Hunting for big trees is, in my opinion, one of the very greatest adventures a person can embark on. It almost always involves a lot of bushwhacking through the dense and rugged forests found on BC’s coast (the fun part!) but thanks to recent improvements in satellite imagery, it’s sometimes possible to hone in on a specific tree even before you leave your house. When I first noticed the large crown and dark shadow looming above the forests near Cheewhat Lake in the screenshot below, I couldn’t get it out of my head. Was it a giant cedar? Something else? I didn’t know but It sure looked impressive! Months went by until finally I had a free day to make the 4 hour drive out there. A quick scope from the road revealed that it was not in fact a giant redcedar but a Sitka spruce! It was tall with a wide canopy and a decent size trunk. The next step was to push through the dense second-growth bordering the road to physically reach the base of the tree. By my best guess, it looked to be about 7 feet wide but was too difficult to measure since the back of the tree flared over a steep hillside. Though it didn’t turn out to be a record breaker, it was impressive none-the-less! And what it lead me to later that day (the giant cedars in the previous post) was well worth all the effort :)