Adventure Coast Redwood .. #8
by Mario Vaden
2009 height 330.4 feet .. diameter 16.5 feet .. volume 32,140 cu. ft.
This coast redwood was the 8th largest known until 2008 - 2014 when new discoveries started racking-up like cord wood in Redwood National and State Parks.
The 2009 data reflects info gathered by canopy scientist Dr. Steve Sillett, his team. Adventure was also measured years earlier by Dr. Robert Van Pelt. He arrived at 31,170 cu. ft. and 334 ft. high. Van Pelt measured from ground level using a laser from 7 positions, probably with Michael Taylor's assistance. Adventure was discovered in Prairie Creek Redwoods by Michael Taylor. It's one of several redwoods that have some reverse trunk taper similar to Iluvatar. When you look at this photo, imagine researchers sitting at the very top among huckleberry shrubs growing up there, and snacking on them. That was described by author Richard Preston in The Fire Caves of Adventure chapter of his book.
advertisement
The trunk has 4 hollows called fire caves following centuries of breakage, decay and fire within its 40 stem crown. At 180 feet the Upper Fire Cave is more of a cieling with canopy soil at its opening. The main trunk is still 7' diameter at 250' high where small huckleberry thickets are located. Near 290' a rare moss was found, called slender straight-toothed moss or Orthodontium gracile. Adventure's trunk has some reverse taper about 100 ft. above the ground where girth was decribed to broaden back to a width similar to a diameter farther down the trunk near the ground. But this redwood is not as big as I first imagined the way Preston wrote about it. Reviewing my photos of the upper trunk and stems, the main bole appears mishaped, comprised of various fusions. It's a nice looking coast redwood but also reminds me of buying cashews in 5 lb. cans with options between whole nuts or bits & pieces. Both cans have 5 pounds of cashews but the products look different inside. With Adventure, it's pretty big when all the pieces are added.
Adventure has Methuselah's Beard lichen, visible from ground level. Among others are tube , black bloody heart and wart lichens. The Cladonia genus grows up there too. Some have bright red tips, very short, growing millimeters per year. The trunk is almost 10' narrower than Lost Monarch. The photo below was taken August 10, 2008. I have been to it only once and have not returned in at least 10 years, but will return eventually.
The Coast Redwood below is clearly NOT Adventure.
It's a redwood we discovered in Redwood National and State Parks in 2016. The base is similar width to Adventure's diameter. The photo was taken from up on a hillside, shot horizontal to avoid distorting the trunk. As you can see, there is little taper and the trunk is very singular even above the height shown. Much different than Adventure's many bulging reiterations.
I thought these would make an interesting comparison since the base is similar width, but the trunks overhead are so different. The one below is called The Dark Horse. I have not fully measured it, but wondered whether it may be the volume of Adventure. Another that may be as big is the Nitro Express, discovered 2018. I haven't cared much to measure these other redwoods for comparsion is because some new discoveries are dramatically larger. But I enjoy finding and photographing all of these.
