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Pioneer Cabin Tree

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Pioneer Cabin Tree
Photo of the tree from 2006. Tree has a tunnel through center of trunk. There is a marked path for people to walk through it.
The Pioneer Cabin Tree in 2006
Map
SpeciesGiant sequoia
LocationCalaveras Big Trees State Park, California, U.S.
Date felledJanuary 8, 2017 (2017-01-08)[1][2][3]

The Pioneer Cabin Tree, also known as The Tunnel Tree, was a giant sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, California. It was considered one of the US's most famous trees,[4] and drew thousands of visitors annually.[5] It was estimated to have been over 1,000 years old,[4] and measured 33 feet (10 m) in diameter; its exact age and height are not known.[A][7][8] It fell during a storm on January 8, 2017.[2][4]

History

ca. 1860–1880 before the tunnel was opened further

The Pioneer Cabin Tree got its name from its distinctively hollow trunk, partially burnt by forest fire. It had small compartments as in a log cabin, the tree's burnt core as a chimney, and a small opening as a backdoor.[9][10][11]

A stereoscope image of the Pioneer Cabin with people and horse passing through (c. 1867–1899)

In the 1880s, a tunnel was cut through the compartments by a private land owner at the request of James Sperry, founder of the Murphys Hotel, so that tourists could pass through it.[8][12][13][14][15] The tree was chosen in part because of the large forest fire scar. The Pioneer Cabin Tree emulated the tunnel carved into Yosemite's Wawona Tree, and was intended to compete with it for tourists.[16][17][18]

Since the 1880s, visitors were encouraged to etch their names into the tree,[2] but this practice was outlawed in the 1930s.[12] At first only pedestrians were allowed to pass through the tree.[19] Later, for many years, automobiles drove through it as part of the "Big Trees Trail".[19] It was one of several drive-through trees in California.[B] Subsequently, only hikers were allowed to pass through the tree's tunnel as part of the North Grove Loop hiking trail.[2][22]

Fall

The Pioneer Cabin Tree fell during a rain storm and flooding on January 8, 2017.[2][19] It was the strongest storm to hit the area in over a decade.[4] The flooding, combined with the shallow root system of giant sequoias, likely caused it to fall.[2] A park volunteer reported that the tree had been weakening, becoming brittle and leaning to one side for several years, with only a single branch remaining alive.[2] It had been weakened by the severe damage caused by the tunnel carved through its trunk.[16][17] The tree shattered on impact with the ground.[2][19]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ An 1856 news article lists the height of the tree without its broken off top as 150 feet (46 m).[6]
  2. ^ "It's unclear exactly how old the tree was, but The Los Angeles Times reports that the trees in the state park are estimated to be more than 1,000 years old. Sequoias can live for more than 3,000 years. The iconic tree was one of just a few tunneled-through sequoias in California. The most famous was the Wawona Tree, in Yosemite National Park; it fell during a winter storm in 1969 at an estimated age of 2,100 years. The other remaining sequoia tunnels are dead or consist of logs on their side, the Forest Service says."[1][20][21]

References

  1. ^ a b Domonoske, Camila (January 9, 2017). "Iconic Sequoia 'Tunnel Tree' Brought Down By California Storm". National Public Radio. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Hockaday, Peter (January 8, 2017). "Historic Pioneer Cabin Tree toppled in California storm". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  3. ^ Andrews, Travis M. (January 9, 2017). "Morning Mix: Winter storm fells one of California's iconic drive-through tunnel trees, carved in the 1880s". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d "Pioneer Cabin Tree in California felled by storms". BBC. January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  5. ^ McCann, Erin (January 9, 2017). "Giant Sequoia 'Tunnel Tree' in California Is Toppled by Storm". New York Times. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  6. ^ "Excursion to Mammoth Cave, Big Trees". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 11, no. 1603. May 15, 1856.
  7. ^ "Beloved California Giant Sequoia Tree Felled by Storm". ABC News. January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "The Latest: Famed giant sequoia topples in California storms". Associated Press. January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  9. ^ "The Mammoth Trees". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 5, no. 769. September 10, 1853.
  10. ^ The Odd Fellow's Companion. Vol. XIX. M.C. Lilley & Co. November 1876. p. 239.
  11. ^ "The Big Trees". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 24, no. 3606. October 18, 1862.
  12. ^ a b Carol Kramer; Calaveras Big Trees Association (September 6, 2010). Calaveras Big Trees. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 118–. ISBN 978-1-4396-2522-4.
  13. ^ Bourn, Jennifer (September 28, 2016). "The Calaveras Big Trees North Grove Trail". Inspiredimperfection.com. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  14. ^ "The Pioneer's Cabin and Pluto's Chimney – Big Tree Grove, Calaveras County" (Albumen Photograph). Library of Congress. 1866. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  15. ^ "Iconic Pioneer Cabin tree falls during strong Northern California storm". CBS News. January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  16. ^ a b Hongo, Hudson (January 9, 2017). "After More Than 100 Years, California's Iconic Tunnel Tree Is No More". Gizmodo. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  17. ^ a b Mazza, Ed (January 9, 2017). "GREEN: Pioneer Cabin Tree, Iconic Giant Sequoia With 'Tunnel', Falls In Storm". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 9, 2017. The tree was "barely alive" due to the hole punched through it in the 1880s.
  18. ^ Jordan Summers (May 15, 2012). 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Sacramento: Including Auburn, Folsom, and Davis. Menasha Ridge Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-89732-604-9.
  19. ^ a b c d Melvin, Don; Chirbas, Kurt. "Pioneer Cabin Tree, Famous for Tunnel, Is Toppled by Storm" (Video). NBC News. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  20. ^ St. John, Paige; Hamilton, Matt (January 8, 2017). "An iconic tunnel tree in a California state park is no more after huge storm". Los Angeles Times. Truckee, California. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  21. ^ "Destination drive through trees". Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  22. ^ Tom Stienstra; Ann Marie Brown (July 26, 2016). Moon Northern California Hiking. Avalon Travel Publishing. p. 516. ISBN 978-1-63121-549-0.
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