I was looking for new hiking destinations at low elevation (in early summer there is still lots of snow up high in the mountains). Since I always wanted to check out the remainder of old growth forest around Vancouver I made finding the BIG trees my objective. Here are a few photos of my explorations.
There are spots close to Vancouver where big old growth trees still stand. They have escaped logging and wildfires and matured into century-old giants, providing a glimpse of what this world looked like before western civilization arrived. Some of the trees are celebrities, like ‘Grandfather Capilano’, an 800 year-old, +60 meter high Douglas fir in Capilano River Regional Park. Others are tugged away deep in the temperate rain forest and faint, hidden trails lead to them. It is an awe-inspiring moment to catch first sight of one of the giants among their smaller cousins, to walk up closer and let the eyes travel along the tall trunk up to big branches and crown high above.
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| Hollyburn Fir, 1100 years old |
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| Big Red Cedar with some regular trees for size comparison |
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| Nurse Log |
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| Skid roads - left over from the logging days |
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| Another big Red Cedar near Mosquito Creek |
