy mom.
Looking down the barrel of a hollow fallen tree. Path through the North Grove seemed very new and flat to me. So what fate befell The Mother of the Forest? It was born in 667 BCE and several thousand years later in 1854 a man decided to strip its bark and send it around the globe as an attraction at fairs. Fires have since destroyed most of what was left of the tree. A sad ghost is all that is left of the Mother of the Forest.