I have previously written about an old Elm Tree at the bottom of the garden of my childhood home and how, to me, it was a source of, in equal proportions, joy and terror. The former from its role as a playground , sentinel and shady retreat, the latter when transformed into a raging mass of branches and foliage when a storm struck. It was traumatic when it had to be chopped down after contracting the same disease that decimated Elms across the UK and Europe.
There has been a great outpouring of emotions in the last week or so over the toppling in extreme storm weather conditions of one of the famed Giant Trees of California, a Sequoia called the "Pioneer Cabin Tree".
Up until the 1850's only a few intrepid explorers and backwoodsmen had seen and appreciated the grandeur and sheer scale of the Sequoia's in the Calaveras area of the State.
The development of tourism by enterprising landowners started to open up the forest and in the era before Protected Park status it was a case of "anything goes" in pursuit of commercial gain from logging operations and the emerging business from visitors.
In 1857 a travel guide listed amongst the iconically named giants and perhaps for the first time to a wider public audience the "Pioneer Cabin Tree"
Measurements were a bit vague at "over 150 feet tall" and with a 99 feet diameter although it was noted that the tree had been lopped, hollowed out in the trunk but was still alive.A later and more accurate survey in 1900 put the tree at 280 feet tall.
The origins of the name are contested.
In appearance the mid section, damaged by numerous wildfires and lightning strikes, resembled to some the interior of a cabin and the trunk a large house chimney. Alternatively, It was local folklore that one of the many settler and pioneer families traversing the area had taken shelter in the tree to survive a harsh winter as they made their way westwards through the wild country.
In terms of age, this has never been determined but the oldest of the species date from around 3000 years ago and a conservative estimate for the Cabin Tree has been put at 1000 years old.
In the 1870's the owner of a hotel in the Calaveras, seeing the creation of road and footway tunnels through the trunks of the huge Redwoods of nearby Northern California and the huge draw that these were to tourists decided to do the same to the Cabin Tree.
The level of decay to the trunk will have helped in the cutting through process of what otherwise will have been impenetrable heartwood. As an attraction it proved a winner and a visit formed an integral part of a hiking, walking or horseback holiday in the area. Later, the motor car would form the main mode of transport.
A less desirable aspect was the fashion for sightseers to etch their names and messages into the trunk and this was actively prohibited in the 1930's under designation of the area as The Big Trees National Park. This was in recognition of the significance of the Sequoias to the environment and ecology of the area.
The level of exposure to weathering over the lifetime of the Cabin Tree will have been significant and largely resisted but the folly of humans in creating the gimmicky tunnel may have heralded its failure which took place in one of the most extreme storms to hit the area for decades on 8th January 2017.
Up until then the tree was reported as still showing signs of life, albeit in a single branch, but obviously in a weakened and longstanding, leaning condition.
The storm, locally referred to as a Pineapple Express because of its moisture laden tropical source near Hawaii resulted in flash flooding and gales which proved too much. Upon hitting the saturated forest floor the Cabin Tree simply shattered and disintegrated.
It is intended for the toppled giant to remain in place and contribute to the bio-diversity by being allowed to rot away naturally.
Ironically it will at last be possible to take a cross section of the 100 foot trunk to, for the first time, determine its actual age.
Top photograph attributed to Lawrence & Houseworth, P. (1866) The Pioneer's Cabin and Pluto's Chimney - Big Tree Grove, Calaveras County. [published] [Image] Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
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