I'd located the Large Dean tree on a previous trip but went back this time to measure it and show it to my freind John. Holy cow, it looks big from below! It's 21-1/2 feet in diameter at breast height on the high side, and it stays thick a long way up. That’s one impressive tree!
There's another tree off the Paradise Ridge trail that is also named Dean because from the reports of the locals you used to be able to see the name carved into it. Unfortunately time has erased the carvings. But it's not quite 15 feet in diameter, so not one that belongs on the largest list. Either Dean carved his name on more than one tree or Flint got his trees mixed up. I decided to call the smaller tree the Original Dean and the bigger one the Large Dean to differentiate them.
Last time I visited Atwell Mill, I measured another big tree I saw a quarter mile up the ridge, perched on top of a rocky outcropping. Not quite as big as the Large Dean, but similar, it measured a bare 20 feet in diameter. Following the signature naming convention of the grove I've dubbed it the Above Dean.
The walk is about two miles in from the road to get to the Large Dean tree. The first part of the walk isn't too steep, but the last quarter, for about a half mile, is darn-near vertical. The Above Dean is just a bit further up the ridge. Both would make good stops on a large sequoias tour.
Large Dean Tree shown above and below, as seen from above and below also
Above Dean Tree shown above and below, as seen from both near and far