by "RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
Published 01/09/2017 at 09:28

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STARS: 5

The Pioneer Cabin tree has collapsed . With the Wawona tree having fallen in ‘69, your only drive-thru-Sequoia experience is probably now the Tunnel Log. Redwood tunnels remain unaffected at this time. As you were.

Replies (11)

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
01/09/2017 at 09:50, STARS: 2

I wonder if the fact that people sawed a sodding great hole through the base of it has any bearing on the fact that it fell over during a storm...

"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
01/09/2017 at 10:03, STARS: 4

Perhaps... In fairness, the sodding great hole was put through it some hundred and thirty years ago or more, and I think was an expansion of existing rot. Existing defects in the trunk were hollowed out into a cabin, which then became a tunnel for wagons and then cars (and then pedestrians). There’ve been two sequioas to give up, but there are at least three redwoods thriving with tunnels through - some differences in clime, local soil, and root systems seem to make the difference.

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
01/09/2017 at 10:23, STARS: 3

Interesting. I suppose saying ‘this thing you did 130 years ago caused this’ sort of devalues the argument slightly ;)

Didn’t know it was a cabin before a tunnel though, neat! Would have made a hell of a batchelor pad :)

"Rainbow" (rainbeaux)
01/09/2017 at 10:24, STARS: 2

If a giant sequoia falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, do they still get smooshed 15 miles away because it’s a goddamn giant sequoia?

"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
01/09/2017 at 10:34, STARS: 0

Regardless, I think the lesson is probably that if one is to hollow out a tree, a redwood is a better choice than a sequoia even if sequoias can permit a larger trunk diameter -which, since pretty much all legendarily huge redwoods and sequoias are in parks, is the very definition of useless engineering information. Not that one would typically have gone for a more pulpy/poplar-like sequoia by choice anyway - I’d imagine a redwood house/tunnel makes for much better finish on the inside.

"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
01/09/2017 at 10:35, STARS: 2

Probably. However, that still rates the sequoia as a medium range weapon. I think with the right kind of guidance system and a booster stage we might be able to arrange for a sequoia to fall several states away...

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
01/09/2017 at 11:14, STARS: 1

Now that sounds like a useless college thesis if ever I’ve heard one! ‘On the potential interior finishes of Sequoias vs Redwoods for vehicular tunnels’...

"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
01/09/2017 at 11:18, STARS: 2

Best as a study topic for an architecture/botany double major. “On sealing finish of heartwood in living tree based-tunnels and design aims-guided limits to damage of cambium”. Probably not *completely* useless - you could parlay it into work as a treehouse architect since there’s some overlap.

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
01/09/2017 at 11:35, STARS: 0

The more specific the better ;)

If ‘treehouse architect’ was a proper job I’d quite my current job right now...

"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
01/09/2017 at 11:38, STARS: 1

Being on station on and on waiting for driving calls vs. getting to design what every kid thought he’d live in when he grew up... hard choice, really.

I would observe that being a treehouse architect would probably benefit from the recently improved ability to do 3d scans - trees not being the most plumb/level/square things to build to at the best of times. Hence, the time to become a treehouse architect is now.

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
01/09/2017 at 18:59, STARS: 0

I shall quit my job post-haste ;)