Orion Grove .. Redwood National Park

by Mario Vaden

 

The week leading up to Christmas 2016, I browsed an old image folder and found this photo from a point and shoot camera used years ago. I decided to correlate this with the new edwood discoveries page because Orion was pivotal in our quest for new giant coast redwoods in the same way as Dog Soldier. In 2014, measurements for Orion were listed as:

Height 370.01 feet. .. Diameter 13.7 feet

Orion was another piece evidence proving largest and tallest redwoods must grow in unexpected and ignored locations. One of just eight redwoods known over 370 ft. tall in 2014, it took LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) to find this location in Redwood National Park where a spring supplies abundant water all year long. Whereas LIDAR helped locate some of these hidden tall redwoods, every new volume discovery was scouting on foot.

The blackened charring in the photo proves flames engulfed the area a long time ago. There are a lot of large old Rhododendrons in all directions so the last forest fire was probably over a century ago. I've only been through here three times ... all during September 2009. It's a difficult place to visit, and if I return, it will probably be to photograph Rhododendrons.

For me personally, the significance of Orion wasn't how tall it was. But where it grew so tall. It's discovery along with Dog Soldier the Romulan Titan .. and a few other coast redwoods, prompted revitalized discovery effort in the redwood forest parks.

 

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