Hyperion Coast Redwood
World's tallest discovery, 2006, Redwood National Park, 379.65' (386')
Continued from Coast Redwoods Main Page
Copyright 2009 - 2017 by Mario Vaden
Hyperion was discovered 2006, published as the tallest redwood for about 7 years. Various sources make claims about data, but be sure to fact-check and don't propagate speculations you heard. My Redwood Discovery page adds some extra insight. Prior to 2014, Hyperion was documented and published for a height 379.65 ft. and diameter 15.2 ft.. In 2017, Dr. Earle at conifers.org provided the following height update for Hyperion:
Height 380.08 ft. & Diameter dbh 15.87 ft.
Hyperion was found August 25, 2006 by Chris Atkins & Michael Taylor, one of 3 world record coast redwoods they found Redwood National Park that year. The 3 redwoods were Hyperion, Helios and Icarus. That used to give Redwood National Park claim to the three tallest in the same park. Between 2013 to 2016 heights shuffled the deck and by 2014 Redwood National Park lost claim to all 3 tallest in one park. New tallest coast redwoods were discovered missed by LiDAR, and growth rates changed during drier 2014 & 2015 seasons. Some redwoods grew as much height in a single drought year as in 4 moist year's growth combined. Some tallest lost height, a new world record came to pass, and heights of all redwoods changed. May 2017, Atkins even reported one loss of height of 25 feet. Presently, at lest two coast redwoods are approaching 393 ft., the documented record set by a Douglas fir in the early 1900s. Maybe 400' is realistic for in my generation for coast redwood. Keep in mind, Redwood National Park's signs and social media can miss the mark. Take some of the park's social media with a grain of salt.
Quick interjection - surveillance cameras were placed near Hyperion and other coast redwoods. Scroll down my Grove of Titans page to learn more.
From 2006 to 2013 near Hyperion, there were no traces on the ground of wear & tear or human activity. Near the end of 2015, one of the original group who first saw Hyperion in 2006, noted some obvious change around Hyperion, denoting an unknown number of people wandered through. Some kind of change is happening.
From my own photos spanning several years, I picked a large image showing the base of Hyperion early 2014. Select the photo to the right and enlarge for detail. Even the sorrel looks pristine. A friend's image is added farther down this page in updates showing beginning stages of human impact.
This larger image provides a true-to-reality example what uneffected by foot traffic looks like. As strange as it may seem, this is what the base of Stout redwood looked like 100 years ago before the plants vanished and ground compacted around it. This 2014 image is your perfect benchmark for future comparison. I skipped returning to Hyperion in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 to avoid being part of the group establishing permanent wear and social trails. Chris Atkins shares similar thoughts.
The end of August, 2018, somebody sent me a trip report confirming what I have shared. They took a peek and said on their way there and back, encountered 15 different people headed for Hyperion over 2 hrs... That's at least equal to the people going to Grove of Titans in a days I first started documenting wear in that grove which began pre-2014. Hyperion seems to be getting in 2 hours, what the "GOT" got in a full day when that area began to change. I was told there are two social paths leading to Hyperion now instead zero or one partial. Plus a 3rd path behind it. Wear gets worse in the wet season, so we can watch and report the transition.
The image below is the oldest top-to-bottom view of Hyperion. This is the complete photo farthest-removed from human influence, taken one cold rainy January 23rd back in 2009. In that regard the four-frame composite is historical. This has been available and ordered as 16 x 32 print canvas.
I will spare directions because some folks like figuring it out themselves. Other coast redwoods have been discovered and exploration continues.
Redwood National Park and Humboldt Redwoods State Park are not fully explored. Remember Robert Van Pelt, "there's always a bigger one out there"
Fact Check ... Tops can be seen
For years, some seekers were informed at certain visitor centers that tops of the tallest redwoods can't be seen. But that's not the case and the tops of some can be seen from some vantage point. As stated previously, that's exactly how I identified Hyperion, spotting the top almost 380 feet overhead instead of the lower trunk.
For an example, here's what a top 391.56 ft. overhead looks like.
