The main attraction in Sequoia National Park are the Sequoias, and this is the largest of them. This is a great little hike for your first day in the park.
The General Sherman is the largest living tree in the world when measured by wood volume. It stands 275 feet tall and is over 36 feet in diameter. Mature Sequoias die off at the top but they remain very healthy below that point, and continue to grow in volume.
The tree was named after the Civil War General by naturalist James Wolverton, who served under Sherman in the 9th Indiana Calvary. It is estimated at between 2300 and 2700 years old.
The tree is accessible by a short downhill half-mile hike, unless you happen to have a handicapped placard. There is a parking lot and bathroom about 100 yards from the tree, but all of the parking spaces are handicapped only. That seems to be a common theme here….tons of handicapped spots everywhere, nearly all of them sitting vacant. One last shot from up close.
This tree sits in the middle of the Giant Forest, so there are plenty of Sequoias around this tree to check out. Many of them have historic burn marks from past fires. Here is a shot of Kim standing inside an old burn mark.
Fire actually helps these trees, as it’s the only way for their seeds to drop from the cones so they can germinate. If they aren’t exposed to fire for a long enough period of time, some of these fire scars will heal over by outer layers of bark.
We are very fortunate that some forward thinking people such as John Muir decided to preserve these trees. If loggers were left to their own devices, these would all be long gone with nothing to show but stumps.