February 15, 2025 • 24 mins
The Redwoods are home to the world’s tallest trees.
WHAT'S the secret to their staggering growth? Why is this unique ecosystem worth visiting?
Noodles and I hike deep into the Old-Growth Redwoods of Northern California to find out!
-
As always, we'll answer listener question at the end, which include:
- Have you had any cryptid encounters on the road?
- Is is hard to drive your van?
- Any national parks you'd like to go back to?
- What have the trees been telling you? What's the tree tea?
- What's the wildest thing you've done for an episode?
My Recommendations (details in episode):
Avenue of the Giants:
https://www.visitredwoods.com/explore-the-redwoods/avenue-of-the-giants/
Trees of Mystery:
The Living Chimney Tree:
https://aveofthegiants.com/attractions/living-chimney-tree-attraction-grill/
Works Cited:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40608544?searchText=redwoods&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dredwoods%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A63141d001987533dfa9a2e90fec5d121
https://www.nps.gov/redw/faqs.htm
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/tall-trees/2nd-grade/
https://medium.com/@treejer/the-story-of-the-redwood-trees-ac56d4730d9e
https://www.savetheredwoods.org/redwoods/why-redwoods/
https://californiacurated.com/2021/03/04/why-are-californias-redwoods-and-sequoias-so-big/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BVHSUMAWR4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9NDI5H2zZM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW9w6eCQQkU
Noah and Noodles here!
We want to extend a heartfelt thanks to every listener of Backroad Odyssey.
Your support fuels our passion and inspires us to keep sharing stories and discover overlooked locations.
Follow each adventure visually at:
https://www.instagram.com/backroadsodyssey/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cruisin' down the street.
I wonder where this road wouldlead so many possibilities.
Care to share what you think.
Oh Noondolls, what do you see?
Back Road Odyssey.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Van Life Diaries Into the Redwoods realm of giants.
Welcome to Van Life Diaries.
I'm your host, Noah, in the vantoday, along with my dog and
co-host, noodles the Woodle.
Let's get into it.
The Redwoods along the Pacificcoast are home to the world's
(00:45):
tallest trees.
What is the secret to theirstaggering growth?
Why is this unique ecosystemeven worth visiting?
Noodles and I hike deep intothe old growth redwoods of
Northern California to find out.
As long-time listeners know,van life diaries are relatively
(01:05):
unscripted and impromptu and atthe end, as always, we'll answer
listener questions.
For now, I've got a West CoastIPA on hand.
I felt it appropriate.
Feel free to join me, alcoholicor not.
Sit back, relax and prepareyourself, because where we're
going there be giants.
(01:27):
It's our first night camping theRedwoods.
We're near Elk PrairieTrailhead under some of the
biggest trees I've seen in myentire life.
A little fire's going.
The sun just set.
I'm going to be honest.
It's strange being here.
For me, the Redwoods,specifically, have always been
this hazy dream, someplace thatI'll go to eventually, the very
(01:48):
distant future.
So it's surreal being here now.
Let me start with this Whetheryou've been to the Redwoods,
would like to go or have thoughtabout it.
I've got three questions I'dlike to answer in this episode
that I think you'd findinteresting.
One, why are these trees so big?
Two, how did this intricatesystem of parks and protected
(02:14):
trees, groves come to be?
And finally, most importantlymaybe, why should you or I come
to visit and appreciate thistruly unique ecosystem?
In other words, what's there toget?
The Redwood is the glory of thecoast range.
(02:34):
It extends along the westernslope in a nearly continuous
belt, about 10 miles wide frombeyond the Oregon Boundary to
south of Santa Cruz, a distanceof nearly 400 miles, and, in
massive, sustained grandeur andcloseness of growth, surpasses
all of the other timber woods ofthe world.
(02:56):
John Muir, the Redwoods are anexpansive collection of state
parks and a national park, allfeaturing unquestionably unique
landscapes.
These stretches of tree growthare often cited as among the
most beautiful in the world.
A redwood often grows more than300 feet tall.
The record is something like380 feet.
(03:19):
All right for context, theStatue of Liberty is 305 feet.
So let's ask ourselves how isthis possible?
How and why do redwoods grow sotall?
If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you
(03:39):
are?
Ts Eliot, redwoods have a veryspecific collection of reasons
for their staggering staggeringheight.
So let's jump right in, shallwe?
First, let's talk climate.
The stretch of redwoods inNorthern California often
receives as much as 100 inchesof rainfall annually.
(04:03):
This helps with growth,obviously, but the real secret
to a redwood's long, sustainedgrowth is not rainfall, it's fog
.
