After a hiatus of twenty-six years and five joint replacements, Mike Law, coauthor of To Find the Biggest Tree, now in his 80s, returned to Giant Forest, with the loving assistance of his two youngest daughters, to once again travel his beloved trails. Kathy and I had the privilege of accompanying them on this historic occasion.


 Mike wanted to specifically see the 31,000-cubic-foot sequoia that we have been calling the Law Tree in his honor. After all the years he and Wendell Flint spent discovering and measuring giant sequoias, and describing them in their book, we felt he deserved to have a tree named after him… and a good-sized one with great character near The Senate Group seemed quite fitting. What could be more appropriate than a Law tree standing just behind the Senate group.  This tree is one that Mike and Flint had been intending to get around to measuring back in their day and is referred to in their old sequoia bible as a “large tree”.  Now that I have verified its actual size and seen that it is a large one Mike is quite honored to have his name associated with such an impressive tree.

 
Through the wonders of modern medicine, and the battery-operated scooter his thoughtful daughters borrowed from a friend, Mike managed to also visit the General Sherman, President, Chief Sequoyah, Ben Franklin, Monroe, Cleveland, and the Washington Tree’s snag, some of the largest in the grove; and many more favorites from his sequoia exploration days.
 
Along the way, we visited the rather imposing sequoia we called Rimrock due to its location near the Rimrock Trail. Mike’s friend and coauthor, Wendell Flint, also had this one on his list of trees to measure but never quite got around to it before health issues stopped him. Mike explained that the non-tapering profile of this fireplug-shaped tree epitomized exactly what Flint looked for when searching for a champion sequoia because it always results in the largest volume. Mike has been looking for a perfect representative of this profile of tree to name after his revered coauthor, who passed away in 1987. In respect for his accomplishments in the field of discovering and measuring the largest trees, we are honored to refer to it in the future as the Wendell Flint Tree. I hope others out there will also show their esteem in that way.
 
Mike has been away from the grove for so long that most of the trails are now new to him, either having been completely re-done since his day, or changed so much he doesn’t remember them. And as our friend has just recovered from receiving a new hip he had to ride on a scooter part of the day on the trails. Thanks to the park service’s great trails in Giant Forest, he was able to get around to most of the largest trees that he wanted to see in spite of his handicap.  Mike managed to maneuver the scooter his daughter borrowed for him to far more of his beloved sequoias than he could have imaged possible. The joy on his face, exhibited in his big grin and the sparkle in his eyes warmed our hearts. What a privilege it was to be part of this special day with the man whose book has started so many on their own Sequoia Quests over the years.
 

Below in the first row are two pics of the Lincoln tree, and then two pics of the Franklin tree.
The second row shows the Near Ed, Cheif Sequoyah, Senate and House groups.

Three pics of the Law tree and the group

A few pics of the Flint tree

A great time was had by all, but no one could beat mikes enjoyment of the weekend.