After a very lazy morning we suited up and went for a long hike among the giants. The area of the state park we chose, Bull Creek Flats, is considered the largest old-growth area in the Redwoods forests. Old-growth refers not to just old trees but to a forest community for we saw ancient redwoods among many other types of trees; ferns and clover coated the floor of the forest, and dead trees and stumps littered the area while some dead trees remained standing. We found ourselves saying, "There's a really big one!" many times. Monstrous logs, cave-like holes in the bottom of living trees, or trees leaning so far we were afraid they could fall had us explaining "Wow!" Our necks grew sore trying to locate the tops of the trees or examining the canopy.
We saw the largest living Redwood and one of the widest logs but, I swear there were bigger logs in the forest! Flat Iron Tree,the name given the log John is standing near, was measured at 7.5 X 17.5 feet in a cross section but it looks like the tree I'm next to is even bigger. We also tried to convey in a picture the serenity we found among the trees. It was very quiet and peaceful wherever we walked. As it was a very cloudy day, we didn't experience the dappled sunshine many brochures mention.
The trail map showed the trail we walked to be about 7.5 miles but our pedometers indicated we walked over 9 miles! A beer at the end of the day was very welcomed! And the rain that was predicted to arrive at 3 PM didn't start until 9 PM! Good Day!
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