In the summer, when the coldPacific air mingles with warm
California temperatures, anannual thick fog descends upon
the redwoods, blanketing themwith moisture and preventing
(04:27):
water loss.
But where usually trees preparethemselves for periods without
rain, without moisture, redwoodsare unique in that they don't
really have to do this.
This fog prevents water loss,as we said, but, importantly,
they've adapted to intake thiswater rich fog through their
(04:48):
leaves, through their bark andeven through root shoots that
protrude from the ground.
Let me put it like this so,rather than drinking half the
glass of available water eachyear, drinking half of it and
then stopping, redwoodscontinuously drink water
throughout the year.
For trees, more water meansmore growth.
(05:12):
The second reason for theirstaggering height is how a
redwood distributes the wateronce it's acquired.
Redwoods have a unique vascularsystem that efficiently
transports water and nutrients.
This is the way I like to thinkabout it, so, as simply as I
can put it, the more distanceyou have to transport something,
(05:34):
the harder it will be.
So, where most trees have aheight cap, because water
distribution would be impossibleafter a certain height it would
be too hard Redwoods' uniquedistribution system bypasses
problems that would otherwiseoccur.
It can transport nutrients fromthe bottom to the top and
(05:56):
without getting into the darkrabbit hole on precisely how
this water is transported.
The key takeaway is thisRedwoods grow tall because the
readily available water can beabsorbed and moved throughout
its system despite its size.
(06:22):
The next reason is they'rewildly resilient To live a long
time.
For us, but for trees as well,it helps to be resistant to
disasters, sickness and pests.
More for the trees, I guesspests can get us as well, but a
(06:43):
redwood is uniquely adapted toresist or deter all three of
these things resistant todisasters, sickness and pests.
In addition to both having fireresistant bark, having
safeguards against disease, aredwood's high tannin content
repels pests that wouldotherwise make it not as
(07:05):
successful.
So yeah, no sickness, nodisaster, no pests.
I'll make for a longer life forour friends the redwoods.
Finally, let's list theremaining factors.
Shall we?
Redwoods have roots that extendup to 100 feet from the tree's
base and intertwine with theroots of all nearby trees.
(07:28):
Each tree then holds on to eachother, which increases the
collective stability of all ofthe trees.
Combined and well intertwined,well connected, this system
shares resources, allotting morenutrients to less healthy trees
when needed.
It's a great big community seton survival.
(07:50):
And look, you get the idea.
I could go on, but the fact isthis these trees are remarkable
they can live for more than2,000 years, have a biological
height limit of 420 feet, that's40 feet more than Hyperion, the
current tallest tree in theworld, which is Redwood.
(08:12):
And what makes this possible isjust what we talked about the
wet climate, their efficientwater transportation system,
resistance to fires, bugs,disease, complex root system,
etc.
But all of this fades away whenyou stand underneath them.
At a Redwoods base, time stops.
(08:34):
We hiked a ways into the forest.
It's raining Wouldn't expectanything different here, I'm not
mad and we've stopped nowunderneath a particularly
massive tree.
So, as a redwood ages, thelower limbs kind of fall away
(08:56):
and what's left is a massivepillar that reaches into the sky
until the upper branches appearthat haven't fallen off.
It's crazy tall, yeah, but it'salso not blocked by this mass
of leaves and branches, you canreally stop and appreciate how
massive this is.
It would take a very rareperson to not be in awe.
(09:17):
Well, at the base of a redwoodtree.
They're bigger than us, they'velived before us and they will
outlive us if we let them.
A tree's wood is also itsmemoir, hope Jareen.
Two million acres of old-growthredwoods once thrived along the
(09:39):
Pacific coast.
Today, 5% remains.
How and why did this happen?
To answer this, we'll go wayback Before European expansion
along the coast.
Tribes the Yuric and Toloaincluded, called the Redwoods
and surrounding area home.
These tribes spoke a diversecollection of languages,
(10:02):
maintained separate identities,but all reserved a deep respect
for the redwoods.
Traditional homes were madefrom fallen redwoods only, which
still, they believed, containedin essence from the once alive
tree, in essence to be cherished, to be respected.
But this didn't last for long.
(10:23):
Enter the gold rush and thesubsequent influx of people
hoping to strike it rich Forthese tribes.
Treaties that normally allottedreservation land were never
officially ratified, only doneby administrative decree, and,
predictably, the agreements thatwere verbally said were never
fully implemented.
(10:43):
As unfair as even thosetreaties would have been, it was
a bad deal For the settlers.
This land was too rich and toovaluable to give away.
The large number ofEuro-Americans settling the area
(11:04):
presented a massive supplyissue.