This partial view of one crown, shows exactly how visible almost any redwood's top can be, standing in the right spot. It may require going uphill, or left or right. But the tops of most tallest redwoods can be seen from somewhere.
I get the impression that some people believe the tops of middle-height redwoods like 180' to 250' can be seen but vanish into the canopy when tops reach over 300 ft.
If you ever go to Bull Creek Flat in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, pick almost any trunk and try to find it's top. It might take a while, and you may need to walk 500 ft. away. But the pinnacle of at least half the redwoods in there must show it's face somewhere.
My first encounter with Hyperion
2009 / Mario VadenMy first time to Hyperion was back in 2009 when the trek was more of a real adventure. Clues were very scarce those years. I approached, January 23, 2009, and reached Hyperion around 11:45 am. It was overcast, cold and rainy. My clothes were saturated chest high from wading through water up to 4 feet deep. Weather records indicate about 43 degrees F. that day, barely 10 degrees above freezing.
I was hesitant but Michael Taylor encouraged me to keep trying. He never shared the location but suggested to proceed. Apparently I was the first "outsider" to locate Hyperion. Although I found scraps from Richard Preston's redwood adventure book my choice of area was based on what seemed like a good place to look for a tallest redwood as if I was going to pick a place to search for a world record from scratch.
Redwood Creek was full and so were the tributaries. Some spots were deep enough to raise my pack overhead. Unlike lookers these days (2018), I identified Hyperion by the apex instead the base. Any clues pertaining to the trunk base were uncertain. In winter the area feels like a wilderness. I recall being apprehensive, probably because I went in there solo. When I spotted claw marks on logs, it made me a little more nervous. But afterward, I focused my thoughts on redwoods, hemlocks, maples and photos. By afternoon, I was comfortable and it became one of my most memorable redwood adventures.
Hyperion
Hyperion Coast Redwood was the tallest known of all plant species in the world from 2006 to 2013. The 2012 measurement was 115.66m or 379.46' high, 15.2' diameter at dbh or 4.5' above grade. It is mostly a single stem redwood with some fire charring on the trunk. Hyperion looks like a stereotypical Sequoia sempervirens.
The stem length on the low side was 386 ft. It is located on a hillside above a creek in Redwood National Park. In a sense, you could accurately say Hyperion is a 386 ft. tall coast redwood. One measuring standard is based on averaging the upslope and downslope height of the trunk. But if it were possible to remove Hyperion from the Earth and hang it from a crane, the trunk would stand no less than 386 ft. tall. In that regard it's safe to say Hyperion was 386 ft. tall from the lowest reach trunk or foliage.
Around August 26, 2006, forest expert Dr. Robert VanPelt referred to the Hyperion redwood as "unnamed" and wrote "The most significant year in tree height measuring just joined the ranks of years like 1066, 1492, etc."
Image right: coast redwoods near Klamath and Yurok territory ..... some notable new discoveries have not been published, named or shown. Post-2013, locations of the real tallest and largest coast redwoods are only known among a few researchers and discoverers regardless of any speculation found online. Around 2013, the most skilled discoverers pushed into new territory. Many new discoveries were made including tall redwoods that did not show up on LiDAR data. In previous years, redwood forest was flown-over with LiDAR equipment, indicating potential for tallest redwoods and the results were investigated and measured. But the same forest was re-explored and new discoveries were made that had nothing to do with the previous LiDAR project. Some expanses of Redwood and National State Parks were not explored or scanned with LiDAR. Likewise, other forests not flown for LiDAR were explored, including old growth near Klamath, etc.. I cropped-out the tallest redwood to the right, but the old-growth is evident. Even today, the redwood forest is not fully explored, but we are still looking for more. On the other hand, as noted on my discovery page, the era of redwood discovery drawing closer to a final episode.
During the first climb shown by National Geographic researcher Steve Sillett said foliage near the top was not as reduced in size as expected. The needles still had some "expansion" indicating potential for extra height.
