Finding the Floyd Otter Tree - #3 Giant Sequoia

lambertiana

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About ten years ago I heard that a group had just finished taking measurements of a Giant Sequoia in the Garfield Grove at the southern end of Sequoia NP that turned out to be the third largest giant sequoia (EDIT to add - more recent accurate measurements show this to be the 12th largest sequoia). They named it the Floyd Otter tree, after a forestry official who worked not too far from there. I was determined to find the tree, and obtained a detailed grove map from a relative of Floyd Otter. The Garfield Grove is not easily reached, the trail starts at South Fork in Sequoia NP, and ascends about 3500' vertically to the main part of the grove. You have to really want to go there. And the Floyd Otter tree (as well as the King Arthur tree, which is #10 on the list of largest sequoias) is well above the trail, so some bushwhacking is required to go up the 30 degree slope to find these trees. I made one attempt about eight or nine years ago, when I was on a dayhike with some cub scouts, but they all bailed out on me and didn't want to continue. I turned around only a quarter mile below the trees because they were waiting for me.

Today I remedied that, and went with a friend to finally find the tree. It is a strenuous hike that is best done spring or fall - it's too hot at South Fork in the summer to do that kind of vertical, and in the winter the grove is buried under many feet of snow. We started this morning to find that the poison oak is having a banner year (good thing I'm not allergic to it, I was wearing shorts). The first mile of the trail was a lot of this:
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The trail is steep and gains the first 3000' in about three miles, then levels for a while, then gains another 500' in about half a mile. We started in lower elevation oak
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And eventually made our way up to the middle elevation forest of incense cedar, ponderosa pine, white fir, and sugar pine. On the way we passed an oak that is slowly enveloping a rock
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We were under forest canopy most of the day, with few of the typical sierra vistas, but here are a few that we had
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When we got to Snowslide Canyon, this is a view looking up the creek
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And then down the creek and across the canyon toward Homer's Nose
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Once we reached Garfield Grove proper, this is a typical view along the trail. Garfield Grove is unusual for a large sequoia grove in that it is almost entirely on steep slopes.
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Finally we reached the point where we left the trail and worked upslope. Since this is on a steep north-facing slope, we had to contend with a lot more brush than is normal in the sierras, and a lot of it had thorns (again, I was wearing shorts). Fortunately, my grove map was very accurate, and we had no problem reaching King Arthur, the tenth largest sequoia. It is an impressive tree:
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And about 300 yards up the slope from King Arthur we found the Floyd Otter tree. Since it was accurately measured only 11 years ago, it has not been added to most lists of the largest sequoias. It is slightly larger in total trunk volume than the President tree in Giant Forest. It has a huge burn scar on the uphill side:
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The upper part of Garfield Grove is home to a number of magnificent trees; this first one is right next to the Floyd Otter tree, and, although it is 21' diameter at 4' above the ground, it is not big enough to make it on the lists of the largest trees. Quite a tree nonetheless.
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And some others in the upper part of the grove
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This tiny brook was draining the area of King Arthur and Floyd Otter
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From the Floyd Otter tree, we looked uphill and saw those other big trees and kept going up, each time being enticed by another large tree even higher. Eventually we got so close to the top of Denison Ridge that we decided to just go all the way to the top, where we had a relaxing lunch sitting next to a nice tree (medium-sized sequoia about 15' diameter). Unfortunately, thick forest at the top of the ridge blocked any views on the other side.

We were there at the right time to see the flowers blooming, here are a few that we passed
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We had a very enjoyable time, despite the strenuous hike. It is a very very nice location, and, since it takes a lot to get there and there is no trail to the upper part of the grove, very few people ever go there.
 
Awesome! I love seeing pics of these giants. I live in the wrong part of the country!
 
Excellent pictures and adventure story.

I would love to hike in that area - I love trees and that would be spectacular!

Thank you so much for the awesome pictures!

best

mqqn
 
OMG, those are enormous plants.
thanks for posting!
 
Awesome pics !! Are all of those black splotches on the sequoias the result of burn damage ?? It looked like some fared better than others...
 
I believe that if i saw those in person, I would melt into a puddle and not want to leave, ever!
Thanks for the trip.:thumbup:
 
Tuxdad - Yes, the black marks are all from fires. The larger sequoias have been standing there for over 2000 years, and have seen multiple forest fires. Normally the thick non-resinous bark resists fire, but if there is too much deadfall laying around the tree when a fire strikes, it can do some damage.
 
They are massive, skyscrapers start looking smaller. I always think of the lives that have come and gone during the lives of such long lived things.
 
Great post. Beautiful pics. Those trees are truly majestic... amazing :). Thanks for sharing!
 
Taking pictures of those trees is like taking pictures of the Grand Canyon . Its hard to capture how majestic they are. You got some good pictures .
 
Now we know why they make wide angle lenses. :D

Great quest in the park and pictures. Those look like spring type flowers (or some of them). It's August. I'm not very familiar with CA wild flowers.

Added: Years ago, a friend and I noticed that the largest Bald Cypress tree was in an area of Texas we were exploring. Being that I love trees and nature, and the friend is a horticulturist, we decided to try to find the tree. Took us most of a day to do so and we found them on a private ranch along a river. We had to ask permission to wander around there and they pointed us toward the trees. Simply magnificent. Huge Bald Cypress trees!
 
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