Timber was especially neededfor homes, railroads, commercial
buildings, you name it.
And redwood is an ideal timberfor building.
It's strong and in the area itwas readily available.
Remember two million acres.
(11:25):
And with that said, we all knowwhat's coming now.
Commercial logging quicklyasserts its presence and timber
harvesting becomes the topmanufacturing industry in the
American West West.
(11:48):
By 1853, large strands of theonce expansive forest disappear
and by 1960, five percent of theonce two million acres of
old-growth redwoods remain.
I found a place beside afriendly tree where I'll hide my
(12:15):
face when the world hurts me,for the tree will never hurt.
I shall love it to the end.
I shall have a dear, dear namemy true and silent friend, the
Friendly Tree, by Annette Lyne.
You might be wondering now howdid the remaining redwoods
(12:43):
survive At that rate ofdeforestation?
Nothing really should have.
The answer lies in a smallgroup of concerned people and
the establishment of a series ofstate parks and eventually one
national park.
Here's the spark notes NationalPark.
(13:06):
Here's the spark notes At itspeak.
In 1890, logging operationsowned most of the remaining
redwood forests and groves.
It was private land, land onwhich they could do with
whatever they wanted to.
By the early 20th century, theprobable destruction of the
remaining 5% of redwood grovesbecame obvious.
It was looming Groups like Save, the Redwoods League, formed in
1918 and dedicated themselvesto buying tracks of Redwood
(13:31):
groves for preservation.
So between 1920 and 1960, theLeague bought 100,000 acres of
Redwood forest.
The League's admitted successled to the creation of many
state parks, including JedediahSmith Redwood State Park, del
Norte Coast Redwood State Parkand Prairie Creek Redwood State
(13:54):
Park.
I could go on.
But it wasn't until 1969 thatRedwood National Park was
established.
And then it wasn't until 1978when the government purchased
land from logging companies tosecure an additional 10,000
acres to add to said nationalpark.
Today the majority of the over100,000 remaining acres of
(14:17):
old-growth redwoods are found inthe assorted sections of
different state, local andnational land.
The rain's still going.
Noodles was soaked so I put herin the van, but I'm still
walking.
I'm still going through thedamp ferns and decomposing logs
(14:40):
here.
That rain smell you get whenyou go outside after a storm is
so present.
It's ever-present.
It's just beautiful.
And here's a thought I had.
I don't know about you.
But for most of my life Ithought it was Redwoods National
Park.
Just one park, one entity,preserving the Redwoods.
(15:01):
But being here, camping thispatchwork of state parks, local
parks and the National Park, itjust shows the slow and the
messy nature of preservingresources.
Preserving anything, it takestime, money, resources, effort.
(15:23):
For me, still, walkingunderneath these trees, no cost
for me seems too much, no effortseems too wasted.
It's priceless.
We started this diary today withthree questions.
We've already answered two.
One, why are these trees so big?
(15:44):
Two, how did this intricatesystem of parks and protected
trees come to be?
And finally, our unansweredquestion why should you or I
come to visit, come toappreciate the Redwoods?
What's there to gain?
I'm going to be honest.
Your answer might be differentthan mine, but I'll speak for
(16:06):
myself.
There are times in life whencontext is needed and walking
beneath the redwoods, you cometo realize that your world is
small, it just is.
You're not that important.
Your problems disappearunderneath things that are much
(16:26):
bigger than you, live longerthan you, are calmer than you
and probably wiser than you.
It's a strange comfort to feelinsignificant but be happy about
it.
But under the redwoods we'renot the center of the world and
that, in a weird way, iscomforting.
Life for me is simpler underthe giants.
(16:58):
Let's get into listenerquestions, shall we?
Did you have any cryptidencounters?
Great question.
I read this and I had to thinkabout it.
So there have been a lot oftimes in the van where I hear
noises, when I'm in the woods orwhat have you.
(17:20):
But one moment stands out asthe closest thing I can think of
to a cryptid encounter while onthe road.
So Noodles and I were in themiddle of the desert in Nevada,
so we're camping for the nightand Noodles had to go to the
bathroom it was maybe one in themorning, it was a new moon, so
(17:41):
it was pitch dark.
Go to the bathroom it was maybe1 in the morning, it was a new
moon, so it was pitch dark,except for the stars, which were
absolutely beautiful.
But we went outside and wherebefore it was totally silent, we
heard it almost sounded likelaughter from a lot of different
entities or things far, faraway.
Different entities or thingsfar, far away and you know now
(18:01):
it's definitely a group ofcoyotes or something.
But it felt very pointed.
