Indian Basin Grove

Indian Basin was once home to a small but apparently very concentrated nice Sequoia cluster before it was logged completely between 1901 and 1907.  All of the old growth was cut for lumber so the new growth we see there now is just over a century and a quarter at most.  If you wander thru the grove area and look at the stumps you will find that there are many very large ones, one of the largest that I measured last weekend was over 20 feet DBH still, after losing all of its bark and over a hundred years natural weathering.  Given its beautiful location, level ground, copious water and former concentration of large sequoias, we can conclude it was once a grove to rival the best the parks that we currently have can offer.  Such a shame it was cut down, I wish I could have see it as it was in the year 1900.

It is and was an ideal sequoia environment, a generously watered area, well suited for rapid sequoia growth, and since its cutting in the first part of the last century a new generation of sequoias have been ascending to maturity.  In the interests of seeing how much the sequoia have grown in about 125 years I decided to measure a couple of the largest ones presently in this grove.

 Here are the specs on two of the current largest sequoias I've measured in the grove:

Cinnamon Beauty
Base circumference:  33.75'
DBH:  7.4' 
Height:  176.5' 
Volume:  2,145 Cubic Feet

Phoenix Tree
Base circumference:  36'
DBH:  7.75' 
Height:  174' 
Volume:  2,030 Cubic Feet

Below are pics of the two big ones that I measured in Indian Basin.

One of the nicest campgrounds up in the area is the Princess campground, located right in Indian basin.  My family have been camping there for decades.  Although it does not have any large champion sized sequoia trees the thing that it does have is many of the big trees stumps left from the old logging days.  For a scenic and slightly educational tour of sequoia stumps, and history there are few more convenient trails than the one at the bottom of Princess campground.  And in the surrounding woods you will find more stumps, easy to get to with a little off trail wandering.  Below are pics of some of the more picturesque ones that you can encounter off the beaten path.  The first pic is one of a stump that is over 20 feet in diameter at breast height, possibly from what was once a champion sized tree...

And for those of you that appreciate a little symbolism and desire meaningful, century old closure, here is a final thought provoking pic.