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 :)

Canada's largest tree, the Cheewhat Giant, grows protected in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on southern Vancouver Island in the territory of the Ditidaht First Nation. This massive western redcedar measures 182 feet (55 m) tall and 20 feet (6 m) wide. It’s also the largest known western redcedar tree in the world, a true wonder to behold.

The record-sized tree was first identified by Maywell Wickham in 1988, and nearly 40 years later, a larger one has yet to be found (despite the best efforts of big tree hunters like myself). Maywell wouldn’t have been the first person to see this tree, however. The Ditidaht people have lived amongst these lands for thousands of years, and evidence of their cultural use of the prized cedar trees found in this forest abound. When visiting this tree, take a moment to contemplate the immense scales of time in front of you, both in the form of ancient trees and rich cultural history.