It felt like we were kind ofsurrounded and it was one of
those times when you take yourdog out and you know they have
to go, but they're just takingtheir time, so I was really
uncomfortable hearing all ofthis like wolf chatter or coyote
(18:27):
chatter in the distance, andI'm like, all right, noodles
come on.
And I took her back in.
But then I woke up again at acouple hours later, three in the
morning, because noodles had togo outside again.
We went outside and it feltlike, sounded like they were
closer.
You know obviously, coyotes inretrospect, but it's one of
those moments and this is whycryptids are so fascinating.
When you're in the moment andyou hear this and you're by
(18:48):
yourself and you're relativelyscared, your imagination runs
wild and it could be anything.
What you hear, what you see,could be anything.
So I'd say that's the closestanswer I have in terms of
cryptid encounters.
That is a really, really goodquestion.
Thank you.
Is it hard to drive your van?
(19:08):
You know, not, really, notreally.
I thought it might be before Igot it, but I've got a rear view
camera.
It's only 21 feet, so it's notmassive.
I can see everything from mywindows.
It's.
It's been great.
Yeah, I love driving my van.
Actually, I prefer it over acar or something.
(19:30):
Um yeah no.
So if you're looking intogetting one, it's not hard to
drive at all.
Any national parks you'd liketo go back to, that's such a
hard, hard question.
I'll always go back to TetonsNational Park.
That's my favorite place in thecountry.
But in terms of a place that Ionly kind of briefly visited is
(19:54):
Crater Lake National Park inOregon.
I went on a brief hike there.
I'd like to spend a week aroundthere and really look into it.
It's such a such a beautifullocation and I didn't explore it
as much as it deserved.
So I'd say Critter Lake inOregon is what I'd like to go
back to.
(20:14):
What have the trees been tellingyou?
What's the tree tea?
Fantastic question, fantasticquestion.
You know, sometimes I feel likewe think we're the only thing
that can communicate.
And walking amongst theredwoods, you know, you really
feel almost like they'reconscious In a weird way.
(20:38):
It's really hard to describe Interms of tea.
I mean, I bet they like gossip.
They share resources with eachother through their roots.
I'm sure gossip travels likewildfire, particularly in the
redwood groves of NorthernCalifornia.
But yeah, they didn't share anyof the tea with me,
(21:00):
unfortunately.
Maybe next time I'll listenharder, really good question.
What's the wildest thing you'vedone for an episode?
First thing that comes to mindis I had a beer podcast for
about a year and a half beforeBackroad, odyssey and Van Life
Diaries and all that, and Ipaired a beer with skydiving.
(21:21):
So that's probably the wildestthing I've done for an episode.
But hey, who knows what thefuture holds.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
It's Noah here.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Thank you everyone for listening to Van Life
Diaries.
As always, let's get somerecommendations in.
There'll be a link toeverything I mentioned for
recommendations in the shownotes.
So, first off, avenue of thegiants is great.
It's a, it's a drive through aredwood grove and it's surreal.
It's beautiful.
(21:55):
There's places to pull off, totake, take pictures, to stop to
look.
I really, really wouldrecommend that, even if you're
just passing through and youdon't have even a half a day,
taking the time to go and drivethrough Avenue of the Giants is
the Sparknotes version of whatyou should do in the Redwoods.
Beyond that, there's this placecalled Trees of Mystery, which
(22:18):
is a collection of unique, hugeand different redwoods,
different carvings.
They have a series of hangingbridges between redwoods, so
they go all the way up probablythree-fourths of the way up a
redwood and connect them througha bridge.
Let me tell you you truly don'tappreciate the scale of these
(22:38):
things until you venture betweenall the trees on these bridges
that connect them.
It also has a lot of greatinformation about the forest,
about redwoods in general.
There's a small fee but in mymind I mean, it's 100% worth it
and a great experience.
(22:59):
Also around there is the LivingChimney Tree.
It's a live tree.
You can walk in and look up tosee the sky.
You feel like a little Keeblerelf.
It's really great and it justshows how resilient these trees
are.
Its entire midsection is cutout, but it's still thriving.
It's still living, and that'swhy redwoods are just so cool.
(23:22):
As far as camping goes, you candrive in for the day,
relatively easily find campingoutside of the state parks,
outside of the national parks,but I'd recommend spending at
least one night under a seriesof redwood trees.
There's a bunch of camping inthe state parks, in the national
park, and you won't.
I usually don't pay for camping, but I did and it was well
(23:45):
worth it.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Finally, finally, finally for recommendations.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Make sure you do at least one hike while you're
there.
It's great driving it really isbut to appreciate it fully,
find a hike and to do this forany national park, you go to the
visitor center, tell them whatyou're looking for and you go to
where they recommend you go.
