River view downstream, Sc on left, Ga on right.
 All trees in view NOT measured yet!

 There was a great collection of giant
and tall old-growth white pines along the trail and across the river in
Georgia. Ages certainly surpassed 300 years for many trees. 130' tall trees
were common, and 150' was regularly encountered. The extreme canyon
topography of the area offers great protection from winds in most
directions, but offers few "footholds" as the slopes are very steep and the
soil quite sandy. For this reason, the taller pines were concentrated in the
bottom of the gorge near the river. Some big ones grew on the terraces by
the river in what looked like pure sand. 10' cbh trees were quite common,
with a few over 11' and one over 13' was found. The old trees were quite
massive, and some super-chunky ones that looked to be over 12' cbh across
the river in GA will have to wait for another trip. One was roughed out at
160' tall (could not see the base) and looked to be very close to 12' cbh.

[This tree, without a solid base shot, is actually 175' tall. Jess, are you
ready to get your waders on? This tree is potentially a GA state champion,
as it had a HUGE crown with a spread certainly approaching 50' or more. It
also had a complex top with multiple apparent high points. I had very few
locations to see the tree, all of which were near level or below the base,
which was obscured by rhododendron. - April 02, 2005, WB]

As I was measuring 150- 160 foot trees, I spotted a tall wisp of a pine
downstream that was completely emergent. I commented on the tree to my Dad,
and we hiked down to find it. The tree grew about 20' upslope from the
trail, and leaned over the trail. From directly below, still on the trail, I
shot up with the laser and hit 192'! That is the highest canopy over a trail
I have ever found in the east! Baxter Creek in the Smokies has foliage to
171' above the trail. Estimating that we were about 20' below the tree, we
went up and measured it. From directly below I shot up and hit 171' while
still slightly above the base. 

Dad at base of tallest pines.

We identified the midslope and measured the
girth. At 11'9" it was a "fattie". We marked midslope with a target and I
went upslope to measure it with the laser. I had an excellent shot on the
tree and came up with 172.3'. I believe this is the tallest white pine in
the state, and perhaps a state champion. With a spread of 43', the tree
earns 324 points. Jess Riddle has a whopper of a tree near Whitewater Falls
that may out point this one. Regardless, it is a beauty, and has the same
top architecture as the Boogerman Pine, perhaps arising from a limb that has
replaced a broken top.

River view, SC on right, GA on left. 150' pines, 
dead hemlocks.

Unfortunately, hemlock mortality from the adelgid was common. Huge, ancient
hemlocks were completely dead, with no healthy trees anywhere to be seen.
Some areas had 80% or more mortality, with the other 20% not far behind.
Interestingly, some of the hemlocks that were bent over from the hurricane
floods last fall were "scrubbed" clean of adelgids on the upstream side.

Here are a few numbers, all white pine.

13'3"     X          126'      Very gnarly tree with multiple breaks and
twisted top.

10'9"     X          161'      Probably 350 years or older.
[This is the same tree Jess Riddle Measured to 162'. It has a dead top. - April 02, 2005 - WB]

11'4"     X          160'      Poor shot, may be taller.

11'9"     X          172.3'   X          43' spread         Tallest in SC?
[This tree is actually 174.2' tall, earning 326 big tree points. - April 02, 2005 - WB]

Second-growth pines upstream from the ford were 130-150'+ tall and promise
to be a super stand in a few years.


Will