The first climb involved Dr. Steve Sillett, his wife Marie Antoinne, Jim Spickler and author Richard Preston. National Geographic's film crew tagged along plus 3 officials from Save the Redwoods League, one being Ruskin Hartley who carried the crossbow for Sillett that September 16, 2006. Michael Taylor and Chris Atkins who discovered it were also present.
Image: glimpse into the canopy, one trunk with unique hook-arm reiterations
Prior to 2010, a plane flew over several redwood parks for LiDAR but left the door open for more unknowns because swaths of Redwood National Park vicinity was omitted plus tallest redwoods (undetected) were found in the LiDAR zone. That basically re-opened all parks flown for LiDAR to re-exploration. And of course, we returned. New height records occured between 2013 and 2018 surpassing the 379.1 ft. world record set by Hyperion in 2006.
The forest has no shortage of changes and surprises. A lot of people thought there was no chance another largest coast redwood for volume existed. But there were more anyway, and eventually we found some because we knew there was a chance. You can quote me on this: "chance has potential"
My Favorite Hyperion Story
My favorite story by others is the 2007 Above and Beyond by Clynes. Even though I have been to Hyperion several times, I still enjoy reading this fun article.
If it's still online, see ... Above and Beyond Article
The narrative unfolds as if they they picked Redwood Creek trailhead close to Orick. That article opens weighing options in hours and pints of blood. Their first search party had a 75% casualty rate for injuries the first day. I found interesting quirks comparing Preston's book with Clynes story.
Image: my photography assistant at the base of tall Hyperion redwood. Over 80 degrees - May 1, 2014.
Clynes never did find Hyperion, but he closed his story with a great appreciation for the forest. Its worth the read. Clynes contacted co-discoverer Chris Atkins afterward to chat. Around April, 2015, Chris and I stopped for an IPA and supper where I asked about his conversation with Clynes, and Atkins confirmed the authenticity of their phone call.
The writer mentioned at least an "hour" of "sloshing" and the narrative indicates one of the next days was even farther so they could have gone a full mile or more to solitide grove up Redwood Creek. The article began with 10 ft. log jams. Coming out of the gate, the story has a McArthur Creek vibe. But the Rhododendron patches ring true of Forty Four creek or Elam creek north slope. Clynes never says how many days they spent. The "last" day in context of the call to Atkins remains a mystery. Some people assume the last stretch is the last day. But whether they looked 2 days or 5 days, he did not reveal. It appears Clynes went up several creeks and "trimmed fat" off the narrative to conceal the exact details where the "right place" was. Here's an excerpt:
"Wow," he said. "You managed to find your way into one of the most spectacular groves on earth." He asked a few more questions, regarding how far up the creek we went, which side we climbed, how high we went. After I described the location, Atkins was silent for what seemed like a long time. "You were in the right place," he said finally. "You probably walked right past it"
In the beginning, the park's ranger made the effort to draw their attention to a specific stand of redwoods and one part of the park. That's about the only time Clynes names a spot. Afterward, they went to the visitor center south of Orick for a "better" map. One section in the narrative that reveals their thoughts . . .
"I turned discreetly and scanned the steep, mazelike country upstream. Somewhere up there, Hyperion had been quietly holding forth for decades"
Considering the exact spot the ranger took them, Clynes' comment points toward Bridge Creek or Emerald Creek.
Tags on Redwoods
Tags on redwoods are not reliable for verification. Between canopy researchers and other studies, there are scores of tags. Tags for some redwoods are across opposite sides of valleys on trunks of other Redwoods or Douglas Firs where the window was open to use a laser aiming back across the valley again. Between 2008 and 2011 the number of tags multiplied, still increasing.
Keyhole in the Landscape
Richard Preston wrote of a keyhole in the landscape, leading to Hyperion Valley. For a while, it made no sense. Eventually, I realized that one or two spots in the park can be described as a keyhole. Due to changes in activity the past few years, I decided to reveal the "keyhole" in the landscape described by Preston. Scroll down page for the image.