I've tried many times to findmy own hikes, but that's just
(24:13):
the easiest, quickest way tofind a hike that you'll enjoy,
that fits what you'd like to doin terms of the show.
It takes a village and byvillage I mean myself, noodles
and everybody who listens um, tokeep the show going.
If you value the work that weput into each episode and to all
the research, taking a secondto rate and review wherever
(24:35):
you're listening now means theworld to me and I appreciate you
taking the time to listen.
With that said, check out theRedwoods.
Be good to each other.
Where to next.
Cruisin' down the street.
I wonder where this road wouldlead so many possibilities.
Care to share what you think.
Oh Noondolls, what do you see?
Back Road Odyssey.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Van Life Diaries Into the Redwoods realm of giants.
Welcome to Van Life Diaries.
I'm your host, Noah, in the vantoday, along with my dog and
co-host, noodles the Woodle.
Let's get into it.
The Redwoods along the Pacificcoast are home to the world's
(00:45):
tallest trees.
What is the secret to theirstaggering growth?
Why is this unique ecosystemeven worth visiting?
Noodles and I hike deep intothe old growth redwoods of
Northern California to find out.
As long-time listeners know,van life diaries are relatively
(01:05):
unscripted and impromptu and atthe end, as always, we'll answer
listener questions.
For now, I've got a West CoastIPA on hand.
I felt it appropriate.
Feel free to join me, alcoholicor not.
Sit back, relax and prepareyourself, because where we're
going there be giants.
(01:27):
It's our first night camping theRedwoods.
We're near Elk PrairieTrailhead under some of the
biggest trees I've seen in myentire life.
A little fire's going.
The sun just set.
I'm going to be honest.
It's strange being here.
For me, the Redwoods,specifically, have always been
this hazy dream, someplace thatI'll go to eventually, the very
(01:48):
distant future.
So it's surreal being here now.
Let me start with this Whetheryou've been to the Redwoods,
would like to go or have thoughtabout it.
I've got three questions I'dlike to answer in this episode
that I think you'd findinteresting.
One, why are these trees so big?
Two, how did this intricatesystem of parks and protected
(02:14):
trees, groves come to be?
And finally, most importantlymaybe, why should you or I come
to visit and appreciate thistruly unique ecosystem?
In other words, what's there toget?
The Redwood is the glory of thecoast range.
(02:34):
It extends along the westernslope in a nearly continuous
belt, about 10 miles wide frombeyond the Oregon Boundary to
south of Santa Cruz, a distanceof nearly 400 miles, and, in
massive, sustained grandeur andcloseness of growth, surpasses
all of the other timber woods ofthe world.
(02:56):
John Muir, the Redwoods are anexpansive collection of state
parks and a national park, allfeaturing unquestionably unique
landscapes.
These stretches of tree growthare often cited as among the
most beautiful in the world.
A redwood often grows more than300 feet tall.
The record is something like380 feet.
(03:19):
All right for context, theStatue of Liberty is 305 feet.
So let's ask ourselves how isthis possible?
How and why do redwoods grow sotall?
If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you
(03:39):
are?
Ts Eliot, redwoods have a veryspecific collection of reasons
for their staggering staggeringheight.
So let's jump right in, shallwe?
First, let's talk climate.
The stretch of redwoods inNorthern California often
receives as much as 100 inchesof rainfall annually.
(04:03):
This helps with growth,obviously, but the real secret
to a redwood's long, sustainedgrowth is not rainfall, it's fog
.
In the summer, when the coldPacific air mingles with warm
California temperatures, anannual thick fog descends upon
the redwoods, blanketing themwith moisture and preventing
(04:27):
water loss.
But where usually trees preparethemselves for periods without
rain, without moisture, redwoodsare unique in that they don't
really have to do this.
This fog prevents water loss,as we said, but, importantly,
they've adapted to intake thiswater rich fog through their
(04:48):
leaves, through their bark andeven through root shoots that
protrude from the ground.
Let me put it like this so,rather than drinking half the
glass of available water eachyear, drinking half of it and
then stopping, redwoodscontinuously drink water
throughout the year.
For trees, more water meansmore growth.
(05:12):
The second reason for theirstaggering height is how a
redwood distributes the wateronce it's acquired.
Redwoods have a unique vascularsystem that efficiently
transports water and nutrients.
This is the way I like to thinkabout it, so, as simply as I
can put it, the more distanceyou have to transport something,
(05:34):
the harder it will be.
So, where most trees have aheight cap, because water
distribution would be impossibleafter a certain height it would
be too hard Redwoods' uniquedistribution system bypasses
problems that would otherwiseoccur.
