Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/118157
So where, specifically, was that ultragigantic 127-metre fir felled? Not far from where we're standing, here in North Vancouver. And as it turns out, there's a good scientific reason why the stumps we're crawling over may be the vestiges of some of the biggest trees that ever lived. Lots of places in southwestern B.C. have the requisite combination of soil and climate to grow really big trees. Yet most specimens succumb to either fire or wind – or, of course, logging – before reaching their ultimate potential. Though fire and wind can occur anywhere, the Seymour Valley is wetter than most places and its winds are unusually light, a combination that helps explain why these stumps are so big. As for the Temple Giant and the handful of other big trees surrounding it in an otherwise logged-over valley, two things may have helped save them. For one, they're fairly high up the mountain and may have been passed over by early loggers focused on easier prey. Yet perhaps more significant, way back in the 1920s an official named Ernest Cleveland vowed to stop logging in the North Shore watershed to protect Vancouver's water supply, and, for a time at least, succeeded. Cleveland had a well-known dam named after him at the head of the Capilano River, but given how Douglas firs can live to be 1,500 years old, that man-made monument may well be outlasted by the trees he saved. And from the vantage point of these Seymour River stumps – astonishing stumps, but still, sadly, stumps – that seems like not a bad legacy at all. NEEDLESS TO SAY, southern B.C.'s Douglas firs aren't the only impressive trees in Lotus Land: Former Western Living and Vancouver magazine editor Jim Sutherland now freelances for these and many other publications. • Noted big-tree hunter Randy Stoltmann Prep Particularly for hikes such as the Ancient Forest Committee's (AFC's) all-day Seymour jaunt, arrive prepared for any kind of weather. • Inspiration John Vaillant's The Golden Spruce (2006, W.W. Norton; $15.95) and Charlotte Gill's Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe (2011, D&M Publishers; $29.95). • Gear A day's worth of water; sturdy outdoor shoes. • Cost AFA hike costs vary depending on transportation expenses. AFC hikes are free.• Sign-up AFC: ubcafc.blogspot.com; AFA: ancientforest alliance.org Hike to the Seymour Valley's massive, 500-yearold Grandpa Capilano Douglas fir: bcaa.com/bigtrees Y Member savings and benefits for B.C. travel: Big Trees 101 • For a province-wide list of the biggest examples of several dozen different species: bigtrees.forestry.ubc.ca/ (which also links to other useful sites). published two guidebooks before his accidental death in 1994: Hiking Guide to the Big Trees of Southwestern British Columbia and Hiking Ancient Forests of British Columbia and Washington, both of which can be found for sale online. • In summer, Victoria-based Coastal Revelations Nature and Heritage Tours offers guided treks to Cathedral Grove and other big-tree hotspots on Vancouver Island: coastalrevelations.com • Big Tree Hikes BC is a new venture by a former AFC guide offering custom hikes to groups: bigtreehikesbc.blogspot.ca • In addition to its guided tours, the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) provides detailed directions on its website to several Vancouver Island big-tree sites: ancientforestalliance.org bcaa.com/bc WESTWORLD p26-37_Summer101.indd 31 >> S U M M E R 2 0 1 2 31 4/19/12 7:17:29 AM