Armstrong Redwoods Grove (Sonoma County, California)

In years past, I have visited many groves of the giant coastal redwoods, but as I was going to be in and around Santa Rosa today, I thought I would take some time to hike through a medium aged grove just northeast of town, the Armstrong Redwoods Preserve. I arrived in Santa Rosa about 9:45 after rising early and driving over the pass from Reno. After tending to some other business, I headed for the grove and after a relaxing drive along the swollen Russian River, arrived in the town of Guerneville. Just a few miles north and I was at the visitor center of the grove.

As I park the jeep and put on some hiking shoes, I'm overwhelmed by the humidity here. It has been an incredibly wet year so far, but this is on another level . . . rain forest level. It's no wonder the mighty redwoods thrive here. They seem to love the humidity and some scientists have even speculated that they are able to extract moisture from the fog that dominates valleys in this coastal region.

I pop my head in the visitor center and a friendly ranger offers me a basic map of the trails. As I'm on a schedule, I don't intend to do more than a couple of miles, but judging from the map, that should take me past most of the members of the grove. I head out along the gravel trail. Recent rains have made it something of a muddy mess in places, but it's not terrible. A mint-greenish creek rush alongside much of the trail, carrying rainwater into the Russian River and a very short distance away into the Pacific. The greens of the creek along with the myriad of greens of the moss and ferns, makes for a veritable pallet of life in this wet forest.

As I make my way up the trail, I never cease to be amazed by these mighty trees. They stand like telephone polls stabbing at the sky. So tall and so lean, in comparison to their cousins, the giant sequoias that grow at higher elevations. The coastal redwoods are the tallest trees on Earth, many reaching over 300 feet tall. If I'm not mistaken, the current record-holder is a tree further north known as Hyperion and reaching a height of 376 feet tall. Growing up near St. Louis, I can't help but imagine this giant tree standing near the Gateway Arch, which stands 630' tall. Many trees would be insignificant next to such a man-made monument, but not the redwoods. They demand attention.

Continuing on, I pass the Parson-Jones Tree, 1300 year old 310 foot specimen. The trail crisscrosses the road and eventually doubles back on itself, but I opt to take a side trail to visit the Colonel Armstrong Tree, the patriarch of the grove. This example is slightly shorter at 308 feet tall, but is an additional foot and a half in diameter (14.6 feet) and a century older than it's nearby friend. 

While these giants are the ones that steal the show, this entire wet forest is crowded with many younger examples, that given time and left alone from the 'good intentions' of humans may surpass their massive forefathers. The trail dumps back out at the visitor center and I clean the mud off of my boots. I'm sweaty, but not due to hiking hard. It's simply like a cool sauna in the grove - good for the trees! Just a quick 2 miles, but well worth the visit.