It can transport nutrients fromthe bottom to the top and
(05:56):
without getting into the darkrabbit hole on precisely how
this water is transported.
The key takeaway is thisRedwoods grow tall because the
readily available water can beabsorbed and moved throughout
its system despite its size.
(06:22):
The next reason is they'rewildly resilient To live a long
time.
For us, but for trees as well,it helps to be resistant to
disasters, sickness and pests.
More for the trees, I guesspests can get us as well, but a
(06:43):
redwood is uniquely adapted toresist or deter all three of
these things resistant todisasters, sickness and pests.
In addition to both having fireresistant bark, having
safeguards against disease, aredwood's high tannin content
repels pests that wouldotherwise make it not as
(07:05):
successful.
So yeah, no sickness, nodisaster, no pests.
I'll make for a longer life forour friends the redwoods.
Finally, let's list theremaining factors.
Shall we?
Redwoods have roots that extendup to 100 feet from the tree's
base and intertwine with theroots of all nearby trees.
(07:28):
Each tree then holds on to eachother, which increases the
collective stability of all ofthe trees.
Combined and well intertwined,well connected, this system
shares resources, allotting morenutrients to less healthy trees
when needed.
It's a great big community seton survival.
(07:50):
And look, you get the idea.
I could go on, but the fact isthis these trees are remarkable
they can live for more than2,000 years, have a biological
height limit of 420 feet, that's40 feet more than Hyperion, the
current tallest tree in theworld, which is Redwood.
(08:12):
And what makes this possible isjust what we talked about the
wet climate, their efficientwater transportation system,
resistance to fires, bugs,disease, complex root system,
etc.
But all of this fades away whenyou stand underneath them.
At a Redwoods base, time stops.
(08:34):
We hiked a ways into the forest.
It's raining Wouldn't expectanything different here, I'm not
mad and we've stopped nowunderneath a particularly
massive tree.
So, as a redwood ages, thelower limbs kind of fall away
(08:56):
and what's left is a massivepillar that reaches into the sky
until the upper branches appearthat haven't fallen off.
It's crazy tall, yeah, but it'salso not blocked by this mass
of leaves and branches, you canreally stop and appreciate how
massive this is.
It would take a very rareperson to not be in awe.
(09:17):
Well, at the base of a redwoodtree.
They're bigger than us, they'velived before us and they will
outlive us if we let them.
A tree's wood is also itsmemoir, hope Jareen.
Two million acres of old-growthredwoods once thrived along the
(09:39):
Pacific coast.
Today, 5% remains.
How and why did this happen?
To answer this, we'll go wayback Before European expansion
along the coast.
Tribes the Yuric and Toloaincluded, called the Redwoods
and surrounding area home.
These tribes spoke a diversecollection of languages,
(10:02):
maintained separate identities,but all reserved a deep respect
for the redwoods.
Traditional homes were madefrom fallen redwoods only, which
still, they believed, containedin essence from the once alive
tree, in essence to be cherished, to be respected.
But this didn't last for long.
(10:23):
Enter the gold rush and thesubsequent influx of people
hoping to strike it rich Forthese tribes.
Treaties that normally allottedreservation land were never
officially ratified, only doneby administrative decree, and,
predictably, the agreements thatwere verbally said were never
fully implemented.
(10:43):
As unfair as even thosetreaties would have been, it was
a bad deal For the settlers.
This land was too rich and toovaluable to give away.
The large number ofEuro-Americans settling the area
(11:04):
presented a massive supplyissue.
Timber was especially neededfor homes, railroads, commercial
buildings, you name it.
And redwood is an ideal timberfor building.
It's strong and in the area itwas readily available.
Remember two million acres.
(11:25):
And with that said, we all knowwhat's coming now.
Commercial logging quicklyasserts its presence and timber
harvesting becomes the topmanufacturing industry in the
American West West.
(11:48):
By 1853, large strands of theonce expansive forest disappear
and by 1960, five percent of theonce two million acres of
old-growth redwoods remain.
I found a place beside afriendly tree where I'll hide my
(12:15):
face when the world hurts me,for the tree will never hurt.
I shall love it to the end.
I shall have a dear, dear namemy true and silent friend, the
Friendly Tree, by Annette Lyne.
You might be wondering now howdid the remaining redwoods
(12:43):
survive At that rate ofdeforestation?
Nothing really should have.
The answer lies in a smallgroup of concerned people and
the establishment of a series ofstate parks and eventually one
national park.
Here's the spark notes NationalPark.
(13:06):
Here's the spark notes At itspeak.