October, 2015 Update
Found an interesting error this month. Someone posted that Hyperion's canopy crown is the greatest known, over 90 meters top to bottom, about 300 ft. worth. Anyhow, among the coast redwoods named in Preston's 2007 redwood book and on my website, Hyperion is exceeded in that regard. There is more out there over 300 ft. top to bottom.
July 2016 Update
July, 2016, a group from a Foursquare Church in Humboldt posted video with their own words saying "we created our own footholds into the mud", which is exactly how 3300 square meters of damage started at Grove of Titans. Their intention was to have fun, but that's how plants get obliterated. A succession of seemingly inconsequential movements. At 3:05 to 3:07 when one broke a Rhododendron, more changed than just footholds in mud. To the handful who went here 2006 to 2014, watching new millenial seekers is like watching a science experiment. In the past, others moved very delicately. These days, it's different, more like a bull in a china shop.
December 2016 Update #1
Hyperion may not see the same traffic as the Grove of Titans. But it's fair to document any activity and change for the record.
A reader here, saw a recent image I added at the top of the page showing Hyperion's base in it's pristine condition during early 2014. The reader, Mark, submitted an image taken near Hyperion, end of summer 2015. A year and a few months afterward. It confirms what I was told by one researcher that the area around Hyperion was starting to get a "thrashed" appearance.
Select the image to the right for a larger view. The more orange areas are where boots started to grind-down the bark, pulverizing the surface into fine dust and particles. The small vegetation has already been reduced, evident by comparison to my 2014 image. If you enlarge the photo, there's no way to miss the initial stages of wear and tear. This is exactly what the first phase of wear looked like around the base of Screaming Titans up in Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park.
This wear began immediately after an anonymous leak abbreviated "FR". Before the leak, traces of humans around the trunk were difficult or impoosible to find. Immediately after the leak, the first stages of wear were obvious.
December 2016 Update #2
The past few years, several people claimed to "find" Hyperion, some adding they found the world's tallest tree. In a nutshell, none of them know for certain. The speculation is conjecture. Unless some scientist writes height data side-by-side with actual names, it may be near impossible know. If anyone happens to find names and heights together, bookmark and save the reference to back up commentary. Expert sources are worth saving, but beware of unverified anonymous stuff.
Who is the photo assistant?Jenni ... the one who inspired artistic documentary redwood prints with you may have seen in a gallery. She enjoys photography, video, and hiking. Our first photo sessions were in Eureka and Humboldt. Her friend Chela was the first person I practiced forest portraits with. They both helped set the foundation of my redwood portraiture and prints displayed at the redwood coast. The world's tallest maple was named Humboldt Honey after a photo of Jenni taken in Eureka, by a huge stack of logs. I've taken over a thousand photos of her in the redwoods, but only a fraction have been posted. The bay laurel laurel shown below has some of the more fragrant leaves you may sense in Redwood National Park. I included this image in photo book, and the page explains about reiterated stems like the ones shown sprouting from this trunk.
Image: the first image is Chris Atkins, co-discoverer of Hyperion, swimming in Redwood National Park in the area described by author Clynes in the Backpacker Magazine article Above and Beyond. See commentary on this page about the area upstream from Solitude Grove
The second image is the specific "keyhole" in the landscape described by author Richard Preston. It becomes more distinct during overcast weather and looking from this direction.
Image: the "keyhole" in the landscape described by author Richard Preston. It becomes more distinct during overcast weather and looking from this direction.
Image: Hyperion Valley in Redwood National Park, winter time, January 23, 2009.
Image: Hyperion Valley, January 23, 2009. Cold, saturated and swollen with rainwater.
Image: scores of fallen logs packed like sardines from the power of raging floodwaters. January 23, 2009. Hyperion Valley in Redwood National Park.
Image: Claw marks in close proximity to Hyperion redwood. These claw marks conveyed two more things about Hyperion other than the fact black bears are there in addition to mountain lions (which tracks I also found). The claw marks were wide, meaning the bears are large. But the length proved that getting a foothold is just as slippery for bears,
Image: The photo below show a friend Richard on the route downstream, leaving Hyperion. This was back in 2014 when Thomas from Germany joined us.