In 1890, logging operationsowned most of the remaining
redwood forests and groves.
It was private land, land onwhich they could do with
whatever they wanted to.
By the early 20th century, theprobable destruction of the
remaining 5% of redwood grovesbecame obvious.
It was looming Groups like Save, the Redwoods League, formed in
1918 and dedicated themselvesto buying tracks of Redwood
(13:31):
groves for preservation.
So between 1920 and 1960, theLeague bought 100,000 acres of
Redwood forest.
The League's admitted successled to the creation of many
state parks, including JedediahSmith Redwood State Park, del
Norte Coast Redwood State Parkand Prairie Creek Redwood State
(13:54):
Park.
I could go on.
But it wasn't until 1969 thatRedwood National Park was
established.
And then it wasn't until 1978when the government purchased
land from logging companies tosecure an additional 10,000
acres to add to said nationalpark.
Today the majority of the over100,000 remaining acres of
(14:17):
old-growth redwoods are found inthe assorted sections of
different state, local andnational land.
The rain's still going.
Noodles was soaked so I put herin the van, but I'm still
walking.
I'm still going through thedamp ferns and decomposing logs
(14:40):
here.
That rain smell you get whenyou go outside after a storm is
so present.
It's ever-present.
It's just beautiful.
And here's a thought I had.
I don't know about you.
But for most of my life Ithought it was Redwoods National
Park.
Just one park, one entity,preserving the Redwoods.
(15:01):
But being here, camping thispatchwork of state parks, local
parks and the National Park, itjust shows the slow and the
messy nature of preservingresources.
Preserving anything, it takestime, money, resources, effort.
(15:23):
For me, still, walkingunderneath these trees, no cost
for me seems too much, no effortseems too wasted.
It's priceless.
We started this diary today withthree questions.
We've already answered two.
One, why are these trees so big?
(15:44):
Two, how did this intricatesystem of parks and protected
trees come to be?
And finally, our unansweredquestion why should you or I
come to visit, come toappreciate the Redwoods?
What's there to gain?
I'm going to be honest.
Your answer might be differentthan mine, but I'll speak for
(16:06):
myself.
There are times in life whencontext is needed and walking
beneath the redwoods, you cometo realize that your world is
small, it just is.
You're not that important.
Your problems disappearunderneath things that are much
(16:26):
bigger than you, live longerthan you, are calmer than you
and probably wiser than you.
It's a strange comfort to feelinsignificant but be happy about
it.
But under the redwoods we'renot the center of the world and
that, in a weird way, iscomforting.
Life for me is simpler underthe giants.
(16:58):
Let's get into listenerquestions, shall we?
Did you have any cryptidencounters?
Great question.
I read this and I had to thinkabout it.
So there have been a lot oftimes in the van where I hear
noises, when I'm in the woods orwhat have you.
(17:20):
But one moment stands out asthe closest thing I can think of
to a cryptid encounter while onthe road.
So Noodles and I were in themiddle of the desert in Nevada,
so we're camping for the nightand Noodles had to go to the
bathroom it was maybe one in themorning, it was a new moon, so
(17:41):
it was pitch dark.
Go to the bathroom it was maybe1 in the morning, it was a new
moon, so it was pitch dark,except for the stars, which were
absolutely beautiful.
But we went outside and wherebefore it was totally silent, we
heard it almost sounded likelaughter from a lot of different
entities or things far, faraway.
Different entities or thingsfar, far away and you know now
(18:01):
it's definitely a group ofcoyotes or something.
But it felt very pointed.
It felt like we were kind ofsurrounded and it was one of
those times when you take yourdog out and you know they have
to go, but they're just takingtheir time, so I was really
uncomfortable hearing all ofthis like wolf chatter or coyote
(18:27):
chatter in the distance, andI'm like, all right, noodles
come on.
And I took her back in.
But then I woke up again at acouple hours later, three in the
morning, because noodles had togo outside again.
We went outside and it feltlike, sounded like they were
closer.
You know obviously, coyotes inretrospect, but it's one of
those moments and this is whycryptids are so fascinating.
When you're in the moment andyou hear this and you're by
(18:48):
yourself and you're relativelyscared, your imagination runs
wild and it could be anything.
What you hear, what you see,could be anything.
So I'd say that's the closestanswer I have in terms of
cryptid encounters.
That is a really, really goodquestion.
Thank you.
Is it hard to drive your van?
(19:08):
You know, not, really, notreally.
I thought it might be before Igot it, but I've got a rear view
camera.
It's only 21 feet, so it's notmassive.
I can see everything from mywindows.
It's.
It's been great.
Yeah, I love driving my van.
Actually, I prefer it over acar or something.
(19:30):
Um yeah no.
So if you're looking intogetting one, it's not hard to
drive at all.
Any national parks you'd liketo go back to, that's such a
hard, hard question.
I'll always go back to TetonsNational Park.
That's my favorite place in thecountry.
But in terms of a place that Ionly kind of briefly visited is
(19:54):
Crater Lake National Park inOregon.
I went on a brief hike there.
I'd like to spend a week aroundthere and really look into it.
It's such a such a beautifullocation and I didn't explore it
as much as it deserved.
So I'd say Critter Lake inOregon is what I'd like to go
back to.
(20:14):
What have the trees been tellingyou?
What's the tree tea?
Fantastic question, fantasticquestion.
You know, sometimes I feel likewe think we're the only thing
that can communicate.
And walking amongst theredwoods, you know, you really
feel almost like they'reconscious In a weird way.
(20:38):
It's really hard to describe Interms of tea.
I mean, I bet they like gossip.
They share resources with eachother through their roots.
I'm sure gossip travels likewildfire, particularly in the
redwood groves of NorthernCalifornia.
But yeah, they didn't share anyof the tea with me,
(21:00):
unfortunately.
Maybe next time I'll listenharder, really good question.
What's the wildest thing you'vedone for an episode?
First thing that comes to mindis I had a beer podcast for
about a year and a half beforeBackroad, odyssey and Van Life
Diaries and all that, and Ipaired a beer with skydiving.
(21:21):
So that's probably the wildestthing I've done for an episode.
But hey, who knows what thefuture holds.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
It's Noah here.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Thank you everyone for listening to Van Life
Diaries.
As always, let's get somerecommendations in.
There'll be a link toeverything I mentioned for
recommendations in the shownotes.
So, first off, avenue of thegiants is great.
It's a, it's a drive through aredwood grove and it's surreal.
It's beautiful.
(21:55):
There's places to pull off, totake, take pictures, to stop to
look.
I really, really wouldrecommend that, even if you're
just passing through and youdon't have even a half a day,
taking the time to go and drivethrough Avenue of the Giants is
the Sparknotes version of whatyou should do in the Redwoods.
Beyond that, there's this placecalled Trees of Mystery, which
(22:18):
is a collection of unique, hugeand different redwoods,
different carvings.
They have a series of hangingbridges between redwoods, so
they go all the way up probablythree-fourths of the way up a
redwood and connect them througha bridge.
Let me tell you you truly don'tappreciate the scale of these
(22:38):
things until you venture betweenall the trees on these bridges
that connect them.
It also has a lot of greatinformation about the forest,
about redwoods in general.
There's a small fee but in mymind I mean, it's 100% worth it
and a great experience.
(22:59):
Also around there is the LivingChimney Tree.
It's a live tree.
You can walk in and look up tosee the sky.
You feel like a little Keeblerelf.
It's really great and it justshows how resilient these trees
are.
Its entire midsection is cutout, but it's still thriving.
It's still living, and that'swhy redwoods are just so cool.
(23:22):
As far as camping goes, you candrive in for the day,
relatively easily find campingoutside of the state parks,
outside of the national parks,but I'd recommend spending at
least one night under a seriesof redwood trees.
There's a bunch of camping inthe state parks, in the national
park, and you won't.
I usually don't pay for camping, but I did and it was well
(23:45):
worth it.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Finally, finally, finally for recommendations.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Make sure you do at least one hike while you're
there.
It's great driving it really isbut to appreciate it fully,
find a hike and to do this forany national park, you go to the
visitor center, tell them whatyou're looking for and you go to
where they recommend you go.
I've tried many times to findmy own hikes, but that's just
(24:13):
the easiest, quickest way tofind a hike that you'll enjoy,
that fits what you'd like to doin terms of the show.
It takes a village and byvillage I mean myself, noodles
and everybody who listens um, tokeep the show going.
If you value the work that weput into each episode and to all
the research, taking a secondto rate and review wherever
(24:35):
you're listening now means theworld to me and I appreciate you
taking the time to listen.
With that said, check out theRedwoods.
Be good to each other.
Where to next.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Intentionally Disturbing
Join me on this podcast as I navigate the murky waters of human behavior, current events, and personal anecdotes through in-depth interviews with incredible people—all served with a generous helping of sarcasm and satire. After years as a forensic and clinical psychologist, I offer a unique interview style and a low tolerance for bullshit, quickly steering conversations toward depth and darkness. I honor the seriousness while also appreciating wit. I’m your guide through the twisted labyrinth of the human psyche, armed with dark humor and biting wit.